The winner of my auction is local and wants to meet and pick up the item. The auction ended today and he stated he would deposit the money in my PayPal account. I’m sure this is a certain way to get fucked out of my money. Is there any way to arrange this with out having to ship since he is local ?
---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------
found on ebay :
Do NOT accept checks on pickup, as these take a while to clear, and the customer would be long gone by then
Consider the following:
Paypal (Make sure payment is cleared before the transaction
Cash (This is the best way, but be wary of too many large bills. Try to protect yourself by buying some Counterfeit money detection pens. These only cost a couple bucks, and would be well worth it to test cash to avoid fraud
Checks (As stated above: NO)
Money orders (Check for authenticity: Look for water marks, special security features, and make sure all info is clear and precise)
In summary, local pickups can be great to help defray the costs of shipping (Which will naturally drive more bids) and can be a lot easier that shipping.
---------- Post added at 03:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:01 PM ----------
I was planning on telling him I will do PayPal if he doesn’t pay cash. If the payment clears can I get fucked ? There would be no way of proving I delivered it to him via tracking number.
---------- Post added at 03:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:04 PM ----------
Through my research I have found its best to take cash only because PayPal will not protect the seller for local pickups.
Get a delivery confirmation from him including a signature. You have 60 days on paypal to dispute a charge. The guy could technically file a complaint with Paypal saying you never met him for the item and you have no way to prove it and with Paypal, they seize the money until they figure it out.
I think OP could be worried because he can’t prove he shipped the item/transferred it to the local guy. Guy claims item was never received, Paypal takes the money back. OP is SOL?
100% bank check? Guy can get that at any bank, and its certified so you know its good for you to deposit.
I’m going to tell him cash only local pickup or I ship it to him with a tracking number as I had originally planned. Its for a decent amount of money but now I know what to do.
---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------
Just got off the phone with him, he sounded like a Indian taxi cab driver. He wanted to PayPal and do local pickup but I explained to him I couldn’t. He obliged and agreed with me shipping the item. Case closed. Never had to deal with local pickup on eBay.
About a month ago I sold a pair of PS3 controllers on ebay, and after recieving the payment through paypal, the buyer emailed me after realizing that I lived in buffalo and asked to meet. So I told him that I would meet only at a public place, so we meet at a local kmart. I gave him the controllers, shook hands and thats it. He saved me some money on shipping.
But at the same time I can understand a asshole person would claim not recieveing an item. I would also never meet someone at their house, because you never know who or how many people will be waiting for you or hiding in the bushes.
Seems weird how he wanted to do local pickup but couldn’t withdraw the money from his bank account and pay me. He wanted to PayPal then meet. Unless he was going to use a credit card on PayPal because he didn’t have the money. At the end of the day I did the right thing because he only has one rating on eBay so my chances of getting screw were a lot higher then someone with 200+ ratings.
most people buy with credit so paypal is convenient… ive done it way to many times and all i do is have him sign a piece of paper stating he took possession of the item
in the event of charge-back, ebay doesnt give a damn about the signed paper, all they care are the trackings. paper evidence is only good for the court.
I always tell people not to buy the item- I’ll end the listing, and give them a few bucks discount if they pay cash. That way I don’t have to pay fees or worry about that PayPal risk. If they don’t want to do that, they can pay me to ship it, although nobody has had a problem with it.
After doing an investigation on this guy I believe he is legit. To make a long list short hes from India, travels the world as a photographer and is now residing in Buffalo.
Many years ago, I listed an X-ray machine on eBay for a friend. It was about $70K new and was only used for training by a college. I guess he bought it at auction. It sold for next to nothing, but a guy from Ecuador bought it. He was a doctor- he flew into Florida for a conference, then flew to Buffalo, rented a car, and drove to my house. I let him take it apart in my driveway and leave the metal frame and other stuff behind. He packed all the equipment into the trunk of his rental Cavalier, and took it somewhere to be shipped home. It was interesting to say the least.
