bigfish786, I've bought 2 turntables off ebay. Both were in better condition than described when they arrived at my house.
I've been absolutely delighted with both. They both sound significantly better than my LP12 that I bought new off a dealers. They have both gone up in value a lot since I bought them. They have both given me many hours of listening pleasure. Neither have needed any repairs nor servicing that I didn't fully expect before buying them.
From ebay I've also bought 3 cd players, 2 active crossovers, 1 pre amp, 5 power amps, 5 pairs of speakers, 1 turntable table, 1 cartridge. They have all arrived at my house as described, or better than described. None of them have required sevicing or repairs that I didn't expect before buying them - apart from 1 active crossover that was less than 10 years old when I bought it. I replaced it with a 40 year old active crossover (for about £150) that has been fine, and sounds a bit more transparent. Plus 1 of the (valve) power amps needed a couple of repairs (costing a total of £160) after a lot of use - which I semi expected as it was a prototype amp (that power amp was less than 10 years old when I bought it too).
I've also been buying valves off US ebay too, with the idea of building up a lifetimes supply. These valves have ranged from about 50 to 80 years old.
I was pretty much a novice too when I started buying 2nd hand off ebay. We all have to start somewhere. Since then I've found that the more I find out about hi-fi, the more I realise how little I've explored so far...