Payment Question

[InTuneBb]

Hello,

quick question anyone who can help me out.

I have a customer interested in a tuba I am selling but doesnt want to send the money directly through paypal to be safe and I completely understand that. He asked that if I knew another method such as ebay where he can buy it online, it would be better, that way it is protected.

Now, I am not a fan of ebay, even though I still at times put items up for sale there. The money is not instant like through paypal mostly is and you basically have to wait 2-3 weeks for the money to clear up and then you have a fee on top of that.

Does anyone know a website where this can be done that isnt ebay? Something where he will feel safe sending the money and something where I dont have to pay fees and wait forever for the money to clear up.

Thanks in advance.

[bort]

Unfortunately, if you use eBay, you're pretty much using PayPal anyway. I don't think eBay owns PayPal anymore, but they used to, and they are highly intertwined.

I'm not sure how to get around it without relying on trust or fees. Credit cards are best, because you can dispute a charge if you pay for something and never receive it. And credit card fraud is some nasty stuff, so (in theory) people aren't just going to buy stuff and dispute charges to say they never got it.

I've used PayPal once, for an out-of-country purchaser. Otherwise, honor system and checks have sufficed. YMMV.

[PMeuph]

Have the person call you on the phone, or you call them. Have a chat. That usually calms people down.

Set specific terms for the sale. When you will ship it, give them the tracking, etc. If they are still uneasy with paypal at that point, then tell them to move one.

Don't just sell a horn (a risk being screed over) because you're in a rush to get the money.

Never ship before a cheque clears....


Or what bloke said.

[InTuneBb]

Sorry, accidentally used the backup account...

I live in PA, he lives in WA. Greyhound is the only option that I can think of in my opinion.

[Tom]

I don't see the advantage of using Ebay, quite frankly. No, sellers are not required to accept paypal anymore (which means buyers aren't required to pay by paypal, but what sort of alternative payment does your potential buyer have in mind? At the end of the day, even with Ebay, your buyer has to pay you the money and then you have to send them the merchandise regardless of method of payment. Ebay doesn't make that that inherently easier or safer, to tell you the truth. Now, your buyer would have "buyer protection" that Ebay offers if the deal goes bad, but basically it means that they can get their money back if you don't uphold their end of the deal or they aren't happy with it, or it shows up broken, etc., etc. Then, if you sell though Ebay, you get to pay all of their fees. Oh, and what happens if you list it on Ebay and ANOTHER buyer swoops in and buys it before the intended buyer? Oops...

If you or your buyer are REALLY worried about this, a legitimate brick and mortar bank will offer escrow services. That isn't free either. Otherwise, bank wires and postal money orders are pretty safe and, of course, check & cash work too provided your take a few precautions.

[Tom]

Pay pal does have buyer protection. Or am I just reading their Web site wrong?

Yes, they do. Buyer has 180 days (that's about 6 months!) to file a dispute.

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/secu ... protection

That alone would keep me from wanting to have payment done through PayPal, but to each his own. I see it as a significant risk to the seller, imho, because your transaction isn't really final until day 181, after which the buyer can no longer file a dispute through PayPal...yes, 6 months after the sale. There was another thread a while back that mentioned this. That said, I use PayPal frequently as a buyer, so...

Sellers should remember, too, that Ebay and PayPal aren't the same thing. There are buyer protections available through Ebay, too, and you don't have to use PayPal to get them. All seems like more trouble than it's worth though. Face-to-face cash transactions are still, to me, the way to go when buying an instrument.