I used google translate to communicate with a German buyer who didn't speak any English. As someone else mentioned, translate the translation back to English to make sure it sounds OK. Sometimes the translation can turn into something that makes no sense when translated back, so it's just a matter of rewording, or changing the sentence structure slightly. I had 2 tabs open for google translate and that way I didn't lose my original English when I tried to translate it back to check it.
I had big issues with the words post office (amongst others), it would translate into something weird when used in a sentence. In the end I used postal office I think. Sometimes words we will abbreviate with an apostrophe translated into something weird too, so I'd have to write the 2 words.
In the end, we communicated and he seemed to know what I was talking about. I did say that I was using a translator and hoped I wasn't writing anything that didn't make sense.
I also learned from my experience that customs in Berlin can hold things up. I think ebay's message of 3 days is outrageous!
