eBay bidding & maybe selling

I sort of like the idea of bidding for things I collect such as Royal Crown Derby Paperweights & British banknotes, but have only really done it in the past "live" at an auction where you can inspect what you are after beforehand. eBay changes that somewhat, by only letting you see pictures & have someone else in cyberspace tell you what they have. Its the same as buying online I hear you say, but it still doesn't really fill me with any confidence - I know they have a rating system for sellers & buyers, but thats about a much use as a chocolate teapot in a furnace in my opinion. I might well start to offer a few pieces for sale & be on the other end of it in the near future, that may well boost my confidence in the whole thing. I know of a few people who claim to have made a tidy sum by selling things they didn't want any more from clothes to PC stuff, so maybe it's my turn to try & make a few bucks from things I haven't used for a while?