How to avoid getting scammed when dealing internationlly??

[Pedulla-Player]

What's the best way NOT to get scammed when dealing internationally??
I have someone from South Korea interested in buying my Stambaugh bass. They said that they would wait for me to ship the bass until his funds clear. What's the best way to recieve payment?? Paypal , E-Check , Bank Check , Ect... Any suggestions or ideas. I'd preferr to sell it CONUS , but I've only had trade offers in the US , and no cash offers , and I really need to re-coup some cash.
Thanks!
Pedulla-Player

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

What's the best way NOT to get scammed when dealing internationally??
I have someone from South Korea interested in buying my Stambaugh bass. They said that they would wait for me to ship the bass until his funds clear. What's the best way to recieve payment?? Paypal , E-Check , Bank Check , Ect... Any suggestions or ideas. I'd preferr to sell it CONUS , but I've only had trade offers in the US , and no cash offers , and I really need to re-coup some cash.
Thanks!
Pedulla-Player

If someone really wants to buy and is legit they won't worry about some minor "ID" check type stuff:

1. As for a copy of their drivers license to be emailed to you.

2. Ask for a photo of them holding a particular item to be sent to you.

3, Ask for feedback links on eBay, TB etc and check how long they have been a member and ask to speak with someone else on TB who they have bought from.

This should pretty much prove they are who they say they are (although they can be faked, most scammers won't bother with that much hassle).

International bank transfer i the quickest way to get money that is pretty much irreversible as far as I know, but it takes a few days to clear. Paypal has BUYER protection, but its usually not that great at protecting sellers. That say, Paypal is probably the most recognised "safe" option.

[allexcosta]

Give him your US account info. He makes the deposit, you send bass after funds are available. It's really that simple...

[Kipaste]

Are we talking talkbass or ebay sale here?

A straight deposit to your account could be good, but is the buyer willing to do that is another matter. For some private international transactions some banks ask insane fees and the fact that the buyer would have very little security is another thing that might scare off the buyer.

If I understand correctly, the problem with paypal is the possibility of the buyer claiming the item never arrives. So when choosing shipping methods, the one that provides the most secure drop off would be a good idea. How private companies operate in differend countries is one more question mark. For example, some of the horror stories I've read about USPS and private shipping companies not taking the signature and so on are things that I've never heard of happening in my neck of the woods.

But the good thing on the other hand is that the bass will go through customs so there will definately be one point of tracking. South-Korea isn't a huge country and there is a good chance they require person to come pick the bass up from customs office and show his ID while doing so. You could ask about this from the buyer and then ship with USPS (which btw is cheap, effective and always ends up in customs as the shipping company will not take care of the customs process.)

So if the buyer is a TB member that has been around for a while, I'd ask about the customs and shipping methods first. Then ask around from USPS and shipping companies about the drop off. Even sending an email to the SK customs could be a wise move. South-Korea is a pretty well organized country with US military installations so the shipping companies should have pretty good understanding about how things work out in that end.

If it's ebay.. well.. I dunno. I'm pretty trusting when it comes to people and so far it hasn't bit me but I know it would be a bit of a leap of faith. Then again, I'm a person who is very grateful for a TB member for taking a chance with international shipping and with a person of zero TB feedback. USPS and all the other postal offices on the way worked like a charm and I ended with an awesome bass.

[Pedulla-Player]

Thanks for the info guys! I'm still weighing my options.

[allexcosta]

Originally Posted by Kipaste

A straight deposit to your account could be good, but is the buyer willing to do that is another matter. For some private international transactions some banks ask insane fees

Bank of America charged me 12 bucks for a $1800 transaction...

[capnjim]

Send him your phone number and have him call you. Whenever I do a large-ish transaction I like to speak in person, just to get a feeling for the deal. I had a buyer right here on TB who was going to buy something, wanted to pay with a postal money order, I told him to call me and he never did...no sale!

[allexcosta]

Originally Posted by capnjim

Send him your phone number and have him call you. Whenever I do a large-ish transaction I like to speak in person, just to get a feeling for the deal. I had a buyer right here on TB who was going to buy something, wanted to pay with a postal money order, I told him to call me and he never did...no sale!

Anyone can call you from a pay phone from anywhere on Earth...

An account deposit is your money, you make a withdrawal and put it under your mattress. No one will take it from you.

[Kipaste]

Originally Posted by allexcosta

Bank of America charged me 12 bucks for a $1800 transaction...

Yup. It seems to be pretty random and seems to depend on the invidual banks themselves. I've made payments to UK on two occasions. Once it cost me about three dollars in US currency. The other time it was almost 60. And this is within EU too. And to Poland it was completely free. There is a fair chance the buyer can make a cheap transaction, but it's definately something worth checking out before making the transaction. In worst case scenario, the seller who goes the extra mile to ship internatiolly may end up with less cash if they charge the fee from the transaction itself.

[MJ5150]

Hold out for a CONUS deal.

-Mike