payment and shipping

[Flash_harry]

hey guys,
does anyone have any insight into other SAFE methods of payment other than paypal??? i heard some real scary stories!!
also whats a good way to ship overseas..any hints and tips would be appreciated here..

cheers heads

 

[Sweat]

Well since I have a little experience, I will chime in, as far as shipping many ways but I only ship UPS now, USPS is too flaky with thier rules and Fed Ex has caused me heartache in the past, UPS is dependable and I for one never had an issue.

As far as payment, paypal works just rips off the seller, and since I recently had an issue with them concerning a claim brought on by the buyer ( non ebmm stuff) that was false and they never even looked at the evidence I sent I closed my account so no more paypal for me, I know some to do bank wire transfers but I am to paraniod about fraud to give that info out, so you can also mail money orders or certified cashiers check as good as sending cash.

 

[Sweat]

And almost forgot, have seen your post in the for sale thread, you would be much better served by going through the posts and contacting each seller with which you have an interest in buying from, much more likely to get a response, just food for thought

 

[jacobofew]

Hi guys, I am the seller and we're both hoping to figure out how to do a payment to me. How does he go about sending an american dollar cashiers check or similar to me?

 

[Jack FFR1846]

This is a very pertinent topic. I've also read a number of stories (car part related) where the buyer literally filled up the box with a bunch of crap and sent it back to the seller. He used the delivery confirmation in his case with paypal. Paypal found for the buyer, who then got his money back.....and kept the car part. The buyer was left with nothing, paid shipping and had no car part back.

Paypal has to really figure out something better as this "scam" has occured a bunch of times. Some people on ebay can be seen in their history as doing this for almost all of their purchases. ebay/paypal has to know all about it. They seem to just throw up their hands and say "we're not responsible" and walk away from it.

I used to sell a lot of car parts (race car owners do that)......thousands, in fact. I sent every one with the thought that paypal could simply pull the money back. So I'd never sell anything huge. Everything was broken up. So I would sell you an engine block, but not a whole engine.

jack

 

[fsmith]

Not that I think there are any "bad" people here, but there have been a few instances in the past... If you hang around long enough you can sort of figure out the ones you can trust. It certainly pays to be cautious, but you can get a feel for who you're dealing with.

I've done many deals with the people on this forum and have never been the least bit worried. Nor have I ever been ripped off.

Get a number, pick up the phone. You can tell a lot from actually talking to someone. I had a guy from Canada with one post who wanted to buy a guitar from me, he was very cautious, he called and we talked a couple of times, no problems.

Be honest to a fault with your descriptions, not everybody sees "mint" the same way.

Certified bank checks work, so does a personal check once you get to know someone.

I'll probably end up laying out the cash on a local sale guitar for a forum member tonight. He lives across the pond, and I've never met him, but I won't have any problem doing it, I know he'll be good for it.

Do your homework and it'll be good.

 

[Air-Time]

If You have a mutual trust, then why not go with a bank transfer? I've done so many times and if a seller can provide f.e. good references or has some previous "business companions" who can verify the seller being legit, then go for it.
Of course when buying over-seas - from the States to Europe - there will be taxes and custom fees, but that has nothing to do with the method of paying.

As far as I'm concerned the people of this community are very trustworthy.

Ps. Good post fsmith!

 

[tonemeister]

Paypal can be tricky sometimes and the seller is always at a bit of a disadvantage as far as being scammed. I have had folks swap parts on vintage items then claim that the items were "not original" and return the items for refund. Paypal happily backed the bogus claims. I read recently here on this board (I think) that Fed-ex or UPS employees steal or swap out junk for the real item. Again, the seller is usually the one who takes it up the backside in this case.

I have been lucky in that the 3 times I got into a conflict with some one with Paypal, I won the case.

The possibility of being scammed is always there. That is where you need to pay attention to the number of transactions listed at paypal and the buyers` feedback at e-bay if possible. As some one pointed out, mutual trust is the first hurdle, then you have to work out the mechanics of payment. Good luck with the deal....and happy shipping!

 

[John C]

If you're paranoid about the bank transfer, just set up a separate account to receive the funds. You might have to make a minimum deposit to keep the account open, but it would minimize your risk as a seller.

I've done at least 5 overseas transactions (and a couple of transactions to Canada) and used PayPal for most of them. I did got the bank transfer route once and (knocks on wood) didn't have any issues. Again, I had a lot of discussions with the buyer and felt comfortable with them.

In terms of shipping, I have mostly used USPS with a tracking number, but that tracking is pretty vague. If the buyer is willing, I do prefer UPS because their tracking is more solid.

 

[dmullen]

Not that I think there are any "bad" people here, but there have been a few instances in the past... If you hang around long enough you can sort of figure out the ones you can trust. It certainly pays to be cautious, but you can get a feel for who you're dealing with.

I've done many deals with the people on this forum and have never been the least bit worried. Nor have I ever been ripped off.

Get a number, pick up the phone. You can tell a lot from actually talking to someone. I had a guy from Canada with one post who wanted to buy a guitar from me, he was very cautious, he called and we talked a couple of times, no problems.

Be honest to a fault with your descriptions, not everybody sees "mint" the same way.

Certified bank checks work, so does a personal check once you get to know someone.

I'll probably end up laying out the cash on a local sale guitar for a forum member tonight. He lives across the pond, and I've never met him, but I won't have any problem doing it, I know he'll be good for it.

Do your homework and it'll be good.

Very good advice from the BBQ King.