On Tuesday I won an auction for a Harley Davidson Leather Jacket at an unbelievable price, and I couldn't wait to get it.

On Saturday the seller refunded my money with an apology that someone broke into his house and stole the jacket.

I was speechless, my first instinct was bulldoody! But maybe he did indeed get robbed. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt because I know what it feels like to have your home violated.

What I find so appealing about eBay is that we are being trusted by total strangers to do the right thing. And while used item condition is subjective, I can't tell if some sellers are being deliberately deceptive, or they're just clueless.

For example, I bought a thermal printer and a MSN TV2 unit from two different sellers who both claimed their items were brand new. Neither were "brand new" because both boxes were missing accessories. I had to waste a couple of hours tracking down what I needed from the internet. They were still good deals, but I expect brand new to be exactly how I would find it in a store. If it isn't, just put a clarification in the description. In this case these items should have been listed as "open box," or opened and unused.

I buy a lot of clothing on eBay, and some sellers seem to think it's acceptable to claim "New Without Tags" even if the item was worn once or twice. Can you imagine if you walked into Macy's and asked the salesperson, "I noticed this shirt has no tags. Is it new?" and the salesperson responded, "Of course, it's brand new! One of our customers just wore it one time, that's all!"

"New Without Tags" should mean that the item has not been worn (other than being tried on). If it's been worn even once, then by all means say it's Like New. But it's not NEW. I can't believe I actually have to clarify with sellers that their "New Without Tags" item has indeed, not been worn.

Some of my disappointing recent purchases:

1) A jacket described as "unwanted gift in perfect condition" arrived filthy and stained from use. Was it wrong of me to assume an "unwanted gift" wouldn't have been worn very often, if at all? I couldn't believe someone would ship something so disgusting to a customer. I realize many sellers are ignorant of the fact that used clothing for sale on eBay is supposed to be shipped clean, but still! I don't know what feedback to leave, no matter how I word it I come off sounding like a priss.

2) A jacket described as "New With Tags" arrived tagless. I have no idea if it was worn or not, but naturally I'm suspicious of the seller. If I had known the truth I wouldn't have bid on it, as the shipping charge was $25 (international seller).

3) A vest described as "Brand New Without Tags" had signs of wear. Again, I bid more assuming the vest was essentially new.

I know sometimes when we go shopping, we'll find lipstick stains on the clothing or dirt from when the item fell on the floor. At least then I have enough information to decide whether it's still worth buying.

Years ago I bought comic books on eBay and I would say 95% of sellers overestimate the condition of their books, or have no idea how to grade. People in general think their stuff is more valuable than it really is, which is OK, I guess, as long as they're not trying to sell it.

So what is appropriate for listing clothing flaws? I will look over an item pretty carefully and make note of anything that I would want to know about. But sometimes I wonder if I am giving out too much information. Some sellers make generic statements like, "item is used, so bid accordingly; don't expect perfection!" What if I am pointing out things unnecessarily, and now I'm making it sound worse than it is, which results in lower bids? Especially since I offer a money back guarantee anyway?

Am I expecting too much of eBay sellers, and buying on eBay?

I'm just wondering if people are getting better bids on their auctions ending on Sunday, and at which time.

I've had some real Sunday dogs and I'm reluctant to list anything today, but I'm wondering if I should give it another go.

Sometimes I think all this research is squat because there are too many unknowns.

Normally I wouldn't post something like this, but I really dig what Prosper.com is about.

Prosper.com is a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending site that has received backing from eBay's founder, Pierre Omidyar. Imagine eBay as a bank -- people coming together to ask for and bid on loans. Genius!

Borrowers put up a loan request and lenders make bids starting at $50. Most lenders bid between $50 - $200, so their risk is spread out over several loans. When the loan is fully funded, Prosper debits the accounts of all the winning bidders and sends the borrower a check.

The borrower makes monthly payments to Prosper, who collects the money and distributes it to the lenders.

Prosper can be a great opportunity for borrowers with either good or bad credit ratings. If your credit rating has taken a hit or is non-existent, you can borrow money when no one else may lend to you. Your rate will be high, but less than what a short-term lender would charge you.

If you have good credit, you can get money for things a bank wouldn't finance -- like an office move. Also, the more people who bid on your loan, the lower your rate. Experienced lenders are even asking for loans to reinvest in Prosper!

I loved this idea on so many levels, that I dived right in with $1000. For one, it makes investing a lot more fun! And you feel like you're helping someone, instead of rolling the dice on a stock pick. But mostly I love that just like with eBay, strangers are trading together and depending on each other to do the right thing.

If you join through my link, we both get $25 when you fund your account! (I signed up with someone's link, and the $25 bonus showed up about three days after I transferred money into my Prosper account.)

I've always found it annoying when eBay sellers complain every time eBay raises their fees, but there is a recent policy change that bugs me.

We can no longer extend the duration of a listing if at least 2 hours have passed since the listing was submitted. Since I started losing money hand over fist in my .99 auctions, I've been using more BIN auctions and I find this limitation quite frustrating.

Unlike the new BIN policy, which I gave props for as a win/win situation for both eBay and sellers, this new rule really hoses the little people. I guess it's supposed to encourage us to select the 40 cent upgrade more often from the get-go. But are we? 

eBay, maybe bundle the 10-day listing in a Value Pack for 15 cents more?