potential buyer wants to view item first

catalina66

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

I was thinking this.
How much are you trying to sell it for, OP?
Is it lots of money that would make it worth someone's while, if they were that way inclined, to scam you?

[Just seen you were asking £150. So possibly worth someone's while to try a scam but I wouldn't be too bothered myself.]

Thanks Jimmy, and, yes, someone had already tried to haggle me down to £100, for £220's worth of gym plus fitness equipment, lol. I really shouldn't have put that I was selling it due to health reasons (kicking myself), as maybe scammers thought getting the address would be worth their while, eek. Lesson learnt.

Goldiegirl

Perhaps it's be best not to put personal information like your state of health in the ad.


Just keep it factual to the item you're selling.

Flyonthewall

catalina66 wrote: »

Thank you very much indeed. Really appreciate. Makes sense what you said about scammers possibly not as bothered about gym equipment. Will definitely read up, but was also interested that you said there are pens can check notes. The gym would need to be carried through my main room, where there's the ipad, tv, pc, and various items that are quite 'grabbable', so that's great advice.

Didn't want to go any lower than £150, with it being the gym and £70 worth of extra fitness equipment, so raising the price in order to 'haggle down' sounds a brilliant idea.

Really relieved to have unlisted it at this point, and it's great to have such good advice and just mull over if and when and how to try again, and to ensure safety. Would be great if someone could benefit from this gym and fitness stuff, as they could really enjoy it, but will make sure I keep myself safe first. I'm going to note the advice yourself and soolin have given. Thank you very much again.
:beer:

You can probably get a pen really cheap off ebay. Sure there's probably a store somewhere that sells it, but couldn't say where as I've never looked. I used to volunteer at a charity shop though and we used a pen. Just make a little mark and see what colour it is and that tells you.

If you've got quite a few notes mark a few random ones. That way you also know there's not likely to be any fakes hidden in there.

Certainly worth doing your research. Once you know the best ways to be safe and a few little tricks it makes selling much easier lol

catalina66

Flyonthewall wrote: »

I don't think that's an open invite to scammers at all. Scammers don't care about price, they'll try and trick you into giving it to them free (e.g. pay via paypal, arrange a courier themselves/pick it up, claim item not received and get a refund).

It does invite those who think they get an amazing bargain and are really cheeky. They'll see it as you really want rid, you're already asking a good price so they offer a really cheap price in the hope that you'll be like "yes, sure! I just want it gone".

The way to stop that is to have the price at close to what it's worth. Make it a little cheaper so people see a bit of a bargain and they'll go for yours over others as it's that bit cheaper. You can say you'll accept offers but put £xxx OVNO (or very near offer).

Even taking the V out and making it ONO suggests you're willing to drop even lower to those who are really cheeky when it comes to haggling.

Thanks, and I'm definitely learning a lot; appreciate it, and am sure you're right about what they could be thinking on reading it's selling for health reasons. Definitely got the feeling the two enquiries I've had were high on the 'cheek' register, lol. £150 was as low as I could go, and undercut other listings I'd seen, but I think upping it a bit would have been better, especially with the £70 extra fitness equipment in. OVNO sounds good; would have put off the one who wanted me to cut a third off the price, lol! Maybe pitching at £200 would have been more realistic. :beer:

catalina66

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Perhaps it's be best not to put personal information like your state of health in the ad.


Just keep it factual to the item you're selling.

You're right, Goldiegirl. Definitely a lesson learnt, as I see now that, rather than giving an honest explanation for why I was selling it, saying health as the reason really did leave me open to not getting a reasonable or reliable sale.

catalina66

Flyonthewall wrote: »

You can probably get a pen really cheap off ebay. Sure there's probably a store somewhere that sells it, but couldn't say where as I've never looked. I used to volunteer at a charity shop though and we used a pen. Just make a little mark and see what colour it is and that tells you.

