I feel for you. Ebay and Paypal are a total scam. When I was ripped off by someone on this site (no longer active so don't ask) Paypal admitted I was due a refund but said they couldn't do anything because he had no money in his account.
But I asked, "Isn't this why you charge 3% on every transaction? I paid for a service and you should make it good"
The only reply was, sorry we are unable to retrieve funds. I then asked if the debt follows the person, no dice. So the moral of the story is as you stated. Keep minimal funds in your account. Just open another if needed.