Strong points are often weaknesses, as well.

For me, part of the joy of eBay is being able to deal with individuals, rather than mega-corporate entities... the downside to which is that quite a few sellers are a bit like your experience sounds; they may "have" something, and it's legit enough... but because they are not "dealers" or experts, you end up a bit at the mercy of incomplete information.

eBay returns can be VERY costly because their system is designed to process only "fastest way." Sold something to someone in China a few years back and even though there was a reasonable way for the buyer to ship it back "the sustem" insisted that it HAD to be FedEx express service at a cost of $300+ for a small box it had cost me $40 to send, in the first place.

I guess at about the 5-year mark I got past my original skepticism as to the longevity of Hive, and I feel more comfortable suggesting it as a venue, at least for the "right" people.