I don't recommend buying ebay parts unless you know the company/individual personally. I have bought lcd replacement screens before and if you can find new in box items that you can verify the UPC as the item you need that may work. But again, you have no warranty. You also have no recourse if the component is bad. Two of the four laptop batteries I have bought on ebay were DOA for instance. Whether it was sitting too long in the UPS truck in -10F winter of Montana I don't know but I was out that cash. Then there is the huge counterfeit market for especially CPU's. I'd say purchase your main components at a reputable dealer and save ebay for peripheral or less important items if you really want to go that route. For like new items though, the prices are not that far off of retail from Newegg and similar anyway. Kind of like a new in box SM57 is going to cost you more or less $100 whether it's on ebait or at Guitar Center.

I was thinking this same exact thought that you have given... If it's too good to be true then it's probably not a good idea. Although some of the seller's seem very reputable and have good prices. I have been buying most of my computer gear from Fry's and have had the best of luck, so why start chancing things now. Never needed to return a bad product, but if I needed to it would be easy to do. Thanks for the feedback.

Personally, I tend to shy away from retail dealers selling on ebay and purchase from individuals. I've not had any horror stories to report so far and have purchased motherboards, RAM, Antec enclosures etc. I look at the individual's rating and number of transactions, then look at his personal style of representing the product when choosing to see if I think he could be a dick if there was any problem with it when I received it.

That being said, I probably purchase a lot more from reputable retailers like TigerDirect because they are generally price competitive and offer a 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee..

Thanks Lambchop for the advice! I think your totally spot on in your selection of better Ebait sellers, and will use your feedback to pick the right people to do business with on that site. I appreciate the idea of buying brand new w/ warranty to the products that I am purchasing too.

Glad I could be of some assistance. Good luck with your purchasing!

second post!! I know a Canadian is not much help in AZ but after some research into an Canadian ebay seller I bought this: I7-950 asusP6T-SE kingston 1333 DDR3 6gb ATI HD5450 3 seagate hds win7 64bit coolmaster 650 watt ...and could not be happier. great price... saved about 400 bucks with this system........ no problems after six months of everyday use, so it can be done. what I did was inquire with emails on the system I wanted and waited for reply's.... the one that was the most responsive got my business. good luck traz