You are absolutely correct in that you are asking for trouble by buying unknown brand mdse on e-bay. Do you really think that either e-bay or paypal are going to cut their own throats by banning a crap mdse seller from their site?? I THINK NOT. Its all about how much money they are making from the seller.Both e-bay and paypal make it very difficult or near impossible to get a refund on bum mdse with all the steps involved, that eventually you say the hell with it.PAY THE MONEY, GET THE PROPER MERCHANDISE AND A PROPER WARRANTY FROM A KNOWN DEALER.
These cameras are on average 3 megapixel in image quality. SVP and Gigxon sells these cameras at cheap prices, usualy to people who take off the labels and put on big-name stickers, like Sony and JVC and Nikon, and the cameras get sold on the street for 200 bucks. If you go to Ebay, be prepared for fraud, becasue Ebay is full of fraud, and since Ebay makes money from people posting items for auction, they will not crack down on fraud becasue they will lose money if they do. If you want a NICE digital camera or camcorder, go to a store and buy one at full price, or go to an online store, like CircuitCity.com or any online store that is TRUSTWORTHY. The thing is, people are so intent on trying to save a few bucks that they get sucked in to fraud. People that want a good item for cheap are the ones who feed fraud. Spend the 200 or 300 bucks for a well known brand name item THAT COMES WITH A MANUFACTURER WARRANTY, and I guarantee you will be more satisfyed with the item you buy.
Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic