posted on July 2, 2001 10:28:50 AM new
I just had an auction closse for a laptop at $1025.00
Winning bidder has 5 feedback with 1 NEG being on June 22.
While I never mentioned Escrow in my auction..
Buyer wants to pay $530 now and rest on arrival.
Need some advice as I don't want to get into Honesty and Trust wars with this guy...
I told him I'd consider Escrow if he'd pay 1/2 the fee.
I just feel iffy about them paying half (especially through PayPal) and then Getting stiffed the other half.
And then while I was responding to his e-mail (less than 10 min after he wrote me back regarding this matter) He sent another e-mail only stating E-mail ME!!!!
posted on July 2, 2001 10:36:46 AM new
stick to YOUR terms of sale. If escrow not offered in terms then that would not be up for discussion if it was me.
posted on July 2, 2001 10:44:34 AM new
Be very carefull with laptops. Fraud is very high in these. A collegue at work got stiffed out of his thinkpad that he sold for $800 was paid with paypal funds. The buyer arranged to pick it up at his house, right after the funds were reversed in his paypal account.These were not cc funds, but paypal funds. I guess the buyer funded his account fraudulently. I don't know all the details. If the buyer seems to be too eager, be very carefull. Research the buyer's other bids. The buyer that defrauded my collegue had bid on thousands of dollars of items.
edited to add:
Request the buyer's information before you ship the laptop and verify that it's valid. Do a reverse search on the phone number given to eBay. Check to see that the shipping address matches with the one registered to the phone number. You can even call to make sure it is the buyer and service hasn't been cancelled.
If my collegue at work would have done this, he would have lost a $800 sale, but he would still have his thinkpad. Now, he's out both.
[ edited by AnonymousCoward on Jul 2, 2001 11:13 AM ]
posted on July 2, 2001 09:50:03 PM new
I don't understand about the dislike of escrow myself. I haven't had the occassion to use it, but if I were buying or selling a very high dollar item, I think I would feel more comfortable using it. That's just me.
Maybe someone will explain why it's NOT the safest way to do business for high $$$ amounts? Yes, there is a fee, but IF the buyer is willing to pay it, why not accept it?
I also thought with escrow, you still had to pay the entire amount up front, it was just held until both parties are satisfied. Is that not correct?
posted on July 2, 2001 10:14:32 PM new
Who's setting the terms of this auction, you or him? Personally, I can smell a rat and I suspect you do too. I'd tell him to send a money order and I wouldn't even think of packing it for shipping until I had the cash in hand. Whenever a customer starts playing these payment games after the auction closes it should set off all kinds of alarm bells. Stick to your guns on this one and be prepared to file a NPB and contact the next high bidder or relist if necessary.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
There's a number of reasons, the main one for me is I HATE middlemen. With i-escrew-u the high bidder has 3 days [last time I checked] to refuse the item, no questions asked. In other words, someone could "borrow" my high ticket item for a few days,[for whatever reasons] then say naaaah, I don't want it.
There were numerous threads here last year from sellers who were royally screwed over by i-escrow.
I don't accept CC payments, I don't accept escrow, and I've never had a problem selling high $ items.
posted on July 3, 2001 05:39:10 AM new
Escrow gives the buyer a "freebe" for buyers remose, as they don't really need a good excuse to have it sent back. Having a High dollar auction screwed up, and MUCH time wasted with the escrow process when you are trying to cash out a high dollar item is a royal pain. If the terms of of the escrow was very simply if it works, you own it more sellers would be willing to use it, but letting someone have a laptop for 3 days, and then being forced to take it back is another story. What if the 20 gig hard drive, and the 128 meg memory chip was swapped out for an old 400 meg hard drive and a 16 meg memory chip? It's happened to people.
Who Need's a stink'n Sig. File?
posted on July 3, 2001 11:24:18 AM new
I can see now that I had escrow all wrong. I thought when eBay had the money and the item they would make the exchange at the same time & then be out of it. Had no idea it was for the buyer to "look over" their purchase & then make up their mind if they wanted to keep it or not. The hands of the seller are certainly tied with escrow.
Thanks for your answers.
