There are some things you need to be aware of when using a proxy service. I mentioned some of the risks in this article, but there are some other thigns you should keep in mind.
The biggest thing is that I can't control Sellers. I can help you with them to a greater extent than the larger proxy companies can, but in the end there are just some unreasonable people out there and there will be times when I can't do anything about it. A lot of Sellers are adding in information about contacting them directly after the end of the auction. Usually all of my auctions are checked within 24 hours, but I've been some Sellers require immediate contact after buying or contact within 12 hours. If you bid on one of those auctions, there's not much I can do except hope that the auction is checked within the time frame. This most likely won't affect you, but I'm starting to see time requirements on more and more listings and it might be problematic in the future. If you happen to be bidding on an item that requires immediate contact after purchase, it might be a good idea to send me an email so I can check the auction quickly enough.
As I mentioned in the other article the chances of getting scammed are slim, but sometimes Yahoo Sellers are slow to ship, just like on eBay. I can make contact with a slow shipper but in the end it comes down to when he actually mails the item to me.
I don't test out items unless you request inspection, but if an item looks like there's an obvious problem I can check it out for you. If I get a console that sounds like it has 100 parts floating around inside or is obviously damaged I'll give it a look over. If it has to be returned I can do that, but Sellers are often reluctant to refund shipping costs. If I do have to return an item and get stuck wtih any costs like shipping I'll have to pass those costs along to you. The good news is that you'll get a refund on the purchase price. With the larger proxies you'll buy it and they'll mail it to you broken and you won't know there's something wrong until you've paid for everything.
The final warning is about payment. I don't work with slow payers, even if you always pay in the end. If you win auctions then I expect you to pay for them in a timely manner, usually within a day or so after I've sent you an updated spreadsheet. Sometimes we can make exceptions based on your buying habits, for example if you're a high volume buyer, but in the end we'll come to an arrangement about payment and I expect you to honor it or else I'll close your account down.