If you've got quite a few notes mark a few random ones. That way you also know there's not likely to be any fakes hidden in there.

Certainly worth doing your research. Once you know the best ways to be safe and a few little tricks it makes selling much easier lol

Fascinating stuff; what a great way to check money! Especially in a charity shop, to make sure of no losses. Well done for volunteering too! Will check trusty Amazon, as a pen like that is useful to have around, for sure. Amazed already at how much great advice and how much I've learnt; yes, seeing that selling can be safe, lol, with the right info and safety precautions.

KRDmum

Flyonthewall wrote: »

While gym equipment can have some value I don't think it's something that scammers are as bothered about. It's not as quick and easy to sell it on as, say, a mobile phone.

I was very surprised when I got an email for the Phil and Teds double pram that I was selling through gumtree for £300. A 'disabled' person with hearing problems was going to buy it for their cousin and even pay the full asking price through PayPal, then arrange a courier. They repeated the word disabled quite a few times, obviosly hoping for somebody to take a bait and feel sorry for them. They were quite persistant and even sent me links to open a PayPal account, insisting that this was a safest option, do I had replied 'that this is the easiest way to get scammed' and haven't heard back from them.

Flyonthewall

catalina66 wrote: »

Fascinating stuff; what a great way to check money! Especially in a charity shop, to make sure of no losses. Well done for volunteering too! Will check trusty Amazon, as a pen like that is useful to have around, for sure. Amazed already at how much great advice and how much I've learnt; yes, seeing that selling can be safe, lol, with the right info and safety precautions.

Indeed. Most shops have machines now to check money, but a pen is cheaper and easier lol. They certainly are handy.

KRDmum wrote: »

I was very surprised when I got an email for the Phil and Teds double pram that I was selling through gumtree for £300. A 'disabled' person with hearing problems was going to buy it for their cousin and even pay the full asking price through PayPal, then arrange a courier. They repeated the word disabled quite a few times, obviosly hoping for somebody to take a bait and feel sorry for them. They were quite persistant and even sent me links to open a PayPal account, insisting that this was a safest option, do I had replied 'that this is the easiest way to get scammed' and haven't heard back from them.

Yeah, there's always the odd one and they always try to make you feel sorry for them or persuade you to send to another country. Best to just ignore them usually. Bit easier to package a pram then an entire home gym with extras though - they stand more chance of someone falling for it and agreeing. I doubt that was something to sell on either, they just didn't want to pay much, so hopefully they don't try that a lot (and hopefully people don't fall for it).

It's sad that people send messages like that though.

catalina66

KRDmum wrote: »

I was very surprised when I got an email for the Phil and Teds double pram that I was selling through gumtree for £300. A 'disabled' person with hearing problems was going to buy it for their cousin and even pay the full asking price through PayPal, then arrange a courier. They repeated the word disabled quite a few times, obviosly hoping for somebody to take a bait and feel sorry for them. They were quite persistant and even sent me links to open a PayPal account, insisting that this was a safest option, do I had replied 'that this is the easiest way to get scammed' and haven't heard back from them.

Dear me. Good job you were so aware. Must have been very satisfying to tell them straight like that. The cheek of them, sending you a link to open an account too!

catalina66

Flyonthewall wrote: »

Indeed. Most shops have machines now to check money, but a pen is cheaper and easier lol. They certainly are handy.

Yeah, there's always the odd one and they always try to make you feel sorry for them or persuade you to send to another country. Best to just ignore them usually. Bit easier to package a pram then an entire home gym with extras though - they stand more chance of someone falling for it and agreeing. I doubt that was something to sell on either, they just didn't want to pay much, so hopefully they don't try that a lot (and hopefully people don't fall for it).

It's sad that people send messages like that though.

Lol, yes, definitely handy to have one of those pens around; quicker probably too. And, yes, hopefully those scammers don't get anywhere with anyone ... they sound incredibly pushy, and anyone switched on is going to smell a rat, for sure.