Buying Items on Ebay?

[CorwinBrute]

Would it make you feel better if I said that those people were fools IN MY EYES?

Indeed.

I think each one of us has its own standards for thinking of someone as a fool, just like each one of us has its own priorities for spending money.

Regarding the travel agency and the walk through the city analogies, your objections based on "goal" and "process" are very interesting and valid. I guess that everyone assesses "goal" and "process" on several key factors, including time available, wether or not the task to perform is enjoyable...

The characters being bough and sold aren't level 20s with nominal gear. They are level 80+.

Ah, but fully decked high level characters are not the only things sold on Ebay... I think you could split items sold on Ebay in several categories :
1) high end "potentially legit" items (Windforces, Arkaines's Valors, War Travelers, Stormspires, runes...)
2) currency (mostly Stones of Jordan, although some buyers could consider high level runes as currency too)
3) Bugged items and obvious dupes (Iths, bugged Arkaine's Valor, White items, duped Classic jewelry...)
4) Fully equipped characters (generally one account full of level 80+ characters, decked with the finest gear in the game)
5) Other (duping methods, "Magic Find for dummies" guides, clean accounts (one level 80 character from each class with skills and stats unspent and no equipment), etc.)

I can think of someone as a fool for buying something in a specific category, but someone buying some "currency" or a specific item he wants to finish a character and has been looking for for 3+ months won't bother me at all. That's just my personal line.