Clark makes about 50 small purchases per year on eBay. He especially loves the cheap cell phone/electronics accessories that he can pick up for around $5. In fact, he bought his daughter a case for her iPod Nano for $1.25 including shipping! The item came from Hong Kong, so you know the seller took a loss on the shipping charges alone.

Many people, however, use eBay for more expensive things. There's been a recent breakdown in trust between sellers and buyers. Sellers used to be able to manipulate approval ratings, but that system was done away with as eBay has tried to instill buyer confidence. Merchants are now angry that their customers can post negative things online and they're stuck with it.

One seller recently went so far as to sue a buyer who put up a neutral rating -- not even a negative one! A Seattle man named Steve Shellhorn was unhappy with the packaging that accompanied some coins he bought on eBay. So he posted his comments and was sued by a seller in North Carolina for $10K. The case was thrown out of court, but Shellhorn incurred $500 when he hired a lawyer.

The takeaway here is that a lot of people make "anonymous" posts on websites that trash other people or companies. But your identity can be revealed with a court order. So this is not to say that you can't use free speech; just realize you also have the responsibility to do it respectfully and factually. Not that those issues came into play in the Shellhorn case -- that was completely out of left field!