Is ebay.com Safe?

Privacy? That depends on what you consider private. eBay has some of the most sophisticated and most intrusive software on their website. They don't typically share the information with anyone, but eBay uses proprietary software that the public isn't even aware exists, and if they did, most would stop using eBay entirely.

As far as Vendor Reliability is concerned, eBay has lost much of it's once stellar credibility. Just look at youtube.com eBay has alienated it's vendors and it's customers. The remaining vendors it has are either big-block retailers (who don't really need eBay) or are business that are using eBay as just another retail outlet. eBay has gone from an exclusively used tool with almost a cult-following, to an almost hated, but grudgingly used tool, "because there's nothing else." But if Myspace.com has shown us anything, it's that websites can shrink as quickly as they expand, and with such an animosity that eBay has created with it's previous (and current) vendor's, it's anyone's bet when eBay will be replaced by a company with better customer service and a more friendly vendor policy.