There are bad deals galore on eBay, some good deals, and a few incredible deals. I think the trick is to keep shopping/bidding low at the last moment, but exercising restraint. Very little is unique, and a better deal is most likely soon!
Rover, that was outstanding for the 75mm lens! I got my silver one on eBay too, but for $212. OTOH I just got the 50 Skopar with adaptor for $175 on Photo.net. I also got a great deal on 50 rolls of my fav film, and a killer deal on a Pentax 6x7 package with 45mm, 300mm, 2x, and backpack last year.
There have been a few deals that I paid more than I should, mostly because I got impatient and wanted the gear now! But so far I've managed to avoid paying more than the new price! Geez, some of those guys really get carried away...
I've bought a couple things from Canadian sellers, and it worked out fine. Decent price, no problems. One was from another RFF member who was here only briefly, Ross Macdonald in Calgary.