TubeNet

Perhaps I am too trusting of a soul but. for my last transaction here on TubeNet, I shipped it off just as soon as I got a personal check from the buyer.

There is a certain amount of protection for the buyer if PayPal is used. The seller sometimes has to wait a few days to get their funds from PayPal and there might be a fee involved.

Buying and selling sight unseen takes quite a bit of trust and full knowledge that something might go wrong and someone gets screwed. To me, it appears that PayPal has the same risks and rewards for each side.

The Big Ben wrote:Perhaps I am too trusting of a soul but. for my last transaction here on TubeNet, I shipped it off just as soon as I got a personal check from the buyer.

There is a certain amount of protection for the buyer if PayPal is used. The seller sometimes has to wait a few days to get their funds from PayPal and there might be a fee involved.

Buying and selling sight unseen takes quite a bit of trust and full knowledge that something might go wrong and someone gets screwed. To me, it appears that PayPal has the same risks and rewards for each side.

Ditto

...and a third. I've done a dozen or so horn sales as both buyer and seller over the last several years; most have been through PayPal. No problems with PayPal, and mediation service if something does happen. I personally would avoid dealing with anyone who does not have a PayPal account, no matter how bad your tuba lust is. It really is the Western Union of our era, about as safe as it gets.

The only nerve-wracking transactions I've had were those that involved cashier's checks. I have also been paid large amounts of small bills on local cash sales - I wouldn't take a C note from Ben Franklin himself, too much funny money floating around down here near the border war zone.

Eric "who just sent over a grand to a fellow TubeNetter through PayPal a few minutes ago" L.

Easiest thing is to find a trusted third party:

1) buyer sends payment to third party;

2) third party informs seller the payment has been received;

3) seller ships tuba, delivery confirmed, to buyer (delivery confirmation to be sent by shipper to third party);

4) third party releases money to seller upon receipt of delivery confirmation.

Lawyers handle these types of transactions all the time. (This is NOT a solicitation.) So do escrow services. Both are bonded and have fiduciary responsibilities to both parties in the transaction. Both will charge for their services. (This is NOT a solicitation.) Typically, they will draw up a contract for both parties to sign, stipulating the transaction process, the buyer's trial period (if any), who pays what and how much to whom (shipping, insurance, lawyer/escrow fees, etc.), any contingencies, and mediate any disputes that arise, to protect both parties to the transaction. A mutual friend/acquaintence/TubeNetter known to both parties could serve as the third party, though one would necessarily waive much of the legal protections provided by a lawyer/escrow service if one chose that route.

Alternatively, the seller could provide a character witness whose bona fides are easily verifiable and acceptable to the buyer to vouch for the seller, as a sign of good faith. As an example, a potential buyer would likely be more favorably disposed to trust a seller if TubaTinker were to vouch for the seller's trustworthiness since TT's professional and business interests depend on preserving his or her good name; conversely, most buyers would likely be less favorably disposed toward the seller if Rod Blagoiovich (former gov. of IL) were the seller's character witness.

Pgym
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This is NOT a solicitation.

Don't take legal advice from a lawyer on the Internet. I'm a lawyer but I'm not your lawyer.

When I bought my tuba, here is what I did:

I got a cashier's check from a bank that was nation-wide...Bank of America, I believe.

I then had it sent overnight via FedEx with delivery confirmation...that way they can't say it was never received since it was signed.

From there, no matter what happened, I knew that even if it went bad I had several emails and confirmation of payment as evidence in case something had to be disputed.