posted on May 15, 2001 08:44:55 PM new
I'm guessing that this has been discussed at length in the past, but I'd enjoy your recommendations. I have an expensive (>$1250) item listed that a bidder will BIN if I will agree to use certified check C.O.D. This payment option was not offered in the listing. The bidder has only only a few feedbacks, though one is for a high ticket item. I can understand anyone's reluctance to send that kind of money off to a "stranger" but I have serious reservations about not having either the product or the cash in hand.
Any thoughts?
(not my name on ebay)
[ edited by unpopularpoet on May 15, 2001 09:00 PM ]
posted on May 15, 2001 09:12:00 PM new
Not in this life time - can you imagine the cost of shipping both ways if they should refuse? Well, of course it would depend on the size of the item, if small or large, but if it wasn't offered in the post, I wouldn't do it one way or the other.
Of course asking for a COD is perhaps a good way to get out of the purchase!
posted on May 16, 2001 12:33:08 AM new
If the buyer is hesitant to send you his money before receiving the item (can you blame him, at that price level and with tales of eBay seller fraud in the news every week?), you might both consider an escrow service. Shipping insurance will cover your investment, and he gets to inspect and approve the item before releasing the funds to you.
posted on May 16, 2001 05:07:17 AM new
The item isn't really all that heavy, so getting stuck for shipping 2 ways wouldn't be a disaster. What are my risks for fraud - ending up with no money, no item? In the time that it takes the carrier to deliver the money, I think even a certified bank check could be cancelled.
posted on May 16, 2001 05:21:09 AM new
If you choose to do it, send it via UPS only. You cannot specify the type of funds with the postal service, and if the person give a check, there is nothing you can do about it.
I would also specify COD to a POSTAL money order only. That is the only kind that CANNOT have a stop payment placed on it.
posted on May 16, 2001 05:45:30 AM new
I would tell the bidder thanks but NO THANKS! There are too many potential headaches involved with COD transactions. Better to let the auction ride IMO.
posted on May 16, 2001 06:39:00 AM new
Thanks again for your opinions. I'm going to nuke the offer - even the person at the UPS / Fedex counter advised against it. It really sounds like a bad idea.
posted on May 16, 2001 06:41:48 AM new
COD doesn't solve anything. Seller can still ship an empty box. It just gives the buyer a few more days to change his mind and refuse it.
posted on May 16, 2001 07:54:35 AM new
On a side note... I just took a look at the Tradenable (formerly i-escrow) site. I clicked to register and it appears that they don't have a secure form for registration. If I register and request ACH bank deposit they expect me to send that information on an unsecure form??
posted on May 16, 2001 08:28:00 AM new
In my opinion, escrow is next to worthless. I used it once as a seller at my buyer's request and it went fine. But I believe it would have worked just as well without escrow. I used iescrow, now tradenable, once as a buyer and it was awful. The seller sent the wrong item. He admitted it in email. He agreed to drop the price. But he refused to go to the iescrow site and change the terms there. Even though I sent iescrow copies of the seller's own emails, they told me that my choice was to pay the full price or return it at my expense and pay both my and the seller's shipping costs. I would be out over $40 for the seller's mistake. Since I would lose less if I kept it, I chose to do that, but I didn't find that iescrow gave me any protection at all.
How would they prevent the buyer from swapping your item with something else and returning that instead?
Escrow only works if both parties are honest and if both parties are honest, why use it?
