Should I trust Ebay seller or just go with pricey mainstream site Please help

I was ordering my ballasts and lights and came upon this predicament.

I could order all my equipment from one site, and then tax+shipping is ~$820
OR I could order a ballast with two bulbs(unknown manufacture) from EBAY and the rest of my equipment from the other site for a total of ~$640

I don't want to spend an extra 200 just because I think a brand name is better, but I don't want to buy from Ebay because what if it turns out to be a piece of shit, and I only say this because they wouldn't return my money, only another set of equipment and I think that's stupid.

So what experiences have you had with buying from Ebay? Is it normally good off-brand stuff or does it turn out to be a complete waste of time and money?

Just from experience with other cheap stuff off of ebay...stick with buying from a reputable website. That way if anything breaks it wont be a huge headache getting it fixed.

I got a 600 watt light had digital ballast and the wing reflector everything worked out fine. But I also bought a 600W eye hortilux hps bulb off ebay that turned out to be used and I got stuck with it after all the complaints the place just screwed me. so be careful. If i had to do it over i would buy from a reputable vendor so in case something goes wrong i can get my shit fixed that day not a month later and a boat load of shipping cost.

I order stuff from ebay all the time following basic rules:

Do they have 100% feedback and if not why not? you can check what people have said just by clicking on the feedback numbers

If they have no feedback avoid them!

Also in the feedback check if they have sold the same item before and see what people have said

There is also a contact seller button to ask questions which goes through ebay so its all logged if there is a problem later

Pay by paypal and again if there is a problem you can reclaim later once they have investigated it

I've bought everything from lights, tents, fans, antiques and cars without any trouble, over 200 times... just remember not everyone is out to rip you off I'm in the UK but people are the same the world over. Good luck man!

Thanks, they have 5507 ratings at 99.3% positive feedback, so I think I'm going to go with them and see how it works out.

hopefully the bulbs are good so I don't have to waste the money I saved on good ones haha