Can eBay and or Craigs list be trusted ??

I have had several post looking for this or that, and people suggest trying eBay and or Craigs List. Can you trust them ?   I have heard lots of horror stories and I can NOT afford to be jipped out of my hard earned $$, know what I mean ? How do you protect yourself dealing with them ?    

Craig's list is caveat-emptor (let the buyer beware).  I'd buy if I can go there to pick it up.
I bought a motorcycle sight unseen thru ebay. What gave me the confidence to do it was the warranty that ebay gives you. There's a deductible for each defect, but, it limits your problem if the bike isn't right.

I also used the warranty unit to resolve an issue with my bike. Bike was perfect, but, there was an issue in getting me title. I called them up, explained the bike was pristine, as advertised.but one month later, I still had no title, and couldn't register the bike. They made a couple of calls. Bang... temp plates from Wisconsin (dealership selling the bike shows up, got me riding). 2 weeks later, 2 titles show up. One was the normal route, the other was a warranted title (which takes presidence). They had talked to the seller and the agent, and told them the law in their state, and got everything unstuck in days. If I bought it by myself, I'd have been at the mercy of the seller.

If it has the ebay warranty, I'd trust it. If not... run.  

The trick to craigslist is to never buy anything you can't see in person. Do your haggling through e-mail or over the phone. Then GO LOOK AT IT YOURSELF. I bought my bike from caigslist. I got a great deal but I made sure I looked at it in person and met the guy face to face.

The best way to get defrauded on craigslist is to have someone ship anything to you or to get payed, or pay, by any method other than cash or paypal.  

I've never bought a vehicle on ebay, but I have sold several, including a Bombardier DS 650, a Raptor 660, a KTM 950 R Super Enduro, an Arctic Cat Thunder Cat 1000, a Toyota Tacoma, and a Jeep Wrangler.  I've always gotten a better price than I could have received locally.  I've always sold the item in one week.  And I've always got the money for the item I've sold.  So far I've had good luck with ebay.

Perhaps the best example of coming out money ahead from ebay, the Arctic Cat Thunder Cat 1000 is an ATV that cost $11,199 new.  I paid $10,000 for it, and only owned it for six months before deciding I should sell it.  I wanted to trade it in on a Can Am ATV, and the Can Am dealer offered me $4000 for trade in.  I couldn't believe he was offering $6000 less than I had purchased the ATV for just six months previously.  His excuse was that he would probably have to sit on that ATV for more than a year before it sold, because "Arctic Cat's just don't sell around here". The ATV only had 177 miles on it by the way.  I put the ATV on ebay, and it sold in a week for $8000.  There was the expected depreciation that you get from driving the ATV off the dealers lot, but I got twice as much out of it on ebay as the dealer would have given me.

I think most people on ebay are like me, honest people that are just trying to get a better deal on what they are selling.
ps3tv  

I sold a one month old Honda Rebel on craigslist last year (08) in about July. I DO consider myself lucky. They had cash. They were a military couple based within 100 miles and were very nice on the phone and in person. We delivered the bike to them after they came out to see it. She is very short and needed a small bike and it was almost a new bike, she loved it. I got about what I paid for it less about $300-tax and license.
Even though my experience was very good, and I assume their's too, now-a-days I would want to show a high ticket item at the bank to verify it is REAL cash, and the buyer is not a predator or casing our house. I would be very suspicious of either buyer or seller unwilling to exchange money or product at the bank or police station lobby. Even ebay can be difficult. If you wait too long, trying to work it out with the seller-they won't follow through with their guarantee. That was Rich's experience a couple of times.  Cheaper stuff)
He also went to pick up a motorcycle, the guy was in a big hurry and AFTER he got it home he found a couple of problems and the vin# was off by one number. There was no report of either vin# being stolen (from bike or registration) but there is a big hassle to get registered and the seller had not done it himself. Check the papers against the bike.  

Craigslist and eBay can be great shopping tools if you use them correctly.  Always shop locally if you can help it, and know what a scam looks like and don't fall for them.  These sites will have detailed descriptions of what the scams look like so you know what to look for.

As for buying motorcycles or any motor vehicle for that matter, make sure you can inspect/test ride or whatever before you commit to purchasing something online.  
Matt
http://www.motormedley.com - Motorcycle Jackets, Helmets, Chaps, Gear