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Why do we pay before we get?

J

jnevi9nr

Aug 17, 2009
1,038
3
Washington, DC
#1
when we want something from someone on talkbass, they want us to send them the money, and then they will ship. shouldnt it be the other way around? how about if they never ship the item? if you trust them enough to send the money, they should trust you enough to send the item the same day, agree? just like at the store, but actually its reserve. i put the item in my hand, THEN i pay. i dont pay at the counter, and then go get the item. the item should always be sent first, then the money. money can be used for anything, items cant. its more likely that people are screwed out of their money then an item they ordered.
 
#2
jnevi9nr said:
when we want something from someone on talkbass, they want us to send them the money, and then they will ship. shouldnt it be the other way around? how about if they never ship the item? if you trust them enough to send the money, they should trust you enough to send the item the same day, agree? just like at the store, but actually its reserve. i put the item in my hand, THEN i pay. i dont pay at the counter, and then go get the item. the item should always be sent first, then the money. money can be used for anything, items cant. its more likely that people are screwed out of their money then an item they ordered.
Click to expand...

How about I'll never send you a valuable piece of gear without knowing that you're actually going to pay.

Why would I send you anything without knowing that you're going to pay?

The truth is that TB has a VERY high rate of success for sales. Feel free to go to eBay instead.
 
#3
Well if you send money via paypal or even a MO, you can potentially cancel the transaction and recoup your cash if the seller never ships the item.
Conversely, if the seller were to ship first, it would be a lot more difficult to get the item back if the buyer were to keep it and not send payment.
 
#5
You're apparently confused about how stores work. You pay for the item first. Just because you're holding the item doesn't mean it's yours. Try walking out the door with an item to get your wallet from the car to pay for it and see what happens....

A seller has no evidence that you have the money to pay for their item until you pay them for it.
 
#7
when dealing with an individual person i prefer to make all financial transactions face to face. kind of like a hostage swap or some other potentially nefarious act. :ninja:

*you have the stuff?
** yeah, you got the cash?
*you give me the stuff first.
** no! you give me the cash first.

*same time
** ok same time.


:p
 
#9
The people I deal with at TB send the item the same day I pay. Some guys here whom I have known for years will send the item even before I pay, that has happened a few times to me here.

If there was a way to transfer a bass as instantly as money is transferred via PayPal, then the exchange would truly be instantaneous. It's just that darn shipping that forces me to wait.

-Mike
 
#10
jnevi9nr said:
when we want something from someone on talkbass, they want us to send them the money, and then they will ship. shouldnt it be the other way around? how about if they never ship the item? if you trust them enough to send the money, they should trust you enough to send the item the same day, agree? just like at the store, but actually its reserve. i put the item in my hand, THEN i pay. i dont pay at the counter, and then go get the item. the item should always be sent first, then the money. money can be used for anything, items cant. its more likely that people are screwed out of their money then an item they ordered.
Click to expand...

It's neither you pay first or you get first. You have it confused. In most all situations, the payment and receipt of goods is instantaneous.
 
#11
Relic said:
Well if you send money via paypal or even a MO, you can potentially cancel the transaction and recoup your cash if the seller never ships the item.
Conversely, if the seller were to ship first, it would be a lot more difficult to get the item back if the buyer were to keep it and not send payment.
Click to expand...

Yup, it's all about the paper trail and accountability.

The OP's profile isn't complete but I'm guessing he's a bit on the young side. This type of question is indicative of a lack of real-world experience.

You pay MF before they ship don't you?
 
#13
jnevi9nr said:
just like at the store, but actually its reserve. i put the item in my hand, THEN i pay. i dont pay at the counter, and then go get the item. the item should always be sent first, then the money. money can be used for anything, items cant. its more likely that people are screwed out of their money then an item they ordered.
Click to expand...

No, when the item is in your hand, it is like a seller keeping your item waiting for payment. You are IN the store, holding THEIR item until you pay for it.

It's a question of trust. Someone who sells frequently has a reputation to maintain and it can allow a buyer to decide if it/he seems trustworthy. A one-time buyer doesn't.
 
#14
hover said:
No, you put the sale in que UNTIL they ship, and THEN get charged once the shipment is made, regardless of when you give the actual credit card info. They have noo right to charge you beforehand, they just make sure the money is available.
Click to expand...

Really, because the charge hits my card before they ship anything. I think you might be splitting hairs here.

Also, with a private sale, there is no real way of verifying funds without recieving a payment. Are we supposed to set up escrow accounts for all of our gear purchases?
 
#15
PSPookie said:
Really, because the charge hits my card before they ship anything. I think you might be splitting hairs here.
Click to expand...

Really? Well, that is how it is SUPPOSED to work with actual in-stock items being bought / sold. "virtual warehouses" are a different story as the seller is a middleman to a supply house. The seller gets paid, then pays the stocker, and then when they get paid, the item ships instantaneously.

I've never had a charge hit before or within the same business day of an item being (online) registered as sold / shipped / awaiting shipment.

And item leaving a seller vs. when it is registered as being in a carrier's system are entirely different...and usually 2-3 days off.

Wasn't tryin to split any hairs, just my experience. :cool:
 
#16
good debate. i was just wondering in general. i think its more of a case for this place and ebay, then amazon, GC and MF. you have a transaction on amazon and GC. and they ship it with a tracking number, so they know if you get it. so its like a simulateous trade. but with ebay and TB, its always paypal first, then its shipped. but there is no transaction paperwork. i think it comes down to rep and trust folks, which is why i dont think its matters if the shipper sends it first, like some people have said here. its hard to get items back, but its hard to get cash back with no paper trail. just be careful out there folks. but I still think that shippers should ship the day the deal goes down. it takes longer to ship then pay most times, but sometimes paypal take a couple of days to transfer money, so the shipper shouldnt havent to wait to ship.
 
#18
it's called the UCC, and it is the basis for most commercial transaction law around the world. the reason for this and many other things transaction-related are spelled out in it.

if you're not a licensed business, then once you transfer an item to another person, they -own- it, and you are left with very little recourse to get your money.

in fact, the worst problems we've ever had at talkbass that were unable to be solved were when buyers only sent part of the money and then, when they received the item, skipped out on the rest of the transaction. dude here, who was involved with a big publication and fairly well known, pulled that when he bought a bass from a guy in italy - got the seller to send the bass when it was only 1/2 paid for, then skipped out on paying for the rest of the instrument - about a thousand bucks. lied about it to everyone he met too, real piece of work.

so never send an item to a buyer until you have all the money you're expecting to get from the transaction.
 
#19
Arrange with the seller to pay-same day it is supposed to ship (for high dollar items). The seller can put it 'on hold' until then...

Or use fleabay, where I pay either at auction end or say during the 12 hours after the auction ends--and some sellers ship it 5 days after that--Turkeys!!!
 
#20
Just deal with reputable people and clearly spell out the terms of the transaction. When I sell an item on TB I typically ship within 24 hrs./next business day. If I can't do that then i communicate with the buyer and apprise him of the situation and let him know when to expect shipment.
 

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