Selling something valuable - any advice?

kathfisch

I'm hoping some of you can give me some advice about selling something on ebay that is quite valuable, I expect it to sell for anywhere between £150 and £300. I have sold lots on ebay before but never anything that went for over £40 the little bits add up though hey?!

I'm obviously wary of being the victim of fraud although its not an item, like a phone or something, that I think are most vulnerable to that - its quite a specialised a camera lens.

Anyway, what should I do to protect myself as best I can?

I am a Paypal verified seller if this makes any difference?! I am happy to restrict to only UK or UK+US buyers if this would be safest and I guess I'll only accept paypal. Is special delivery the best option for postage and, if so, is there an international service that's as good?

It might not seem like a lot of money but it is to me so any advice gratefully received!

Kath x

rare_stuff

I'd advise that you include in the description & payment instructions that you will only accept payment from a verified paypal account and to a confirmed address. Otherwise you would be a possible target for those who would initially pay via paypal and then use a claim back as you will not be eligible for seller protection, even when you send by a traceable courier.

Also, if making it available for collection insist that it is not eligible for paypal payment in this case.

frivolous_fay

Consider offering bank transfer as a payment method. (Not the only one)

It's far safer than paypal for you as a seller... although relatively unlikely that anyone will actually pay that way.

I would keep a careful eye on your bidders... and NOT put a BIN on it (or if you do, make it immediate payment)

Check out your winning bidder and their payment very carefully... as rare_stuff says, check for a confirmed address, and that you have seller protection.

FloFlo

If I am listing an expensive item with a BIN I always set it so that it is immediate payment and must have a credit card on file. I also put in my auction that I only post to confirmed addresses, you should post it special delivery or the equivalent.

Contains_Mild_Peril

Definitely send Special Delivery. It's trackable and is handled separately from ordinary mail so it should get there safely, and it includes cover for valuable items as standard. Ordinary mail only covers for loss or damage up to £32 for most items, but an item with glass components would not be covered against damage if sent by any service other than SD.

kathfisch

Thank you for all the advice! I had read that the paypal protection only applies if the item is sent to a confirmed address and i'll put this in the listing.

If the winning bidder does not have a confirmed address though, what would you do? I'm not naturally suspicious and I wouldn't want to be too harsh on someone, would you refuse to sell? can you even do that?!

I've offered bank transfer before and only had one payment (out of 100+ items sold), maybe because buyers see it as much less safe for them?

frivolous_fay

kathfisch wrote:

If the winning bidder does not have a confirmed address though, what would you do??

I tend to put something like this on my listings:

I will only accept paypal payments with confirmed addresses. If your address is not confirmed, I will refund your payment and give you the opportunity to rectify the problem.

kathfisch wrote:

I'm not naturally suspicious and I wouldn't want to be too harsh on someone, would you refuse to sell? can you even do that?!?

I think you can do it - I seem to recall one of the reasons for a NPB dispute is 'Buyer wanted to pay but had an unconfirmed address'. I could be wrong.

kathfisch wrote:

I've offered bank transfer before and only had one payment (out of 100+ items sold), maybe because buyers see it as much less safe for them?

Exactly the problem - but there's no harm in offering the option.

kathfisch

Oh and any thoughts on adding a reserve price? I'd be mortified if it sold for £20 or something, obviously, but might a reserve be off-putting?

Sorry for all the questions!

kathfisch

frivolous_fay wrote:

I tend to put something like this on my listings:

I will only accept paypal payments with confirmed addresses. If your address is not confirmed, I will refund your payment and give you the opportunity to rectify the problem.

That's a good idea! I wasn't sure how long confirmation would take (long time since I did it!!) but I'll add something like that, thank you.

frivolous_fay wrote:

I think you can do it - I seem to recall one of the reasons for a NPB dispute is 'Buyer wanted to pay but had an unconfirmed address'. I could be wrong.

That's interesting to know. If a buyer refused to try and confirm their address, I'd be suspicious.

frivolous_fay wrote:

Exactly the problem - but there's no harm in offering the option.

Very true!

ormus

by all means put a reserve price on it. make it realistic though. and you may even want to actually tell peeps what it is?