My bad experience on eBay (out of a dozen-ish transactions) was a scammer who sent me a fake CD-R version of some software (BootMagic) instead of the real thing. I got his (real) email address, but I handled it wrong in slagging him off, and we got into a bit of a slanging match on email with me threatening him with the cops (he was running an allegedly-legit software business) and him threatening me with violence. In the end I said screw it and he refunded my Paypal payment.

The answer to all this is to pay through credit card or at least Paypal, so at least there's some kind of comeback.

On my one, the reaction from genuine channels was interesting. eBay did nothing in response to my complaint. And to make it really interesting, I reported the guy to the anti-piracy group that Symantec are members of. I had his email address, IP address, his eBay store details (which had a real-world address and phone number), the packaging he sent me (recorded delivery so more of his details), and the physical CD-R. What more could you ask for?! But I never heard a single word back from them.

That was what triggered the "screw it" response. If anyone had cared, I might have pushed it on the principle of people not getting ripped off. But if the anti-piracy people don't give a shit about responding to people stealing their stuff, I don't see why I should.

Graham.