I obviously had not seen this post when I posted. Well, I commend you for your honesty but I wish you would have posted a few minutes earlier as it would have saved me some typing 
I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure the crow was finished baking first…
whatami posted exactly the information I had been grasping for. It turns out my long ingrained fears have been unfounded for 7 years now. I humbly stand corrected.
With one small disclaimer: Although eBay transactions can be seen as legitimate initiations of a transaction, I am always leary of any overseas eBay transaction, since I once was nearly burned. My stuborness (shown here) paid off, and the con was still working on me when the negative responses started piling in. Though, as a whole, the cons are a small percentage of the overall transactions, that percentage is several times the amount of fraudulant transactions that you would see at the Mall of America. I feel it pays to be leary of any internet transaction.
** sailor
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I don’t want to add to the fire now it seems it may be going out but when I talked to the lady at my bank who takes care of the wire transfers she did share my concerns about giving out that information.
She told me there WAS a possible risk but wouldn’t go into the details(quite prudent if there IS a way to be scammed) this is why I pursued the Paypal option one last time(in the end successfully)
I realize that posting this without a cite doesn’t mean squat but it was enough for ME personally to be wary of give out the info just to be careful.
I do think you are quite probably right about the safety of doing this but since I am not a scammer myself and some of those guys spend a considerable amount of time and effort to ripping people off…my policy will continue to be better safe than sorry.
I would just as soon not become the “cite” to prove you wrong.
Tommyturtle, the lady at the bank may not be very well informed either. I have come across some pretty ignorant tellers in the US. In my experience and in this respect European tellers are much better trained professionals. At any rate, I think we have established clearly that the risk is minimal. You cannot say it is non existent but that is true about almost anything you do. Every time you pay by check or credit card you are giving out information. If you use cash you risk losing it or being robbed. There is nothing without risk. Going to buy groceries is risky as you could get killed. The thing is to manage the risk reasonably and the risk of giving out you account details to someone who is buying from you in ebay are minimal and very reasonable. And if you think Paypal is without risk think again. Someone could get your password and take your money from there too. Probably easier than the bank thing. If I got my hands on your computer I could probably do it and I am not that computer savvy. So let us not make it look like the bank account is any more susceptible than the paypal account or other things.
I would generally not buy outside of the US mostly because it is more of a hassle to pay but if the seller will take paypal and has good feedback I see no problem. As far as selling I don’t see a problem either as you get the money before you ship.
The amount of fraud in ebay and other auctions is staggering but I think the scams are mostly people selling and not delivering and you can reasonably protect yourself. I recently saw a laptop up for auction by someone with no feedback. Nobody was bidding and I asked the seller if he’d accept escrow. No response. The laptop wen for less than half than it would normally go so I was wondering if I missed an opportunity or escaped from a scam. Some time later the seller was terminated. Obviously I had done the right thing.
Just be reasonably prudent but ignorance breeds paranoia, not prudence. I know someone like that. It is impossible to do business with him because he is always so suspicious and thinks that if anyone would make a deal it is because there is something he is missing. Even his own lawyer is sick of him.
At any rate, the idea that a buyer from abroad can take your money if you give them the details is unfounded. If it were possible at all it would be easier for someone in the US. I am often involved with international transfers and they are difficult enough when they are legitimate. Also, as the OP found out and as has been discussed in other threads, wire transfers tend to be too expensive for small amounts.
sailor, when you go to your own bank to get money out of your own account, what do they do to verify your identity? At my bank, you can set up an online banking username and password using nothing but your bank account number. When I saw this in the brochures next to the desk, I asked the teller if I needed a PIN, or something, to access online banking. Nope. And when I make a withdrawal from the teller window, I need to sign the slip, but I’ve never once seen them compare to a signature on file. Practically speaking, that number is the only verification of my identity.
Now, I’ve never tried to make a withdrawal from anyone else’s account, of course, but if I were to, how would it be any harder than withdrawing from my own?
I realize that were this to happen, I could probably convince my bank of wrongdoing, and get re-imbursed, but at best, that’s a hassle. Why would I want that?
Chronos
I’d change banks because I access my bank online and can transfer money back and forth from one account to another BUT I have a 12 digit ID number AND a six character Pin number as well to get in to do ANY of these things.
The bank I am referring to is a tiny bank from my home town where I know all the people by name and am related to some even…if this small bank takes this amount of care…I have to belief a bigger bank would do at least the same if not more to secure your money.
If yours doesn’t move your money to another bank…fast