How would you know which ebay seller is trustworthy?

The feedback the seller has sort of indicates if their products is good and is they are respectful with returns and problems with the product. Usually as long as the feedback is above 90%, the seller should be safe to have a transaction with. Still, some sellers indicate on the auction whether they accept returns or not and if they say they accept returns, ebay would require them to give you the money back.

I only try to buy from PowerSellers unless I am desparate. With power sellers, there could be other people who had bought the same product, so I can refer to their reviews to decide how good the deal was.

Just check the feedback, I don't buy from new sellers, unless it's in pickup range. Some accept returns but return shipping is at your costs.

If you do have a problem with your purchase you are protected by Paypal and can demand a refund through them. The only way to tell is to do that search for reliable sellers weith good ratings from other users.

You need to look at their history on eBay, and their feedback ratings and percentages. Be wary of anyone with a very new account who suddenly has loads of positive feedback, that could be manipulated. And for myself I always check through and actually read the comments... you can see which ones are from genuine satisfied customers. I havent always had great results from huge-volume sellers either, sure they are power sellers with thousands of positive feedbacks, but if they have a rating of say 97% positive, that 3% negative means quite a large number of unhappy customers (and possibly theyre too big to care about each of them. If I want that kind of attitude I'll go to a chain store!) The eBay community self-regulates well, with the community and feedback mechanisms that are available. Of course, its not perfect - people aren't perfect! But I find the idea of a trust and reputation community and trading model a refreshing and interesting notion, in a world where we have learned not to rely on our banks and large institutions. So far as your individual transaction protection is concerned, always pay with Paypal, and raise a dispute with them and eBay, if an item is not received or not as described, etc. So far as 'not liking' the item is concerned, you need to read the sellers return policy (which should be included in the listing) to see whether they would regard that as acceptable grounds for taking it back - when I sold on eBay (as a small houseclearer not a business or powerseller) I didn't accept returns on that basis - but a number of bigger sellers will. Generally though, anyone who has built up a good bank of positive feedback and detailed seller ratings over some years, has an eBay reputation they would like to protect, and are unlikely to risk ruin over any petty dispute. Your reputation as a trading partner will grow in value in the same way over time.

I always not only check the positive comments but the negative comments. I do not buy anything from newer ebayers with a rateing of less then 25 score. There are listings that I have come across where they do have a return policy of you do not like what you purchased but make sure to read the fine print, some charge a fee for this. After several years of buying and some selling on Ebay I have been very lucky and only gotten burnt one. Good Luck

Just check the comments and reviews of the buyer. Also try checking the buyers if they were credible. I suggest using PayPal to be safe when buying. If you buy try also to rate the seller honestly, never be threatened by their posts that say they will rate you low if you rate them low.

It is always a worry, but they are graded. Check their amount sold, comments made, percentage.

should all be reliable