I was thinking about buying a big ticket item from a dealer online. The seller said that he'd use eBay's Buyer Protection Plan to protect us both. Apparently the money goes there before the item is shipped and after the item is received by me, then the funds will be released to the seller.

What I want to know is if anyone has any personal experience with this particular program? I've used eBay before to buy little things before and this item isn't directly listed on that site (or at least that's not how I found it.) I found it on craigslist.

I'm always suspicious and afraid of being taken advantage of so I wanted to know if this sounds ok or if I should walk away from a great deal.

Thanks,
nikosmom