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How to avoid getting ripped off on the internet

#81
So check this out. I have a guy that just bought a bass I was selling off ebay. He emailed me today and said that he will be coming through my area tomorrow and can he just pick the bass up (because he wont be home when its delivered). I thought of making up some contracts for both of us to sign, but should I still say no and ship it? He is sending the money through paypal. Can I do this and keep accountability of the property?
 
#82
Dr_Funkdamental said:
So check this out. I have a guy that just bought a bass I was selling off ebay. He emailed me today and said that he will be coming through my area tomorrow and can he just pick the bass up (because he wont be home when its delivered). I thought of making up some contracts for both of us to sign, but should I still say no and ship it? He is sending the money through paypal. Can I do this and keep accountability of the property?
Click to expand...

Sure, tell him to cancel the paypal payment and pay in cash! That way you'll both be sure you're getting what you want.
 
#83
Dr_Funkdamental said:
So check this out. I have a guy that just bought a bass I was selling off ebay. He emailed me today and said that he will be coming through my area tomorrow and can he just pick the bass up (because he wont be home when its delivered). I thought of making up some contracts for both of us to sign, but should I still say no and ship it? He is sending the money through paypal. Can I do this and keep accountability of the property?
Click to expand...

I know this reply is too late for your situation. However - for others interested or in this situation, the answer is as follows....

If you meet wit hthe buyer and hand over the bass, you have not shipped to the 'Confirmed' address provided by PayPal. Also - you have not used a shipping company that has provided an online traceabble tracking number for this item. Two big No-No's. The buyer will have the perfect opportunity to screw you over for the money. As the other poster stated, you would have to reverse the PayPal / eBay payment and do one of the following:

- Cash On Delivery. Best Option.

- PayPal transfer for non-auction goods or better yet payment for service (handling of said bass guitar for full purchase amount). This way, the buyer cannot come back and claim he never received the item due to a lack of proof of delivery.

I hope your situation worked out OK for you.
 
#84
Okay, here's my dilemma...

On 09/24/07, I Paypal'd funds to a TB member for a speaker cab. The name jived with the address on-line. Since that time, I've received no product, no return e-mails, no return PMs. I quickly escalated this to a full-blown Paypal claim dispute. They also received no response from the seller and the claim was decided in my favor. My refund? $0.26! For the record, the TBer had a favorable feedback rating of 2...but its not favorable anymore!

How would you proceed given the situation?

BTW, this deal-gone-bad is centered in Toms River, NJ. PM me and I'll give you the full scoop (names, dates, etc.).

Riis
 
#86
bassplayer4893 said:
jeez hope i dont get ripped off lol
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Roger that. I hope you never get ripped off either. Here's the follow-up on my Toms River misadventure:

The seller finally contacted me after realizing his family had not shipped the product. The guys's in school and uses a myriad of e-mail addresses / accounts. Bad idea! He failed to regularly check his TalkBass and PayPal messages which he listed as first contact choices. In the interim, I flamed him on TB and got his PayPal account frozen. As soon as he realized what had happended, the seller immediately shipped the product which was received by me within 3 days. Lesson learned for the both of us!

Riis
 
#87
This thread has been very enlightening.

Someone had mentioned to ask for International Money Orders when sell something overseas. Please be aware that they can be FORGED. You will take them to the bank and they will tell you they are real, and even give it to you in writing, but when they bounce 2 weeks later the bank WILL NOT support you! This happened to a friend of mine, and he was holding the bag for $3000 of bogus Money Orders.

The scammers can even pay for Money Orders with another form of bogus paper, so it takes even longer.

Just gotta be careful. Even if someone wants an item shipped the cheapest way, if the item is expensive, I will pay the extra for the shipping with a tracking# and insurance - it is a cost of doing business.
 
#89
What's the best way to receive payment if you don't want to use PayPal? I am getting ready to sell a high-dollar bass here on TB, and I don't want to use PayPal due to the high fee I'd have to incur for receiving the funds. I know money orders and all types of checks can be fakes, so what's the best route?




Gio S said:
This thread has been very enlightening.

Someone had mentioned to ask for International Money Orders when sell something overseas. Please be aware that they can be FORGED. You will take them to the bank and they will tell you they are real, and even give it to you in writing, but when they bounce 2 weeks later the bank WILL NOT support you! This happened to a friend of mine, and he was holding the bag for $3000 of bogus Money Orders.

The scammers can even pay for Money Orders with another form of bogus paper, so it takes even longer.

Just gotta be careful. Even if someone wants an item shipped the cheapest way, if the item is expensive, I will pay the extra for the shipping with a tracking# and insurance - it is a cost of doing business.
Click to expand...
 
