My problems with Dean were several years ago, and I didn't use paypal at that time. Ebay did have some sort of buyer protection plan, after a $25 deductible. The chips I bought from him, through ebay, were about $25 or so, and an additional chip bought outside of ebay was about $65 or so. Bottom line was, I sent him over $90 and received a torn envelope and negative feedback. I didn't even get to keep the torn envelope, as I turned it in to the post office with a claim form for the lost contents...hoping that the envelope was torn by equipment and that one or more of the chips would show up and be returned to me. No such luck.

I now use paypal for every ebay transaction, and I fund it with a credit card which offers some additional protection.