Thank you, ebay

With reference to the letter by Michael Bartolo (Three Bad Experiences, March 23), I must say I feel sorry for the gentleman. Has Mr Bartolo heard about the "Paypal system"? It is available to all buyers in Malta but unfortunately not available to the sellers yet. We contacted our MEP in Brussels, Simon Busuttil, about the matter and he promised to bring up this matter with the authorities concerned.

Ebay is a responsible enterprise and protects both the buyer and seller. Before one commits himself to purchasing anything, ebay provides the past history of each buyer or dealer. How safe can you get? The seller is obliged to show his preferred method of payment.

I opened an ebay shop last year and this helped me to promote my goods and promote Malta-made products. I made hundreds of transactions with only one parcel lost through the Royal Mail. We replaced the packet immediately, traced the packet, confirmed lost by Royal Mail, who asked Maltapost to refund us the costs. Everybody's happy. Of course, we register every item we ship.

Ebay has given me the great opportunity to promote my goods through the gates of Europe, US and the rest of the world. I promote our heritage and history through books written by Maltese artistes, Malta lace, Malta glass and more. Little did I know that our goods are so sought after.

Ebay thought me to act professionally and that customer service is a must for a successful business - something which unfortunately is still lacking in Malta.

Thank you, ebay. Thank you, Maltapost!