I was avoiding Taobao and paying a premium for a misplaced trust of ebay/paypal "protection". Until I was cheated by a 99+% seller that know how to play the ebay system much better than typical user. My fear of taobao was somewhat unfounded, but that is because I have learned a lot and are able to argue with seller directly. Middleman seller can be a problem, usually they can't afford a negative review as that would severely affect their sale, so buyer normally get his way. But if the amount is large, some Taobao shop cannot take the loss, and Taobao would step in to compensate the buyer. So far only happen once to me. Taobao, its price and range you can't find anywhere else, especially obsolete electronics but these sellers are the worst on Taobao.