Collection in person? Paypal problem!

Blackjack_Davy

Merry Christmas to all, I wonder if someone can help me.

A friend wants me to sell some musical instruments of his, some accordians and melodeans. The combined value could be quite high, totalling more than a grand.

He wants the potential buyer to come and collect the items but I've tried to advise that there is a potential for ripping him off here as eBay insist on including PayPal as a payment option - they could pay, come and collect and then go to PayPal say they never received and claim a chargeback and without a recorded delivery signature I don't have leg to stand on.

Is there anyway out of this situation without actually posting the items? Would it be possible to insist on cash on collection and stating any PayPal payments will be reversed? Or would I seriously be in breach of ebay terms and conditions?

Any help much appreciated.

soolin

There is no way round this requirement at all that is guaranteed to keep a seller safe.You cannot insist on cash on collection and if you do refund a paypal payment and the buyer refuses to repay you lose all your FVFs as you cannot of course do an NPB on them.

Personally I would be looking to sell instruments through a specialist shop or dealer, maybe even at auction if they are likely to be popular. The fees at auction may be dearer but you will get paid in cash/cheque via the auction house.

I never list anything for collection only that I cannot afford to lose.

George666

Hi you cannot insist on cash on collection in your listing as you have to offer paypal as a payment option.
You can however state that if collecting the items that cash on collection is your preferred payment method as this way you are still offering paypal as a payment method.
If they pay by paypal you can then send a polite message asking why they have paid by paypal and pointing out that you would be more comfortable doing the deal using cash as stated on the listing.
Most buyers or scammers will not want to meet you face to face and give you an explanation as to why they don't want to pay by cash for an item when you clearly stated in the listing that cash was your preferred method of payment.
I personally would do some homework and find out how much it would cost to send the items by courier then add this to the post and packing costs on the listing and drop the whole cash on collection option altogether.
This way someone will buy your items pay by paypal and you will have proof of delivery by traceable means plus adding this option also makes your listing more accessible to more customers thus a better price for your items.

bundly

What about taking a photo of the buyer colelcting the item?

durham_girl

bundly wrote: »

What about taking a photo of the buyer colelcting the item?

No good, to win a INR claim , you need online proof of delivery. Anyway, you could be taking a photo of anyone.

soolin

bundly wrote: »

What about taking a photo of the buyer colelcting the item?

OK, then please explain how that satisifes the paypal requirement for an online tracking number that proves delivery using one of the stated couriers or RM?

NO, the Pope himself could sign as a witness but unless a seller complies with paypal requirements and has it delivered there is no protection.

George666

bundly wrote: »

What about taking a photo of the buyer colelcting the item?

It could be a photo of a mate holding the item for all paypal knows so they would ignore this and ask for tracking details.
You have to send your items by trackable means either courier or by using the post office and I would advise if using the post office to deliver a valuable item to send by Special Delivery and insured to the value of whatever you are sending because Recorded Delivery only insures you up to £39 in the event of the item getting lost in the post.
This is the only proof of delivery that paypal will take any notice of online traceable delivery and nothing else.

steviebabes

Remember too that if the item sells for more than £150 you also need electronic proof of signature. Special delivery is fine but some couriers only show as delivered.

RHemmings

Surely if you collect evidence of some sort that the instruments have been handed over, then if the buyers claim back through paypal, they will have stolen the equipment. Even if a challenge to paypal is unsuccessful, and if the police are uninterested, the seller could sue the buyer in small claims court. Couldn't they?

George666

steviebabes wrote: »

Remember too that if the item sells for more than £150 you also need electronic proof of signature. Special delivery is fine but some couriers only show as delivered.

Cheers steve I forgot to mention that.

RHemmings

soolin wrote: »

Personally I would be looking to sell instruments through a specialist shop or dealer, maybe even at auction if they are likely to be popular. The fees at auction may be dearer but you will get paid in cash/cheque via the auction house.

If the goods are to be sold to a shop, then provided accordian etc. shops follow the same policies as other shops, they'll probably offer half of what the instrument would typically fetch on ebay. If sold on commission, I don't know what the shop's cut would be. But the owner risks having the goods sit on the shelf for a very, very, long time before they sell. I know of individual instruments being sold second hand that sat in a shop for a year or more.

Gumtree is a possibility. As is Loot, if you live in the right parts of the country. Most specialist musical instrument forums will also have a "for sale" section where people can post (usually) free adverts. From what I've seen, these work particularly well for collectors items, and worst for worn out ****.

But, I suspect that ebay will be the best option. There is the risk of loss, true. But, the "premiums" for selling by other means might be quite high. You pays yer money and you takes yer chances.