Courier

Mistral001

soolin wrote: »

Normally a NI buyer would not worry me, but this is a classic scam and many people fall for it.

The OP was lucky they came and asked for assistance.

usually it is a motor vehicle of some sort, often going to the Continent and always with either a faked email from the bank saying funds are received but being held, or a sudden buyer problem meaning they have to pay via Western Union or paypal with funds being released once courier has item.

But this bike is being sold to a UK buyer. I cannot see the comparison with selling a bike to someone on the Continent. Foreign countres, foreign couriers and foreign banksetc. As the OP will be selling through Uk bankd, UK couriers and someone from the UK.

It could be a scam but not because it is being sold to someone in the Northern Ireland, perhaps what you meant to say.

soolin

Mistral001 wrote: »

But this bike is being sold to a UK buyer. I cannot see the comparison with selling a bike to someone on the Continent. Foreign countres, foreign couriers and foreign banksetc. As the OP will be selling through Uk bankd, UK couriers and someone from the UK.

It could be a scam but not because it is being sold to someone in the Northern Ireland, perhaps what you meant to say.

It is because the bank transfer will not materialise and an usafe payment method will be used instead.

The buyer is usually 'overseas' (although almost certainly actually in the UK) as that gives a sense of urgency to the transaction and makes it more likely that seller will go along with a sudden change of payment method in order not to miss the ferry it is being shipped on.(or similar)

Mistral001

The more I read this thread the more I realise that there seems to be a misconception about selling on ebay to people from Northern Ireland.

Selling to someone in NI is almost identical as someone from Manchester selling to someone in London for example. It IS identical if sending by Royal MAil. The only difference is that if you use a courier it will only be some couriers who will be competitive when sending to NI or in fact any non-mainland UK destinations. Some treat NI just like maninland UK such as MyHermes and Collectplus. There might be a few others as well.

I hope this is helpful to the OP in making a decision as to what to do about this situation.

soolin

Mistral001 wrote: »

The more I read this thread the more I realise that there seems to be a misconception about selling on ebay to people from Northern Ireland.

Selling to someone in NI is almost identical as someone from Manchester selling to someone in London for example. It IS identical if sending by Royal MAil. The only difference is that if you use a courier it will only be some couriers who will be competitive when sending to NI or in fact any non-mainland UK destinations. Some treat NI just like maninland UK such as MyHermes and Collectplus. There might be a few others as well.

I hope this is helpful to the OP in making a decision as to what to do about this situation.

I think you are missing the point that is doesn't matter where a scammer claims to live, a scam is a scam.

Noo ne has said that it is unsafe to sell to NI, please read the thread.

Mistral001

imho wrote: »

Thanks soolin. I have told my son what you said.Plus the guy buying it lives in Northern Ireland so its going cost him to get it shipped over there<Motorbike>
My son is keen to sell it to him .

It is not necessarily going to cost anymore than shipping from anywhere else in the UK. See above post No. 24

soolin

Mistral001 wrote: »

It is not necessarily going to cost anymore than shipping from anywhere else in the UK. See above post No. 24

It's a motorbike so not something to be carried by Royal Mail and anyway buyer wished to send their own courier.

Regardless of all that this is a common scam and OP is wise to avoid.

nikkit72

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Because they're in NI and need it shipped?

How could it go wrong if OP ends up with cleared funds????

Because NO ONE in their right mind spends £1300 on a item they have not seen or tested, cmon, reads scam all over it

imho

Just to update.The NI guy couldnt find a Courier to pick up the bike.Another guy came to look at it but was just looking to see if it was his bike that had been stolen !Then he said he buy it but a family member of buyer is ill and in the end backed out as same bike as my sons is now on ebay cheaper.
Thanks everyone for the info.

PDC

Just to add there is a page on the eBay help pages regards bank transfers;

Many sellers have concerns over accepting bank transfer as a safe and viable method of payment.

Presented here is some advice written by a banking expert , and an experienced eBay seller, (ME, of course - LOL) which will hopefully reassure any sellers new to accepting Bank Transfers.



ADVANTAGES OF BANK TRANSFERS


Immediate access to your money either on-line, via the cash-point, over the counter etc.
Funds cannot be retrieved once sent unless authorised by the receiver.
FREE to access your money and receive it
NO LIMIT on receiving or sending the funds
It is the MOST SECURE way to accept funds, as they cannot be reclaimed once sent, unlike Paypal!



WHY IS IT SECURE?


Because, in order to send a transfer you have to identify yourself through the banking system, be it on the telephone or internet, or over the counter.
Once the payment has been sent it cannot be retrieved from the account to which it has been sent without the permission of the receiving account holder


IS IT REALLY SAFE TO GIVE OUT DETAILS?


You only need to give your buyer your Account Name, Your Sort Code and Your Account Number.
This is less information than you would have if you had sent a cheque. (That has Sort Code, Account Number, sometimes your card number on the back – incidentally - something you should never put on the back yourself anyway - and a copy of your signature!)


HOW DO I SHOW BANK TRANSFER ON eBAY?

On your auctions you need to state that you accept Direct Bank Transfer as boldly as possible.

Something like:

“I prefer Bank Transfer payments, however I also accept the following...”

In the seller’s payment instructions, enter something like this...

“If you wish to pay by bank transfer please send your payment to: Sort Code xx xx xx Account Number: xxxxxxxx. Bank Transfer is FREE, takes a maximum of 3 working days to clear and is VERY secure. If you use on-line banking it takes just a few seconds!”

Then when you send your invoice, this will appear in their payment instructions.

Alternatively you could email your buyer with the details at the end of auction...


INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS


You will find that many Buyers from Mainland Europe actually prefer to pay by Bank Transfer (or Wire Transfer as they may call it)

How Do I Accept International Bank Transfers?

* You will need to give your buyer your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and your BIC (Bank Identification Code) – both of these should be available on your bank statement. If not, you will need to ask your Bank.
* Your Buyer will also need your name and address.
* Mainland Europeans can do an International IBAN transfer on-line, over the phone and in branch, just as we can transfer UK to UK.
* Your buyer should pay you in EUROs, not UK £ and should select “shared charges”.

The EU directive on transfer in Euro in Europe can be summed up pretty simply.....

Banks in the EU (even if not in the Euro) may not charge more to send a transfer or receive a transfer in Euro within the EU than they do for a domestic transfer. To stay within the scope of this directive, the sender of the money must send Euro, select "shared charges", and IBAN and BIC must be used. Shared charges simply means the buyer pays their fees and you pay yours.


COMPARISON OF BANK TRANSFER & PAYPAL

Paypal

Takes up to 21 days to access your funds once you have hit the “withdraw funds” button.
Funds can be reversed at any time by the buyer, for “non receipt” of goods, or any other spurious excuse, paid with fraudulent funds etc. etc.
Costs money to withdraw less than £50
Costs to receive funds if an upgraded account.
Receiving limits, (forcing you to upgrade if you have a good business going).

Bank Transfer

Immediate access to your money either on-line, via the cash-point over the counter etc.
Funds cannot be retrieved once sent unless authorised by the receiver.
FREE to access your money and to receive it
NO LIMIT on receiving or sending the funds.

I hope this guide helps.

from http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Bank-Transfers-for-sellers-Pros-amp-Cons?ugid=10000000013167880