Ron,
Yes, most of us walk away laughing, but for those gullible enough to believe it might be real, they're already provided personal info. to a criminal.
I would think e-bay would close that loophole for
PR purposes, if for no other reason. If I were a running a respectable business, and I became aware of a practice being used for fraudulent purposes, I'd shut it down in a nano-second.
It may be fine for B-J and businesses that truly have examined the merchandise being offered for sale, but it's not a good business practice on a site like e-bay. At least on the regular e-bay auction format, you have the choice as to whether you establish the dialog or not with the "seller", as opposed to the requirement, if you want to play.