Long distance buyers & sellers; what is safe for both parties?

[tberendt]

I ask this question as a seller. I am new to this community, and the drone I am selling is relatively expensive. [$4000-$5000]

Today a potential sale was lost because we couldn’t figure out a way that ensures both parties a secure transaction. Coincidentally PayPal wasn’t an option for either of us, as we both have had issues with PayPal in the past.

Surely I’m not the only one who’s faced this problem and I’m hoping someone here might have a good solution. Do you have any advice here or should I only sell locally?

 

[mavic3usa]

You can create a listing on eBay and sell it there without having to use Paypal.

Or, sell it on a place like GearFocus.

 

[tberendt]

eBay has been a nightmare. New seller there as well, almost got scammed by emails that looked absolutely legitimate from eBay and almost had me believe payment was made. I contacted eBay for good measure before sending to learn they were fake. I sent them everything I received to help the fraud dept stay informed. In turn, my account got restricted for 72 hours while they verify requested info. It’s been 144 hours with no explanation or update.

 

[msinger]

It sounds like neither of you trust any type of commonly used online payment service. If you trust each other, ask the buyer to send you a check in the mail and you can send the goods once the check has been deposited. Or make a trip and meet half way.

 

[Starz]

eBay and sell it there

Is there not a fee for the use of the all powerful eBay system?

 

[msinger]

There is indeed a fee. But, that comes with some added benefits -- like handling possible disputes.

 

[Starz]

Last I heard, fee was approximately 13%? At that rate, benefit cost for the OP would be in the 585.00 range. Tends to make someone look for different alternatives which may be somewhat limited. Tough choice on these dollar amounts.

 

[msinger]

It depends on the item category. More details here:

Selling fees

We charge two main types of selling fees: an insertion fee when you create a listing, and a final value fee when your item sells.

www.ebay.com

 

[mavic3usa]

eBay has been a nightmare. New seller there as well, almost got scammed by emails that looked absolutely legitimate from eBay and almost had me believe payment was made. I contacted eBay for good measure before sending to learn they were fake. I sent them everything I received to help the fraud dept stay informed. In turn, my account got restricted for 72 hours while they verify requested info. It’s been 144 hours with no explanation or update.

Absolutely eBay is not for everyone and for sure, I can understand if you didn't want to post your goods for sale for everyone in the world to see and bid on. But you asked about a transaction negotiated elsewhere and finally looking for a safe space to execute. You know the buyer. Go to ebay and post your goods, I think you can create a private sale and then let the seller know where to find it. If anyone else bids, cancel their. But if you timely arrange it properly with your seller, only you and he will be dealing on that item and you both will benefit from the platform. So many things you can do by listing the item with a super high buy-it-now price and then accept offers and only accept the one offer coming from your target, reject all the others.

These are the benefits to having a solid ebay account ready for you to use it however and whenever you get ready, on your terms. Yes it will cost more but you can safely close a deal with less risk and often you can build in the fees into your selling price.

 

[Dale D]

I ask this question as a seller. I am new to this community, and the drone I am selling is relatively expensive. [$4000-$5000]

Today a potential sale was lost because we couldn’t figure out a way that ensures both parties a secure transaction. Coincidentally PayPal wasn’t an option for either of us, as we both have had issues with PayPal in the past.

Surely I’m not the only one who’s faced this problem and I’m hoping someone here might have a good solution. Do you have any advice here or should I only sell locally?

I've read through all of the posts up to this point. Frankly, we don't have much choice, except for e-bay for a protected sale. I will not ship until e-bay tells me the money is in my secured account. They will not will not release my money until the buyer is satisfied. I still find that e-bay protects me and my sales in all instances since I have been a user for many, many years. I, myself, have had to refund buyers because they were not happy or could not understand software or apps required to use the items they are buying! I have sold many items over the years and so far, no actual scams except I have had several low ball offers. Yes, the fee is high but it is worth being able to sell an expensive item that I obviously will never use again. Something is better than nothing in some cases but usually I get my reasonable price.


Dale
Miami

 

[mavic3usa]

On eBay I routinely cancel bids that I don't care for. If your feedback is too low for example. Or, if you just setup your account recently. I already put the disclaimer in the description and often the eBay setup will allow you to pre-screen but if one gets thru that I don't like, I'll cancel it. If I have a buy it now and someone wins and I check their address and I don't like what I see, I cancel the sale. For example, I'm selling a drone and I say no international sales and the winner bidder has a shipping address to a forwarding warehouse in Miami meaning it's going to S. America....nope! Anyone who contacts me outside the eBay email process or uses the internal process to discuss "extra" shipping arrangements, no time for that; it's a scam, have had several of those.

 

[jephoto]

Is there not a fee for the use of the all powerful eBay system?

Yes. Hefty one

 

[jephoto]

I've read through all of the posts up to this point. Frankly, we don't have much choice, except for e-bay for a protected sale. I will not ship until e-bay tells me the money is in my secured account. They will not will not release my money until the buyer is satisfied. I still find that e-bay protects me and my sales in all instances since I have been a user for many, many years. I, myself, have had to refund buyers because they were not happy or could not understand software or apps required to use the items they are buying! I have sold many items over the years and so far, no actual scams except I have had several low ball offers. Yes, the fee is high but it is worth being able to sell an expensive item that I obviously will never use again. Something is better than nothing in some cases but usually I get my reasonable price.


Dale
Miami

Hi Dale,

What protects you from a buyer receiving the goods in excellent or good working condition and claiming it was broken or defective when its not?

 

[mavic3usa]

Hi Dale,

What protects you from a buyer receiving the goods in excellent or good working condition and claiming it was broken or defective when its not?

Nothing implicitly but if that's the case, you should ask the buyer to initiate the returns process.

If you sold the item as new then the buyer should have a case with the manufacturer (not you) if the product is defective. If the product is new and arrives broken, the buyer should make a claim with the common carrier.

Otherwise, IIRC, the buyer needs to send the item back thru the returns process and his refund will be processed when shipment arrives. However, after checking the return, if the seller discovers a problem, you have recourse with eBay. The seller might find he has a big rock in the package. Or the seller might find that the buyer broke the product while setting up and then claims it arrived already defective. Often times, the buyer is trying to negotiate for a lower price after the transaction has already been completed.

When the seller ships a new product (never been sold/used, still in wrap, etc) and gets back a return which is open that is now used, he loses value. As long as you have a good eBay record and you are smarter than the buyer because you took pictures, etc then you have solid ground to stand on with eBay; you would be surprised how often they rule in your favor.

 

[tberendt]

I just wanted to update everyone, I may have found a decent solution. Visit www.escrow.com let me know what you think of this.

 

[mavic3usa]

I just wanted to update everyone, I may have found a decent solution. Visit www.escrow.com let me know what you think of this.

Most ordinary people won't want to deal with them for regular everyday items: