Buy/Sell on AT. Risks Involved?

[effee]

I thought I'd ask this here, I saw a nice laptop that I'd like to purchase on the Marketplace.
I have not done alot of internet buying/selling before, so I'd like to know what the risks are and what action I can take..

1) How do I know that the guy won't send me a broken 1999 IBM lappy instead of the new one. And even if he does, when I get back to him, he can just say that he sent me the item and that I'm trying to scam him. How can I prevent this?

2) Also, if the guy selling the laptop is overseas, what action can I take if he scams me? The police won't do anything right?

3) My concern with paypal is that I cannot retract the payment should anything go wrong. By the time the item reaches me, he could have already withdrawn the money.

Basically I am quite hesitant about making a purchase here, but I really like the lappy, just dont like how much trust is involved, and what little legal avenues i can turn to should something go wrong.


will appreciate the replies from all the heavy internet shoppers, or anyone that shops on the net.

 

[Coquito]

Stay within the 50 states
Do Canada only if they ship first, or it's a very well known trader
No laptops overseas
No Western Union

🙂

edit: ...and now I see where you're from. 🙁 Sorry, only maybe a handful of people will deal with you here.

 

[sisq0kidd]

Buy from established members with plenty of heat.

There's no way to ensure you won't get scammed, but this is the way I go about large purchases to ensure my chances of getting scammed are heavily reduced.

 

[Phokus]

If you're living in Singapore, can't you get electronics much cheaper over there?

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: sisq0kidd
Buy from established members with plenty of heat.

There's no way to ensure you won't get scammed, but this is the way I go about large purchases to ensure my chances of getting scammed are heavily reduced.

Yup, I have dealt with 3-4 members from overseas (Italy, Indonesia, etc) and I just make sure to check their heat or make them ship first since I have good heat. It has worked out well for me, haven't gotten burned at AT yet thank God (knock on wood).