Guidelines for selling online?

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 26 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

Hi I figured this would be the best forum to ask seeing that it is full of highly educated intelligent readers. I would like to list some photography gear online at sites other than eBay and am wondering about safe ways of getting paid, cashier's check or money order? I don't have a paypal account nor do I want to open one. I'm not an online merchant just someone trying to clean out the closet.

I realize a cash transaction with a handshake would be best, but I've also heard that if I make my equipment available to overseas I have better chance of selling the equipment now before it falls in value. I have placed some ads on sites and have already been hit with phony inquiries about shipping off to West Africa.

Any advice on the safest way to be paid or precautions & stipulations I need to have in place would greatly be appreciated. Thanks Jeff

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 26 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

Yes I have read through that previously, but still is there no safe way to make a sale with someone in Australia? Or is everything compromised?

thanks jeff

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:15 pm

Don't take checks or money orders, (not even cashier's checks). Waiting for them to clear your bank will not protect you. Banks will give you access to funds on deposit within a few days. They are required by law to do this, but it does not mean they will take responsibility when the fraudulent check/money order is returned. The check will be rejected by a clearing house or by the issuing bank and that process can take weeks or months. When the check is returned, your bank will hold you responsible, regardless of where the check originated.

The most common type of check scam is an overpayment scam. Usually, the buyer will send you extra money, often to cover shipping by their preferred carrier. Sometimes they will pretend it is a mistake. Either way, they will ask you to wire money to their shipping company, or back to them. While some scammers may be after the equipment itself, the majority don't even know what you are selling and only want you to wire money back before the check blows up.

The safest thing to do is to deal locally, and only accept cash. A Paypal account is very easy to get. All you need is a credit card or a bank account. It will take you all of five minutes to set up.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 26 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

Thanks for all the your helpful advice. If I were to get a Paypal seller's account would that be a guaranteed way of getting a safe payment from someone online/overseas? thanks jeff

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

^^^

That to me sounds like a question for paypal.

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:21 pm

Paypal does offer some seller protection, but I believe there are some restrictions. Not all buyers will have accounts, so Paypal probably isn't ideal.

You can ask for payments via Western Union or Moneygram. No scammer will ever agree to that. If you get a buyer to send money that way, you will certainly get your money. WU/MG transfers are irreversible once the money is collected, and untraceable. That's why they are so popular with scammers. Unfortunately, if you request that, some buyers may decide you are a scammer.

Another option is an escrow service. Make sure it is one you select, or at least one you can verify independently. Scammers often set up fake escrow companies, complete with web sites.

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:28 pm

If it's an item once carried by Amazon.com (or whatever your local variant is), I suggest selling it there. Amazon is the only one that sees your bank account number, they direct deposit your earnings and they verify the payment by the buyer before ever asking you to ship. You don't even have to contact or interact with the buyer.

I've sold countless DVDs, video games and CDs there without a single problem and at a decent profit, too. Another benefit over Ebay is the fact that if the item doesn't sell, you pay nothing. You only pay commission/fees if the item sells. You can list for free. You risk a lot less than Ebay without the frustrations of being harassed by dozens of scammers and having to hassle with Ebay over getting your listing fee refunded if one wins your auction.

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:37 am

As we don't know your location [country ] it's hard to advise on selling sites.

Many on-line selling sites have banned WU and MG, and for good reason.

Without dioubt the safeist way is cash on pick-up, or even COD, via the mails, Direct deposit is also safe. Also remember that pay-pal, will charge you 3% of the sale price, and automatly deduct there fee's from your account

But it depends on where your selling from , In Australia, Possably
4sale2buy http://www11.xpresssites.com/nbn/nbntv/classified/def.jsp?_RND=-1860922884 one charge of seven dollars per item.

OZtion http://www.oztion.com.au/ like E-bay but a bit slower, they don't get the traffic e-bay get.

or if you have a large amount of stuff Gray's on Line, [expencive ]
http://www.graysonline.com.au/

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