Russell learns that you don't always save any real money on Ebay. I am learning the same thing these days, luckily without spending as much money as Russell.
My P800 screen is broken, so I'm looking for a new phone since repairing the P800 will cost almost 200 euros. As much as I love my P800, I'm pretty tired of having to carry a brick in my pocket without even being able to read email or surf the web (my company's cellular subscription has GPRS and MMS disabled), and since I have lots of SonyEricsson gear (USB data and power cables, etc.) I am trying to buy a T600 (which is the smallest modern phone around), or a T610.
I have been tracking Ebay auctions for a couple of weeks, and I guess today I'll go to the store downstairs and buy a new T610. T600s are pretty rare, and with all the noob ebayers out there who start bidding as soon as the auction is up, and shippinh, they end up costing around 100 euro which is too much for a GPRS-less used phone.
T610s on Ebay go for 130-140 euros plus shipping, and since they're being discontinued for the T630, the shops that are still carrying them have lowered their prices to 170, which gets you a brand new phone with a 2-yr warranty without the risk of being scammed, and without having to wait for the seller to wake up and ship the item.
I guess Ebay is ok if you're looking for something special, or very rare (I just bougth a Swatch bag which isn't available to the public), otherwise I guess you'd make a better deal buying new from a store.