Gary,
If I may be so bold to reply, I have had several transactions from my home town in So. Calif. to various parts in the world through Ebay and I have a few recommendations.
Number one: PayPal is a must when dealing overseas and paying through Ebay, no travelers checks, money orders or anything else.
Number Two: When shipping overseas, Priority Mail Int'l is fastest and if you insure and item (another must in my book, even if local) you have to us Priority Mail Int'l or better
Number three: Let auctions go their extent or have a BIN. Let all transactions continue through the Ebay process.
Number four: All correspondence needs to be through Ebay, not any other email. Always send a copy of any email through Ebay to a seperate folder until the auction is cleared.
Even when Items clear in your account for PayPal, the seller can still file a claim up until I think 30 days. Kevins is right, move the amount out of that account to another.
I highly recommend using a seperate credit card account strictly for Ebay, with as low a limit as you can get. Don't use it for anything than collecting or paying for Ebay. Set limits on your card too.
Lastly, if something don't feel right, you can always call eBay and talk to a live person regarding a buyer and get correct results fast.
BBK
I got spoofed once, and it's pretty hard to fool me, but I closed the account of the card that it was associated with ASAP.