Should I pay by bank transfer when buying from gumtree?

fantasyvn

I contacted someone from Gumtree to buy his ipod. He said that I can pay the deposit first and then pay the remaining amount when the goods arrive.

He said I can pay by PayPal or bank transfer.

Is bank transfer safe?

If it is an overseas bank, I definitely won't pay. But what if it is a UK bank?

Thank you.

Kizzy001

i really wouldn't advise paying someone selling something on gumtree before you have actually looked at what you are buying.

if however, you do pay, pay with paypal as you get some protection, do not pay via a bank transfer.

by the way, over on the "grabbit board" there is a link for the ipod touch for £69, if thats any help to you.

iieee

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

If you pay with a bank transfer, the money is gone, there is no way of getting it back whatever happens.

fantasyvn

Thank you very much for your kind advice.

Crowqueen

Also Gumtree is meant to be for face-to-face trading, you have very little protection if something fails to arrive when posted unless you pay by a method that has protection, such as Paypal.

I wouldn't buy something like that by bank transfer without seeing it first.

marshyrob

Dont do it no matter what, like fantasyvn said once you have sent it thats it gone, no way of claiming back as you willinly sent it. Always use a method that covers you, but also like Crowqueen said gumtree is meant for face to face there is a lot of scamming going on with that site, only trade if you can see the goods and meet. Even if you can meet you should only do it in a public place and take someone with you!

Crowqueen

If it's something like an iPod I would also suggest you see it working before you buy it and personally I would want to see that a computer recognises it OK to sync it. I've had a couple of iPods and while I would recommend them to anyone wanting to buy one, sometimes after a lot of use they stop being picked up by the computer when you try and update them.

Good luck.

bris

Gumtree and bank transfers are a scam, this ipod will have been sold a hundred times by now. They sucker people in because it is cheap, and everyone likes a bargain. But in the end it is a costly mistake.