Natasha says to tell my ebay/paypal story

I have an internet friend/Instant Messenger friend named Natasha...who is one of the most techno-savvy, geeky yet cool people I have had the pleasure of talking to off and on for probably 3 years now. I asked her for her opinion about my blog and in not so many words, she said it sucks ass, but has potential. She claimed she really values my opinions on movies and things. So I should add that. I apparently brainwashed her into getting NetFlix...So Ill try to accomodate her..especially since movies are one of the loves of my life. But why would anyone want to read my opinions about movies? Everyone tells you a movie is great..or sucks..and I probably agree with about 3% of the population. Natasha said besides some cool ranting, I should talk about my ordeal with paypal/ebay. Not a bad idea. One of the most infuriating things to ever happen to me...Back in Sep/Oct of 2003, I bought a PDA on ebay with some of my birthday money. I have had, for the most part, good luck on ebay..no one has ever ripped me off, and only a few people refused to pay or didnt leave feedback..etc. Now, I admit, I am a bit..thorough..with larger purchases. I test drove 12 cars before buying one..and I looked at tons of reviews and prices and things before settling on a PDA. So I sent the lady the money and of course, never received the item. She claims she had her brother send it our priority mail, though i paid for UPS/FedEx. she has no receipt. After arguing with her in 400 emails, I asked to be reimbursed, which she didnt do. I asked paypal to reimburse me after filing a complaint. They found "in my favor" on the issue, but could not get a hold of my funds. I filed a complaint with ebay, as per their instructions. No response from them. I tried to find out the lady's email address/name/phone..etc. All bogus. I tried to file a complaint in court. Apparently, because I didnt drive up to Mountain View, Ca and serve paypal myself, the complaint was invalid. I complained to the Better Business Bureau, but they told me to file a legal complaint with the courts...sigh. I wrote to the President of Ebay..and his secretary wrote me back saying ebay cannot ensure the quality of every transaction. Ummm..obviously. The only mistake I did..was I used paypal with my checking account, instead of my credit card. Fine, a dumb move. But considering I had been on ebay for 6 years at the time, and never had a problem..guess I was a bit naive/trusting in that everything would always be fine. This lady had good feedback from other transactions...so..what the hell!?So..in summary, dont buy the Sony PEG-UX-50 on Ebay from Donna O'Brien (aka Madonna Indra aka..???) as you will lose out on $576.98 plus about a year of your life.Thanks Natasha..I feel better now :)