On the one hand, it would be nice to be able to trust people. On the other hand, a relative was caught in a forged check scam similar to Mike Painter's experience, but in this case the checks were stolen. He ended up fighting a charge of check fraud and possession of stolen property (the check).
I sold on eBay for the first time in years this weekend. Because I almost never sell my only choices for payment were paypal. It was oddly reassuring that I did not have to worry about fraudulent checks, even though there was a charge for the transaction.
Normally I rail at being forced into using someone's vendor. I don't know why I was not upset about it this time. Maybe I just considered it part of the cost of selling my cell phone? Maybe I was just so pissed at the cell phone company for charging me $175 to cancel my contract. Maybe I was just thrilled that I sold the phone (that they gave me for free) for enough to cover that cancellation fee.
Daniel
Disclaimer: There's already one in this thread. It explains why I'm probably biased towards eBay. It also points out that I am NOT representing eBay in any way.