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Does this situation sound safe?

fourstringdrums

fourstringdrums

Decidedly Indecisive
Supporting Member
Oct 20, 2002
9,721
12,479
45
Massachusetts
#1
I apologize to the TB'er I'm involved with if he sees this, but I feel the need to ask the question because it's a situation I've never encountered.

I have a bass for sale and a TBer is interested in it, except, he's out of the country. He said he is willing to fly out here to the states and get the bass from me. This seems like a lot of effort to go through but I flat out told him it's his money to get here and his time and I didn't think it was worth it, but he seems determined.

He hasn't demanded anything odd and has only asked if I could budge on the price at all since he's flying out here and I just said that I'd knock off shipping, which he was ok with. We'd arrange to meet at a public place and I told him I need U.S. cash only.

Does this sound like I've covered all my bases to protect myself if we went through with this or should I still be wary? Again it seems a little strange to me, but if it's on the up and up and he really wants what I have, and in the end I get what I'm asking, I can't complain.
 
#2
Anything odd like this, I would pass. I'd rather sell it on Craigslist for half than go through anything other than a straight deal. If he does show up, he's going to pressure you to sell for less. Chances are, he's really not from overseas. Where does he say he's from?
 
#3
MultiScaleMale said:
Anything odd like this, I would pass. I'd rather sell it on Craigslist for half than go through anything other than a straight deal. If he does show up, he's going to pressure you to sell for less. Chances are, he's really not from overseas. Where does he say he's from?
Click to expand...

France.

We're actually talking about me shipping it to a friend here and he'd still pick it up. I don't see any real harm in that if he sends the money via PayPal and I get in contact with the person I'm shipping it to.
 
#4
NO! Don't ship to someone else. You're only covered as a seller on PayPal if you ship to a verified PayPal address. He'll say he never got the bass and you'll show the receipt showing that you shipped to someone else at which point PayPal will close the dispute and refund his money. You'll never see the bass again.
 
#5
The other variation on this is that the friend just happens to be traveling near you, so he can pick up the bass after the PayPal payment clears. "Clears" - it never really clears until the 45 day dispute period is up. Then you won't even have shipping information to show.
 
#8
MultiScaleMale said:
The other variation on this is that the friend just happens to be traveling near you, so he can pick up the bass after the PayPal payment clears. "Clears" - it never really clears until the 45 day dispute period is up. Then you won't even have shipping information to show.
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Yeah I'm aware of that one and I'd never do it.

As for the verified paypal address, I thought of that too but I don't believe there is a way to make sure that an address is verified before hand is there?

I was going to request that I speak to the person I'm shipping to, but I suppose even then it's still a risk.

But like I said, it's a member here so I WANT to give an element of trust, but the situation just makes me uncomfortable.
 
#12
fourstringdrums said:
Yeah I'm aware of that one and I'd never do it.

As for the verified paypal address, I thought of that too but I don't believe there is a way to make sure that an address is verified before hand is there?

I was going to request that I speak to the person I'm shipping to, but I suppose even then it's still a risk.

But like I said, it's a member here so I WANT to give an element of trust, but the situation just makes me uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

Member or not there are things that you should just not do! I sold an instrument to a guy who drove in from out of state and he pressured me hard to drop the price. I should have told him to go pound sand but I did lower by $75. He paid cash and I was fairly certain he actually did drive in from out of state, however after that deal went down I really felt like a pushover and swear I won't let it happen again. That was a deal from a different forum and not a bass but similar in that he supposedly went to a lot of effort to arrive at my door.

Cybersnyder sounds like he knows the rules of engagement pretty well, I'd follow his advice if it were my deal.
 
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#13
I'd ship internationally if the member was pretty well established here (reasonably long time member with a fair amount of activity), had good feedback and was willing to cover the cost of international shipping. After those caveats I can't imagine it being any worse than shipping to the next state short of the satisfaction (and danger) of driving over to their house in case of a problem. That said if you just don't want to deal with it tell him so. If he wants a friend in the middle that's fine, still pay up front. I imagine middlemen in the US for foreign buyers can't be unusual with so many not willing to ship overseas.
 
#15
I agree w/ everyone else here.

However

I am French and live in the US and let me tell you sthing: prices for US made instrument (used or new) is OUTRAGEOUS in France. Every time i come back to visit my family I think about flipping instruments!!!

With that in mind, charter flight from France to the US can get pretty cheap so it would not surprise me that your contact want to shop for instruments while vacationing.

In the end do what you feel is more comfortable.
 
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#16
So what happened with this? Did the deal fall through?

Frankly, I thought the original deal sounded fine. Face-to-face meeting, get paid cash... no different from any CL sale, except for the odd fact that the guy was willing to fly over from France rather than drive 20 miles to get the thing. If he wants it that badly, that's his concern. What's the big deal?
 
#17
hrodbert696 said:
So what happened with this? Did the deal fall through?

Frankly, I thought the original deal sounded fine. Face-to-face meeting, get paid cash... no different from any CL sale, except for the odd fact that the guy was willing to fly over from France rather than drive 20 miles to get the thing. If he wants it that badly, that's his concern. What's the big deal?
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Oh yeah, I told him no. I wound up shipping it to someone else.
 
#18
hrodbert696 said:
So what happened with this? Did the deal fall through?

Frankly, I thought the original deal sounded fine. Face-to-face meeting, get paid cash... no different from any CL sale, except for the odd fact that the guy was willing to fly over from France rather than drive 20 miles to get the thing. If he wants it that badly, that's his concern. What's the big deal?
Click to expand...

This is what I'm thinking, cash deal, I don't care if they guy is coming in from the space station.
 
#19
When I'm doing an in-person deal either as buyer or seller, I talk with the other party by phone ahead of the meet to clarify that we have arrived at the final price (or that we plan to negotiate further in person). Even then, I look over the cash to make sure it's legit! :ninja: Wow, what a world.
 

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