Selling on Ebay

Not a rant or a hard luck story. Just petrified of even starting....

I have some networking gear to sell including a nice pair of NM-1A-E3 aims (I'm from southern England) but from the researching into selling on ebay I have been doing (never before bought or sold anything off ebay) I dare not risk it all going horribly wrong with "Charge Backs", con merchants, etc and end up with bailiffs on my doorstep demanding hundreds of pounds for Paypal when I have got ripped.

Apparantly high priced electronics are a prime target and being my first sales, I would be a sitting duck! I seriously would not touch pay pal even with my most despised enemy's barge pole. (mother in law ... long story!)

I know a lot of guys on these forums buy and sell equipment on ebay so I was wondering how you protect yourself from this ? I can understand with buying and how you would be quite well protected (so easy to abuse), especially paying by credit card but how do you sellers protect yourself ?

Is there not an alternative in the UK where buyer and seller can meet face to face ?

Any advice ?

PS: Dynamic, I did search these forums for an answer but came up short... Your thread indexed brain would be most helpfull.

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Comments

msteinhilber

I've been selling on ebay for years without incident and around 90% of my payments are paypal transactions. I only ship to verified addresses, and I've never been defrauded. The only issues I get with people threatening me with negative feedback or a chargeback has to do with people not understanding how to use what I sell. I sell used decommissioned server components as well as auto parts for forced induction applications. The problem with server components or anything technical for that matter is people buy without doing research, the latest one is an idiot who purchased a clearly labeled auction with nice graphics and somehow thought my PCI-X SATA RAID controller was a PCI-E controller - and since ebay caters to the buyer now i got a nice negative feedback for that which I can't return the favor for. I also get people who buy turbo parts and blow up their stock motors and try to blame me also. Other than that, my ebay experience has been fine.

/usr

I have sold on eBay for years as well. Not a ton, but I have made a few fairly large sells. As a seller, I believe you have the right to refuse shipment for really any reason (someone wins and doesn't have any feedback, and so on.)

I've also used Paypal for every transaction without issue.

I think you'll be fine...

dynamik

Kaminsky wrote:

PS: Dynamic, I did search these forums for an answer but came up short... Your thread indexed brain would be most helpfull.

I don't think I've really seen this subject come up.

The only time I've gotten screwed as a seller is when I had expensive electronics with a buy-it-now option. There seemed to be an automated program that created new accounts and went through buy-it-nows and tried to scam the people out of them (i.e. send me the item first, etc.). I didn't report it properly or they lost my info or something, and I ended up being charged multiple times for relisting it. I actually just gave up and sold it locally.

I haven't had any issues with PayPal. Does Craig's List operate in the UK?

I've seen some sellers require a certain amount of positive feedback. You might want to do something like that. You can also tell them that you're going to wait a few days for PayPal to transfer the funds to your back account if you're worried about that as well.

Kaminsky

dynamik wrote:

I haven't had any issues with PayPal. Does Craig's List operate in the UK?

It does but nowhere near as popular as it seems to be in the states. I did a simple search for Cisco and not a lot came up.

dynamik wrote:

You can also tell them that you're going to wait a few days for PayPal to transfer the funds to your back account if you're worried about that as well.

This is where I have heard more horror stories. They do a chargeback after you have taken the funds out of paypal and paypal will put a negative in your account. If you don't pay that, they send the bailifs round... seemingly without hesitation.

The aims I have, sell for about £4k-£5k new and I have seen them on ebay uk for £1500-£2k so you can see why I think I would get pounced on as a first time seller.

BeaverC32

As a seller, never ship the item until payment is in your hand and verified (if sent through PayPal, remove the funds from your account and have it either placed directly in a bank account of have them cut a check). I avoid Personal checks as well. When you ship their item, I recommend you have them pay for insuring the item (depending on the value) and also saving the receipt from the post office. Always retain proof that you shipped the item, and never ship to a PO Box.

As a buyer, I only ever purchase from a seller with a high amount of positive feedback. I might take a chance on a low-value item (like a used paperback), but the eBay feedback system is for the most part accurate. Never pay in cash...always leave a paper trail to prove that you paid (prefer money order or PayPal).

If you can prove you shipped the item/paid for an item, you are usually in the clear if the buyer/seller claims otherwise.

Pash

BeaverC32 wrote:

As a seller, never ship the item until payment is in your hand and verified (if sent through PayPal, remove the funds from your account and have it either placed directly in a bank account of have them cut a check). I avoid Personal checks as well. When you ship their item, I recommend you have them pay for insuring the item (depending on the value) and also saving the receipt from the post office. Always retain proof that you shipped the item, and never ship to a PO Box.

As a buyer, I only ever purchase from a seller with a high amount of positive feedback. I might take a chance on a low-value item (like a used paperback), but the eBay feedback system is for the most part accurate. Never pay in cash...always leave a paper trail to prove that you paid (prefer money order or PayPal).

If you can prove you shipped the item/paid for an item, you are usually in the clear if the buyer/seller claims otherwise.

Do what beaver just mentioned, your right as a seller is to ask for funds to be received and cleared before mailing the item. I have always done this and never had any problems. I have had problems as a buyer though, but nothing where I was at a significant loss.

ally_uk

Yeah I agree you do get some idiots who seem to be incapable of reading your auctions lol I have had a few timewasters who win the item but do not pay, I send messages through and they don't reply, So I send them a message saying you have a week to pay otherwise I am relisting!

I also withdraw my paypal into my bank account as soon as The cash is verified, I offer a no returns policy I test items before I sell, If someone is incapable of using the item I have sold that is there fault and not mine.

Also send your items recorded so if a Buyer reckons your goods havent arrived then you have a chance of fighting it!

Secondly I.T stuff is great on ebay the things to look for,

Broken, Water damaged, faulty, dropped, Repair,

Are the essential keywords to obtain a bargin!

Lastly Download a few Ebay snipers, to search out last minute bargins and Spelling mistakes you would be suprised what you can find, Someone had rushed there listing and had a LGA775 Core 2 listed.

Noone could find it because the poor sap had listed the item as ntel instead of intel lol

nel

Ive never had many issues on ebay but i havent sold nearly 2k worth of stuff. What are you selling by the way for that price?

I would do the usual of paypal (find out how much they cover you for using there service - think it maybe £500), only sell to a ebayer with more than 10 feedbacks and 100% imo, verified address etc. You can state pickup only if you require and do it face to face but i guess you loose the *security* of paypal and whats to say someone isnt going to lamp you and run off with your gear.

You can usually tell who scammers are - make sure you get the money into your bank account and it clears before you send anything. Make your T&C's clear - right to end auction early, returns etc etc.

ive bought all my cisco kit on ebay and had no issues. (there's been reports that some devices on ebay are fakes etc).

Good luck mate.