ebay and mobile phones - safe to sell?

Dalglish44

Hi

I purchased and have now decided to sell, a Nokia E72 smartphone with a value close to £300. I was advised to sell on eBay but am nervous about the fraudsters out there who act as genuine buyers only to start hassle.
My biggest fear is for the charge back - the phone is in working order (it's 4 weeks old) but what is stopping someone claiming it is not in working condition and getting paypal to issue a refund?
Am I being paranoid or what? I think paypal has insurance attached but any tips here would be welcomed.
many thanks
Sam

elfen

Take down the IMEI (press *hash 06 hash - cant find the hash key - and it'll bring it up)
Also take down the battery serial number - it's on the battery. Take pictures of the box labels to make sure they match up too, and if you have any accessories, take pictures of them too. Then let itbe known on your listing that if the phone is returned you have the IMEI/serial numbers and will check them. DO NOT put the full numbers on there, the first two and last two should suffice as you'll have full ones.

Dalglish44

thanks very much - impressed with your response - maybe I am right then to be cautious and seeing the precautionary steps, glad I posted.
On the subjeect of paypal, is this the safest way of taking payment for higher value items? Charge back is the reason I am worried -can I withhold release of goods until the payment is securely received and vetted? thanks again.

thor

You are right to be cautious. Mobiles are one of the most dodgiest items to both sell and buy on ebay so beware. Having said that I have sold a few without hitches but maybe I have been lucky.
As for paypal, there are lots of compalints about it. Just do a quick google to get a jist of it. Also it's rules have been changed to favour the buyer more these days. I guess ebay(who run paypal) are worried about chargebacks too.

in_the_Cotswolds

If you sell your phone on Ebay and the buyer pays by Paypal send it by signed for and insured. You may have to pay more as the basic signed for service only covers you up to £32.00.

DO NOT allow payment by Paypal and let them collect it from your home. They could claim item not recieved and do a chargeback. This has happened to some people. Paypal will always find in favour of the buyer because you have to quote the delivery number on signed for label.

If you have to accept the phone for a refund make sure you open the package in front of the postman. It has been know for people to substitute other items to the weight of the phone.

I've sold phones and taken payment via Paypal. Just be careful. Also as soon as you recieve payment start the transfer of money into your account. I have a separate account for my Paypal transfers just incase it gets hacked.

john-306

mechanic wrote: »

If you sell your phone on Ebay and the buyer pays by Paypal send it by signed for and insured. You may have to pay more as the basic signed for service only covers you up to £32.00.

Do not send it by signed for and insured, Royal Mail website states.......

Can I send valuable items (e.g. cash, jewellery, tickets & vouchers) by Recorded Signed For™?
No, valuable items should be sent using our Special Delivery™ 9.00am service or Special Delivery™ Next Day.

For the sake of £5.40 send it Special delivery with £500 compensation

in_the_Cotswolds

john-306 wrote: »

Do not send it by signed for and insured, Royal Mail website states.......

Can I send valuable items (e.g. cash, jewellery, tickets & vouchers) by Recorded Signed For™?
No, valuable items should be sent using our Special Delivery™ 9.00am service or Special Delivery™ Next Day.

For the sake of £5.40 send it Special delivery with £500 compensation

Sorry my mistake. Just wanted to make sure that if it went missing you can claim for the item. They normally ask me at my Post Office!!

digp

I would NOT use ebay AT ALL.

esuhl

I have sold a couple of phones on eBay and everything was fine. I set the options to only sell to people in the UK and with positive, non-zero feedback.

nsabournemouth

You should be fine as long as you take above advice.

DO NOT THOUGH EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER SELL ON GUMTREE.

Astec

Remember fees, 10% FVF and 3.5% paypal, that's about £40 in total.

Personally I'd avoid ebay where possible, I'd rather sell it for £250 elsewhere, I'm on a few car and Techy forums so use their classified sections with a lower than ebay price tag. I'd also recommend gumtree, don't be contactable by e-mail, just put on a phone number and only do cash on collection.

Also curious why people always say to note down the IMEI etc. In the event of a chargeback/claim what good is it? You can block the phone but still lose all your money as paypal WILL side with the buyer!