Questions on shipping, selling, scamming...

Joe Nerve · #1 01-02-2009, 12:38 PM

I'm selling my GK Neo 1001/212 combo here, and on craigslist. I'm in NY and I have someone in LA who's interested - through craigslist. I'm pretty keen on the scam stuff (get it all the time), but this guy seems legit for many reasons I won't take up space here with.

I asked for a postal money order, he wants to know if I'll do paypal. My questions if you could answer any or all.

What is the safest way to go as far as me being sure I get my money.
How much will paypal take on an $800 transaction?
Is it true that paypal will not release my funds until he claims he recieved whatever I sold him? I recently got into some crap with someone on ebay regarding this and something I purchased.
Is there any good reason this guy might NOT want to send a postal money order, and is there any way I can calm his fears if any.
Do I have any other safe options.
Is it legitimate, fair and common to NOT send the amp until I actually have the CASH in my hand?

In short: How should I do this?

Phil Smith · #2 01-02-2009, 12:53 PM

Craigslist is for face to face deals, personally I wouldn't entertain an offer from someone that I'm not going to meet in person from a Craigslist ad.

To me the in person deal is less complicated and if you get all of your money as opposed to doing paypal and they rate the deduct you can get when you login to your paypal account.

Joe Nerve · #3 01-02-2009, 01:16 PM

I agree. I never shipped, nor trusted, nor wanted to ship anything with craigslist. That's why I want to take every precaution possible should I decide to follow through.

I don't know anything about postal money orders, never sent nor recieved one, but my understanding is if I recieve one I can cash it immediatly - and then there's nothing I could possibly be concerned about.

Rocker949 · #4 01-02-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Nerve

I agree. I never shipped, nor trusted, nor wanted to ship anything with craigslist. That's why I want to take every precaution possible should I decide to follow through.

I don't know anything about postal money orders, never sent nor recieved one, but my understanding is if I recieve one I can cash it immediatly - and then there's nothing I could possibly be concerned about.

I think I may have read somewhere that even banks can be duped by sophisticated fake money orders. I don't know how that would work exactly, but I wouldn't say there is nothing you could possibly be concerned about after cashing one, if it ended up turning out to be fake. I've actually wondered about this myself.

EagleMoon · #5 01-02-2009, 03:58 PM

Western Union is a safe way to go. That way you get the money in hand, and if something happens on the buyers end, you're not responsible.

Joe Nerve · #6 01-02-2009, 11:33 PM

This guy wants to go paypal because he says they'll take the money from a charge card and he doesn't have the cash on hand.

If the money clears in paypal, and I put it into my account - is there any possiblilty of him still screwing me in any way?

tplyons · #7 01-02-2009, 11:38 PM

Tell him no cash, no amp.

Paypal is going to cost you $23.50, plus the option of them freezing your account.

EagleMoon · #8 01-02-2009, 11:39 PM

I would probably go with my gut feeling about it. If you feel okay about the communications you've had so far with this guy, I'd go ahead and do it. I've shipped a few things from Craigslist ads. Not had a problem so far.

bongomania · #9 01-02-2009, 11:59 PM

Once you've checked for the normal red flags, it really is all about gut feel. The guy can screw you with any method of payment, and Paypal can screw you in multiple ways. But OTOH sometimes it works out for the best, if both parties are honest and both parties understand the system. Normally I avoid buying or selling anything via CL unless it's a face to face deal, but then again I've had a couple of times I broke that "rule" because of a positive gut feeling and good Ebay/forum feedbacks for the other guy, and both of those times the deal worked out great.

To answer your specific questions:
1. What is the safest way to go as far as me being sure I get my money.
Paypal or Postal MO. Again, both systems can be defrauded, neither is "safe"; but they're the best we got.
2. How much will paypal take on an $800 transaction?
About 3%.
3. Is it true that paypal will not release my funds until he claims he recieved whatever I sold him? I recently got into some crap with someone on ebay regarding this and something I purchased.
That is true for any transaction Paypal considers "risky", which typically means if the seller has a small number of feedbacks or short Paypal history, and/or has not done many transactions in the last year.
4. Is there any good reason this guy might NOT want to send a postal money order, and is there any way I can calm his fears if any.
No good reason unless there is no P.O. he can get to. There was a time I seriously couldn't get to a P.O. that was only a few blocks from my house because I was working 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. Legit, but uncommon.
5. Do I have any other safe options.
Yeah, there are other options, but they are all equally risky. Western Union is very safe for the seller (recipient of the money), but it's so very risky for the sender (since they can never get a refund, ever, even if you screw them) that most buyers don't want to pay that way.
6. Is it legitimate, fair and common to NOT send the amp until I actually have the CASH in my hand?
Yes, totally legit and common. OTOH that's another rule I break if I decide to trust the other guy (e.g. a well-known TB'er, or someone with really good feedback, etc.).

Jonny B · #10 01-03-2009, 12:04 AM

With a USPS money order, you go straight to the post office to cash it, if it is a fake (unlikely) they will know immediately and there is no way it can come back to bite you in the ***.
Accepting Paypal, especially if he is using a credit card, is a great way to take it up the ***.
I would not recommend using paypal for this transaction.

Stumbo · #11 01-03-2009, 01:36 AM

With Paypal and a credit card, he can get your stuff and then report it to Paypal that he never received it, file a claim, etc.

If you use Paypal, get the shipping company to obtain an adult delivery signature.

Another option is to use UPS COD delivery where the he pays UPS cash upon delivery and they send it to you.