I have had very few problems except for some warped cues on eBay that I returned and it cost me a little freight. Most AZB guys are pretty good to deal with. The members of this forum understand the importance of trading with integrity. Communication is the key to successful AZB deals.
If the item is on eBay I always click the "ask seller a question" just to see the response through eBay, whether I need to know the answer or not
On AZB I've learned to look back to previous posts and see if the guy has had unnecessary problems, arguments, and even "bully" like behavior
One cue I ordered on eBay was so warped it didn't even roll, when I emailed the guy and asked him how he could ship a cue like that, he responded "you can't blame a guy for trying". He refunded everything including the shipping and I left positive feedback