> I have a friend who has bought a couple of ATVs on eBay.   However he only
> bids on machines that are within driving distance, so he can check them
out
> before actually going through with the payment.  All he really risks is
some
> time and gas money, and the possiblity of bad feedback on eBay.

Justifiable flakiness? Hardly. You bid, you buy. Not sure, don't bid. Check
the item out BEFORE you place a bid. eBay spells it out pretty specifically.
A small claims court would probably be happy to clarify that as well, but
most of these non-paying scum skate away without any real consequences. But
it only takes once ...