eBay

richiereed · ‎05-03-2018

While some transactions worked out alright, I have now listed a 20K+ watch three times and each time it was 'bought' by a scammer. Twice the purchase was made through an 'unauthorized use' of an account (I have evidence these were highjacked), once it was made by an unregistered buyer. To make things worse, ebay released my contact information to them, so I now have to fear for my safety. They obviously did not pay, nor did I ship. Ebay suggests to list with 'buy it now' and request immediate payment, but I don't think I can take a chance to ship to someone who may claim the item is not as described and then sends back the item damaged or changed, or even sends back an empty package. Seller protection is pretty much useless, especially if the buyer does a credit card charge back. Since there appears to be no way to have a payment irreversibly in my account, I am about to give up on ebay. Am I missing something?

uzumakey · ‎05-04-2018

Can't recommend this enough. I sold a pair of sunglasses once and insisted the buyer meet me at my local police station, everything went great. "Meet me at the police station" is also an excellent way to weed out flaky and shady buyers, lol.

richiereed · ‎05-13-2018

@missjen831 wrote:
You can list it for local pickup and ask the buyer to pay with cash.
orher than collecting cash, there is no 100% safe way to sell that watch. If you take PayPal, the buyer has 180 days to scam you.

After parsing more of the UA and some threads about 'local pickup with cash payment', it seems that I can ask for cash payment, but the buyer always has the option of choosing one of the electronic payment methods that I am required to offer. I have come across at least one case where the buyer insisted to pay with PayPal at local pickup. So, if I were to refuse to sell in such a situation and the buyer would not cooperate, would there be a way to resolve this orderly without negative consequences for my account?

a_c_green · ‎05-13-2018

@richiereed wrote:
After parsing more of the UA and some threads about 'local pickup with cash payment', it seems that I can ask for cash payment, but the buyer always has the option of choosing one of the electronic payment methods that I am required to offer. I have come across at least one case where the buyer insisted to pay with PayPal at local pickup. So, if I were to refuse to sell in such a situation and the buyer would not cooperate, would there be a way to resolve this orderly without negative consequences for my account?

Doubtful. See, in the situation you are describing, the party who's not cooperating is the seller, not the buyer. The seller is required to offer an electronic payment option in addition to cash, and if the buyer wants to pay via that method, he is entitled to do so. (Having said that, can you actually make a $20K+ payment via PayPal? I don't know...)

missjen831 · ‎05-13-2018

@a_c_green wrote:
@richiereed wrote:
After parsing more of the UA and some threads about 'local pickup with cash payment', it seems that I can ask for cash payment, but the buyer always has the option of choosing one of the electronic payment methods that I am required to offer. I have come across at least one case where the buyer insisted to pay with PayPal at local pickup. So, if I were to refuse to sell in such a situation and the buyer would not cooperate, would there be a way to resolve this orderly without negative consequences for my account?
Doubtful. See, in the situation you are describing, the party who's not cooperating is the seller, not the buyer. The seller is required to offer an electronic payment option in addition to cash, and if the buyer wants to pay via that method, he is entitled to do so. (Having said that, can you actually make a $20K+ payment via PayPal? I don't know...)

Yes, for eBay purchases, you can make a PayPal $20k payment. I haven’t done it myself but I’ve seen it done. For non-eBay transactions, PayPal’s limit is $10k or $12k I can’t recall the exact amount.

One life is all we have to live
Love is all we have to give

**Formerly known as MissJen316**

richiereed · ‎05-13-2018

@a_c_green wrote:
@richiereed wrote:
After parsing more of the UA and some threads about 'local pickup with cash payment', it seems that I can ask for cash payment, but the buyer always has the option of choosing one of the electronic payment methods that I am required to offer. I have come across at least one case where the buyer insisted to pay with PayPal at local pickup. So, if I were to refuse to sell in such a situation and the buyer would not cooperate, would there be a way to resolve this orderly without negative consequences for my account?
Doubtful. See, in the situation you are describing, the party who's not cooperating is the seller, not the buyer. The seller is required to offer an electronic payment option in addition to cash, and if the buyer wants to pay via that method, he is entitled to do so. (Having said that, can you actually make a $20K+ payment via PayPal? I don't know...)

Poor choice of words, should have said 'continues to insist' instead of ' does not cooperate'. Going back to the question I started with, the conclusion seems to be there is no safe way to sell on ebay.

whatmodernwas · ‎05-13-2018

I sold $100,000+ worth of a desirable collectible over the course of the last year to a buyer in Canada. I'm in the US. I shipped it in smaller lots (Typically $4,000) by USPS Priority Mail (Uninsured) in order to keep a low profile (We were concerned about postal theft). He paid by bank wire.

Since he trusted me from the start (He was sending non-reversible bank wires), I eventually started shipping the lots to him on approval, we would negotiate, and he would pay by wire. It worked out great without any loss or duty, and under $300 in fees.