Scared to ship an Apple MacBook Pro order after reading through this forum

[socialthread]

Hi, After reading through a few posts on this forum, I'm nervous to complete an order for a used MacBook Pro that I've sold for $999. 

The buyer has paid through Paypal and the Paypal address is for a different name and address. I was able to research the buyer online and found that they run a Jewish church via their Linkedin profile. I located a personal email address on their website and sent him an email. Through this email, he has confirmed the order for this colleague and the address. They ship to address is, coincidentally, within my home town in Georgia and I have family that live nearby. They are shipping to this colleague that is also a religious author with books for sale on Amazon. I was able to confirm that the ship to name for this colleague and his address are also associated in other places online, but it is still concerning that they are sending such an expensive item to a colleague. 

If I use USPS to ship the item, with insurance, and signature upon delivery - and, within my listing, it states that we do not accept returns, what is the risk of this going bad? Are they able to somehow fraudlently ship back a broken MacBook Pro or claim that they didn't receive the correct item, even with all of these precautions? What is the worst case scenario and how can I prevent an issue happening here? I want to believe that it is still possible to use ebay to resell my old Apple products safely, fingers crossed...thanks for any advice to more experienced sellers that have been through this experience.  

[repairelectronics · Accepted solution]

Your chances of this going bad are upwards of 100%, a signature is required on orders of $750 though insurance is not. If the buyer claims the computer does not work then you will be forced to refund regardless if they send you back a rock or empty package.

Just know that insurance is only for the seller, not the buyer, they have eBay & PayPal on their side for up to 180 days from purchase. Insurance may only help you in an actual loss by the shipping carrier or a destroyed package that can be proved that the shipping carrier did the damage.

It is also instrumental that the buyer cooperates with the insurance claim by keeping all shipping material for inspection by the shipping carrier, they may also be required to sign an affidavit. Most buyers who scam will refuse and you will have no recourse.

You are between a rock and a hard place by selling a high scam item with such low feedback, check you buyers feedback, especially the ones they left for their previous sellers.

[socialthread]

Hi, thank you so much for the advice and response. I canceled the sale and will no longer list any valuable items on ebay. I really appreciate the help! 

[repairelectronics]

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@socialthreadwrote:

Hi, thank you so much for the advice and response. I canceled the sale and will no longer list any valuable items on ebay. I really appreciate the help! 

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Did you check your buyer out, they may have been legit. Also canceling a paid or auction with bids may not always get your FVF fees back (about $100 in your case), though I believe they allow it once per year but not certain as the rules are always changing. What reason did you use for canceling?

[socialthread]

Hi, I used the “shipper’s address” as the reason. He was a pastor for a Jewish organization shipping to a “colleague”. I feel like canceling was the only way to survive after reading all of the tips, I should have never listed them computer! Losing $100 is way better than $1000!!!