Ebay is probably the largest auction site on planet earth and as such is the number one place to buy and sell anything (almost).

I have bought and sold many items on Ebay and apart from one seller who was tardy in dispatching the goods, a set of golf clubs as it happens, I have never had a problem. The seller was waiting for his new clubs to arrive before he sent mine. A short e-mail hurried him up and the clubs duly arrived as described and everyone was happy.

This guide is written for golfers mainly but most of the rules apply to anything you buy online. Ebay is a fantastic place to buy golf clubs and as with most things a little common sense goes a long way. So to get started;

1) If something sounds to good to be true it probably is. Even on Ebay it is very unlikely you will buy a new set of Ping irons for $50. Fake or counterfeit clubs do exist and people do sell them on Ebay. This is through a desire to cheat or in some cases through simple ignorance. Someone who has bought a set of fake clubs may not know and when they do not perform as well as the buyer had hoped he may well sell them on, listing them as genuine because he thinks they are. Read the description, this is vital, many fake clubs are listed as 'look alike','clone' or 'copy'. These are not genuine clubs, they won't perform like genuine clubs and you will not be a happy bunny.

2) Read the sellers feedback. Feedback is there for you to study, do not click on 'read feedback', scan a couple of lines and decide all is well. Really look at what others have said about their experiences with the seller in question. Also you can check to see what other items the buyer has bought so this gives you an idea of whether the buyer is knowledgeable about the Ebay environment. If they have bought several pieces of golf equipment then they probably know a good deal from a bad one.

3) Still on the feedback page check to see if the comments are from buyers and sellers. Feedback manipulation can happen where a seller will buy a lot of cheap items to quickly raise their own feedback score. If the sellers feedback is mostly from other sellers be wary. Feedback from buyers is a whole lot more telling. To Ebays credit they do have systems in place to combat feedback manipulation but it is still wise to check yourself.

4) Does the seller have a ebaystore? This is an indication that they take their Ebay business seriously. A seller with a store will have a little door symbol by their name and will probably mention it at least once in the copy of their auction page. The problem with only dealing with store owners is that you can miss some of the best deals. Many golfers, like myself, will list the odd item so not have a huge feedback score. The opportunity here is that they don't have business overheads to cover they just want to clear some space so their prices can be much lower and that is where you can get some brilliant deals.

5) Ask the seller questions. There is a link for asking the seller a question and the genuine person will respond to a query. You can ask anything about the item they are selling so if you want more information, just ask. A side note here; A common query from golfers is 'What are the serial numbers on the clubs'.A reasonable question and one that should elicit an answer, however if the seller says he can't/ won't tell you because ' you might be a counterfeiter' ,steer clear.Any counterfeit can go into any golf store and collect serial numbers with ease, an answer like this suggests the seller may be less than honest himself.

6) Check the photographs that accompany the auction. If it is a stock photo feel entitled to ask for a photo, or preferably two or three, of the actual item that is being sold. Again genuine sellers should not mind this although if he is busy it may take a little time.

7)Last but not least and actually the most important, pay by Paypal. The majority of sellers accept this form of payment and it does give you some protection. Some sellers would say it gives the buyers too much protection because believe it or not there are some very dodgy buyers out there who will claim for undelivered goods when they have in fact received them. A lot of problems reported in the media about fraudsters and people not getting what they have paid for have at the foundation a buyer who did not follow these simple rules and then paid cash or by money transfer. Don't do it!

I have and still do buy a fair amount of my golf equipment from Ebay especially golf wedges which are my passion. If I don't like it when it arrives I simply relist it and some times I even make a profit. I hope you can feel a little safer feeding your passion on Ebay.