Well I can attest to the fact that 10's of thousands of dollars change hands on the sites PCF and Chipper and aside from a couple things in the past (Which led me to the verified user mark) we trust each other.

As you say there is an advantage to having a smaller site, I personally speak to verified members and they submit all information live with me, not an AI agent or some algorythem, that said if theres a verified user mark I know right where to find someone in the event that there is any impropriety. And guess what, its free. If you want the piece of mind that costs you 15% fees thats great! Everyone buys how they want to. As a seller there is no risk as I'm sure no one will ship without payment. As a buyer you still take your chances on eBay as they usually side with the seller these days as thats where they make their money.

If you don't check the smaller sites you may be missing out on things that don't go to eBay! At any rate thanks for the comment and happy 15% eBay'ing!.