Hi Joe
paying by any means other than paypal especially cheque on ebay is a bit of a lottery you are completely dependent on the seller being honest it is not such a problem with a retailer who are usually quite reputable.Of course paypal is more expensive they need their cut as does ebay that is why you should have a starting bid or reserve to reflect your lowest price plus the % charges

To be honest feedbacks can only be described as a guide if somebody has say 300 good feedbacks then they must be doing something right