selling expensive item and you've all scared me with paypal!

tom_and_barbara_good

I'm about to sell something that may make around £4k. I'm an experienced ebayer but only with items of around £50 and I've never had any bother with any aspect of the sale but this big one scares me rigid.

Every single day on these boards there are posts about paypal chargebacks through either the buyer being awkward and saying the the goods aren't suitable/ lost in the post etc or through fraudulent use of a stolen card so I'm very tempted to not offer paypal at all for this sale.

So that leaves cheques, bank transfers & building society orders -what are the pitfalls with these?

Lorian

IMHO Bank Transfer is the best for a £4K sale. Its a secure as you can get, and you don't pay fees :j

Of course asking for Transfer only may put some buyers off. You need to weigh up the risk V potential reward. If you have plenty of good feedback it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

soolin

Even I would be concerned about paypal on a 4k item, as I have no idea how to post that using a paypal acceptable method with tracking?

For that sort of money I think I would be more inclined to do a cash on collection if possible, I certainly wouldnt trust the Royal Mail with it.

tom_and_barbara_good

Thanks Soo, it's not really a postal problem, it's a document

soolin

tom_and_barbara_good wrote: »

Thanks Soo, it's not really a postal problem, it's a document

It wasn't the size I was worried about, it was physically how to insure it sufficiently in case it went astray.

Before you make any decision on this check you can use a paypal method of posting with sufficient insurance, as if you can't then that rather makes the decision for you.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&eloc=1866&loc=1862&unique_id=95937&source_page=_home&flow=

Tirian

For £4k, Paypal will take around a £150-£200 cut - and you will expose yourself to significant danger of a fraudulent chargeback. Doesn't seem worthwhile at all to me ... I'd say that you'd be better off spending that money on an escrow service or paying some trusted person/company to deliver the item and collect the cash on delivery.

Snooze_Control

Yeah, I wouldn't offer Paypal for that amount. It'd be cash, bank transfer, bankers draft or cheque, in that order.

For sending it, I'd take a few date stamped photos of the document or make sure the front page of one of the current days' newpapers was in the photo and then send it Royal Mail Special Delivery which, if it'll go in a "normal" size envelope will cost you £4.60. However that only covers up to £500 in compensation if it goes walkabout, so shell out a further £2.10 on top and it'll be insured for loss or damage up to £5,000 which should be enough.

SC

Lorian

tom_and_barbara_good wrote: »

Thanks Soo, it's not really a postal problem, it's a document

I'm sorry to be nosey , but what sort of document is worth £4K? I guess its old?

Snooze_Control

Lorian wrote: »

I'm sorry to be nosey , but what sort of document is worth £4K? I guess its old?

Something signed by a past or present celeb?

zappahey

Snooze_Control wrote: »

Special Delivery...so shell out a further £2.10 on top and it'll be insured for loss or damage up to £5,000 which should be enough.

SC

Maximum cover on SD is £2,500.

martindow

If it is something old check that the insurance will cover its full value. Many carriers specifically exclude any items that are not new.