Are these people trying to scam me?

DiiFMaritime

Basically I have a phone to sell and I put an ad on Gumtree and also on eBay. On both sites, there were interest on the phone, so here is how it goes,

eBay,
The phone is listed as an auction and a buyer is asking to do it outside of eBay for £60 less than my asking price. I told her only if he sends the payment via paypal as a gift (I know this makes me sound like a scammer myself but I don't know any other way to protect myself when doing transaction outside of eBay. Please also do not discuss the moral of me considering doing the transaction outside of eBay when I listed it there). Anyway, the he has come back to say he will pay for it if I do a "Request Money", I am suspecious that if I did that and posted the item, he could have the phone and the money?

Gumtree,
Similar thing, and the buyer has offered more than my asking price and said will transfer the money via paypal once I send an invoice to her Paypal. I am definitely not doing that as the point of listing it on Gumtree is to do it face-to-face.

Are these the right actions to take?

Many thanks in advance

:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

soolin

As long as you understand how to protect yourself with paypal then you are fine.

Full postage requirements for seller protection are here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3146680

DiiFMaritime

soolin wrote: »

As long as you understand how to protect yourself with paypal then you are fine.

Full postage requirements for seller protection are here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3146680

So if I follow the instruction from the thread you have provided, posted to the confirmed address via special delivery within 7 days of payment, could I still be scammed? eg because my phone is new and sealed, what if they broke the seal and said item not as described and returns it, where do I stand in that situation? Sorry for all these questions but I am still a novice at selling on eBay:o

cats!

I would advise that if you are a novice on ebay perhaps it might be best to stick to Gumtree for this transaction? I believe that Gumtree has a more "cash on collection" focus?

This may well avoid the pitfalls of ebay.

Good luck!

hollieinbloom

you can get !!!!!!ed over through any method of payment really. you can even cancel a cheque once its gone into someones bank account.
i read in the paper once, a man sold his car for £8,000 and some man bought it with a cheque, so the bloke said "i'll give you the car once the cheque has gone through" so when it had, the man came to pick it up, and 3 days later, he checks his bank and his £8,000 had gone!!
he'd reversed the cheque and got a car! nothing he could do about it as the car was now in his name!!

just sell it properly through ebay.xxx

peterod1

Tell the buyer it's strictly cash on collection and you require proof of ID, that would deter most scammers.

soolin

peterod1 wrote: »

Tell the buyer it's strictly cash on collection and you require proof of ID, that would deter most scammers.

If you are sleling it on Guntree then cash on collection is absolutely the right way to go- but why do you suggest ID as well?

However on ebay OP must take paypal if offered so needs to understand the problems and how to avoid them.

hollieinbloom wrote: »

you can get !!!!!!ed over through any method of payment really. you can even cancel a cheque once its gone into someones bank account.
i read in the paper once, a man sold his car for £8,000 and some man bought it with a cheque, so the bloke said "i'll give you the car once the cheque has gone through" so when it had, the man came to pick it up, and 3 days later, he checks his bank and his £8,000 had gone!!
he'd reversed the cheque and got a car! nothing he could do about it as the car was now in his name!!

just sell it properly through ebay.xxx

Luckily the banking rules are now quite clear for any High street bank signed up to the 2-4-6 rules and after the 6th working day a cheque cannot be recalled for any reason. It changed about 2-3 years ago.

forgotmyname

I do wonder when i read all these payments cannot be reclaimed posts.

So if i stole someones chequebook and whilst they were on a 2 week holiday i wrote the cheque out to my brother
who pays it in and clears no problem.
When they come back and find out the moneys gone they cannot reclaim the money back from him?

Similar thing with bank transfers.

I cannot see how that would work. I could make a fortune. Anyone want to lend me their cheque book for 50% commission?

Paypal gift payments can be reclaimed also, All they have to do is claim the transaction is frauduelent. And you get no cover
because you didnt sell anything it was just a gift payment not a purchase.

soolin

forgotmyname wrote: »

I do wonder when i read all these payments cannot be reclaimed posts.

So if i stole someones chequebook and whilst they were on a 2 week holiday i wrote the cheque out to my brother
who pays it in and clears no problem.
When they come back and find out the moneys gone they cannot reclaim the money back from him?

Similar thing with bank transfers.

I cannot see how that would work. I could make a fortune. Anyone want to lend me their cheque book for 50% commission?

Paypal gift payments can be reclaimed also, All they have to do is claim the transaction is frauduelent. And you get no cover
because you didnt sell anything it was just a gift payment not a purchase.

Banks expect users to take care of their money, if someone issues cheques using your cheque book and forging your signature and you don't report it then yes you will be considered liable. It's just the same as using a card, with that it's even worse as you are liable for everything until you report it stolen.

Likewise bank transfers- to make a transfer the scammer need so be bale to access your full security online or by telephone. Bank transfers cannot be recalled after close of business on the day they are made- just go over to the banking forum and see how many people lose money by accidentally sending money to the wrong account.

I think the old days of banks just reimbursing everyone regardless of how lax they have been are long gone- the rest of us just won't pay for other people being careless with their money anymore.

http://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/246/-/page/113/

By the end of the following Tuesday (+6 days), he can be certain that the cheques will not bounce, and the money from them cannot be reclaimed from the company account without his consent.

also quite useful guide in seller guides on ebay to bank transfers:

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Payment-by-Direct-Bank-Transfer_W0QQugidZ10000000002794069