#90
friskinator said:
What's the best way to receive payment if you don't want to use PayPal? I am getting ready to sell a high-dollar bass here on TB, and I don't want to use PayPal due to the high fee I'd have to incur for receiving the funds. I know money orders and all types of checks can be fakes, so what's the best route?
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm too trusting but...

If the buyer is active on the forums and has positive feedback (like me and numerous others!), I wouldn't hesitate to accept a personal check, cashier's check, MO, whatever to avoid PayPal fees. I am wary, though, of TBers who join solely for the purpose of utilizing and/or exploiting the fee-free Classified forums. You can make this determination by doing a TBer profile search. Just my $.02!

Riis
 
#91
friskinator said:
What's the best way to receive payment if you don't want to use PayPal? I am getting ready to sell a high-dollar bass here on TB, and I don't want to use PayPal due to the high fee I'd have to incur for receiving the funds. I know money orders and all types of checks can be fakes, so what's the best route?
Click to expand...

US Postal Money Order. That way if it's counterfeit, you can drag the US Postal Service into the fight. They really frown when people counterfeit their money orders.
 
#92
When using paypal I have it withdrawn off my Amex card rather that my bank account. I've never had a problem but if it comes off a card you can dispute it with your CC company as well as paypal. Your CC company with tend to help you out more because you use them all the time where you only use paypal ever so often.
 
#95
Zooberwerx said:
Yes, I'd be wary of any seller with a feedback rating of -1. Doesn't appear that he left you any feedback. Sorry to hear about your deal-gone-bad.

Riis
Click to expand...

The -1 was the feedback I left. He had 0... Here is my feedback:

Deal thread was deleted, so I cannot link to it.

From private messages:
me: Ok, just to confirm, everything is mint mint mint, right> No scratches, dings, etc... ?

Blackbird46:yeah man i babied this thing. everything is mint.

After I paid for the bass he called me to say there was a ding with paint removal near the input jack, that he was sorry for not telling me before and that he would return me 100$. I asked if he could send me a picture, he was unable so I took the chance anyway. Zach in fact did refund me 100$.

When the bass arrived, it was awfully packed. No popcorn, bubble wrap, nothing, just the case wrapped in some cardboard. Worst than this, the bass was inside the case with no extra padding, and the "vintage" case leaves a lot of room for the bass to move around inside.

When I oppened the case, not only the bass have the ding he told me about, but has several scratches all around, in the back of the body and in the front. The neck is fine, but the body is not what I can consider "mint condition" as described by the seller.

The seller also stated in a PM:
Blackbird46:It ships in the hardshell case with all the case candy.

Inside the case I didn't find the certificate Fender sends with the custom shop instruments. To make things worst, sent a message to the seller about it and didn't get a response. Posted on the classified thread that he had a new PM and the original thread got deleted.

I sent the following PM on 01-18-2008, 03:44 PM:
"received the bass today, as it was terribly packed, the case has some minor damage to it. Also, where is the Fender certificate of authenticity that always come with the custom shop basses? It is not inside the case."

Also wrote in the deal thread (that got deleted) that he had a new PM. I never got a response, even though he has been active on talkbass (he post here after I sent the PM): http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398115
 
#97
Hey, I've got my bass up for sale here for $750. A guy from Paris, France said he's give me $800 for it. His feedback is 0, he's not posted anything here on TB and he's PM'd me before about buying it but I told him I was just interested in trades.

Should I be worried? Is this ligit?
 
#98
capnsandwich said:
Hey, I've got my bass up for sale here for $750. A guy from Paris, France said he's give me $800 for it. His feedback is 0, he's not posted anything here on TB and he's PM'd me before about buying it but I told him I was just interested in trades.

Should I be worried? Is this ligit?
Click to expand...


I would think if you make sure the payment is through Paypal and you should be fine. There's no way to counterfeit a paypal payment(that I know of).

That said, go with your gut. If you don't trust it, wait it out. Someone else will eventually buy it.
 
#99
I've been reading a lot of the stuff on the scams here. There are people (including me, to a point) devoted to giving scammers a hard time.

Check: Invalid Link Removed and the forums, as knowing the sort of stuff is an indispensable asset in online purchases.

Oh yeah, if they ask for a western union or money gram transfer, get out.
 
#100
^^^ man some of that stuff is soooooo funny! i haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. on a more serious note though, how do you guys go about dealing with non paying winners on ebay. should i just report him or what? i mean i am definitely not a jerk but i want to unleash the punishment to the fullest extent if possible so no one else has to go through the same crap. any advice is greatly appreciated.
 

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