foreign ebay buyer, how not to get screwed?

[santaliqueur]

i live in america's hometown, plymouth, ma. plymouth rock, the mayflower, and all that. apparently there is one right in town, i had no idea.

but it is definitely much more expensive

do you have a ballpark figure how much it would be, on about $700 - $1000? i have no idea what shipping will cost, i'm getting all sorts of quotes tomorrow. he already has a DHL account, so i may just go that way. i'm leaning towards bidpay here, if the transfer is that much more expensive.

CJ

 

[jlee]

To send 200 bucks in the US is $24..to send $200 to Colombia is $9.99, IIRC..my guess is somewhere in the $30-40 range, but I'm really not sure. You can call a WU location and they can price it out for you, though..but I'm not sure if it's the same price to send from the US to another country as it is to send from another country to the US..

 

[jpeyton]

Do BidPay, and send the item using his DHL account. That way you don't have to worry about shipping charges because he'll pay for it. Just make sure you wait until the BidPay order is approved before shipping and you can't be defrauded.

 

[santaliqueur]

even with bidpay linked to my checking acct, there's no way of a reversal? i'm just trying to be thorough here, not a pain in the ass. the money would probably get here faster, just want to make sure there is no goofy rule with checking accts and revoking a payment.

Do BidPay, and send the item using his DHL account. That way you don't have to worry about shipping charges because he'll pay for it. Just make sure you wait until the BidPay order is approved before shipping and you can't be defrauded.

ok things are starting to become clear, that's why in his first email, he said "i'll pay you the $580..." but i was thinking "wait, what about the shipping"...if he's going to pay the shipping with his DHL acct, then i'm never going to see the money for shipping. ok it makes sense now. i'm just in anti-scammer mode i guess.

CJ

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: santaliqueur
even with bidpay linked to my checking acct, there's no way of a reversal? i'm just trying to be thorough here, not a pain in the ass. the money would probably get here faster, just want to make sure there is no goofy rule with checking accts and revoking a payment.

Do BidPay, and send the item using his DHL account. That way you don't have to worry about shipping charges because he'll pay for it. Just make sure you wait until the BidPay order is approved before shipping and you can't be defrauded.

ok things are starting to become clear, that's why in his first email, he said "i'll pay you the $580..." but i was thinking "wait, what about the shipping"...if he's going to pay the shipping with his DHL acct, then i'm never going to see the money for shipping. ok it makes sense now. i'm just in anti-scammer mode i guess.

CJ

If he owns a business, he probably gets a lower DHL shipping rate than you do, which is why he requested using his account.

BidPay cannot touch the money in your bank account, and from my experience it usually takes 2-3 days for the money to be transferred into it.

Technically, PayPal cannot touch the money in your bank account either. But because it is so easy to do a reversal with PayPal, your PayPal account will go negative, and they will hound you for the money and lock up your account; eventually they will send the negative balance to their collection agency.

 

[santaliqueur]

ok, thanks so much for your help. i'll be a lot more careful next time i decide to allow international bidders.

CJ

 

[edmundoab]

in anycase, I think the buyer is more afraid of you not delivering the item if they use WU or Bidpay,
coz its hard for them to reverse charge assuming you did not send the item.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: edmundoab
in anycase, I think the buyer is more afraid of you not delivering the item if they use WU or Bidpay,
coz its hard for them to reverse charge assuming you did not send the item.

In that case they should simply not bid. No one forcing them to. If they can't trust any seller, then they should not buy anything online.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: santaliqueur
so if i accept bidpay (and wait for bidpay's money order to get here before i ship) i should be straight?

CJ

Correct. A money order is guaranteed by the issuer (which would be Western Union), and not the buyer. That is as good as cash.

Unless the money order is counterfit.

Then you are screwed

WU is a huge base for fraud on craigslist.

 

[Mo0o]

I just maintain an no international shipping policy

 

[marvdmartian]

Just tell him the cost of shipping the item is your round trip ticket to South Korea. Then if he tries to jack you, just get back on the plane and fly home!! :laugh:

 

[Kelemvor]

Take his money, tell the bank you need ot checked to make sure it's legit. Wait 14 days or so to make sure it doesn't bounce or get rejected... Then ship it.

 

[edmundoab]

Originally posted by: vegetation

Originally posted by: edmundoab
in anycase, I think the buyer is more afraid of you not delivering the item if they use WU or Bidpay,
coz its hard for them to reverse charge assuming you did not send the item.

In that case they should simply not bid. No one forcing them to. If they can't trust any seller, then they should not buy anything online.

ebayers... sometime u can never understand em.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: santaliqueur
so if i accept bidpay (and wait for bidpay's money order to get here before i ship) i should be straight?

CJ

Correct. A money order is guaranteed by the issuer (which would be Western Union), and not the buyer. That is as good as cash.

Unless the money order is counterfit.

Then you are screwed

WU is a huge base for fraud on craigslist.

It's impossible for the money to be counterfeit if you did everything properly.

If you used BidPay, it's impossible to recieve counterfeit funds if you followed up on the payment through BidPay's website. Don't rely on e-mails (because that is just plain stupid) and you'll be fine.

If you used Western Union Money Transfer, it's impossible to recieve counterfeit funds because the transaction would be authorized by Western Union and you would recieve payout from a local agent.

Only if you decide to accept an international money order by mail would it be a good idea to have the authenticity of the actual document be verified.

 

[alexruiz]

All those scams concerning western union are for the BUYER. As a seller, as both JPeyton and Cadet Lee mentioned there is vistually zero risk using western union for the very same reason of why it is risky for the buyer: Once the money is gone, it is truly gone. In fact, western union should be like sellers heaven: No risk of reversal, "item not received" "significantly not as described", chargeback and similar sh!t that you get with crappal......

He is risking more using bidpay, and you should even thank him. Well, each one his/her own. I am glad of all the prejudice about selling to non USA bidders.... this leaves the an easier (and safer) market to those of us who sell worldwide Common sense is key. Your auction dictates the terms, a bidders accepts it if he/she bids.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: santaliqueur
so if i accept bidpay (and wait for bidpay's money order to get here before i ship) i should be straight?

CJ

Correct. A money order is guaranteed by the issuer (which would be Western Union), and not the buyer. That is as good as cash.

Unless the money order is counterfit.

Then you are screwed

WU is a huge base for fraud on craigslist.

It's impossible for the money to be counterfeit if you did everything properly.

If you used BidPay, it's impossible to recieve counterfeit funds if you followed up on the payment through BidPay's website. Don't rely on e-mails (because that is just plain stupid) and you'll be fine.

If you used Western Union Money Transfer, it's impossible to recieve counterfeit funds because the transaction would be authorized by Western Union and you would recieve payout from a local agent.

Only if you decide to accept an international money order by mail would it be a good idea to have the authenticity of the actual document be verified.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: santaliqueur
so if i accept bidpay (and wait for bidpay's money order to get here before i ship) i should be straight?

CJ

Correct. A money order is guaranteed by the issuer (which would be Western Union), and not the buyer. That is as good as cash.

Unless the money order is counterfit.

Then you are screwed

WU is a huge base for fraud on craigslist.

It's impossible for the money to be counterfeit if you did everything properly.

If you used BidPay, it's impossible to recieve counterfeit funds if you followed up on the payment through BidPay's website. Don't rely on e-mails (because that is just plain stupid) and you'll be fine.

If you used Western Union Money Transfer, it's impossible to recieve counterfeit funds because the transaction would be authorized by Western Union and you would recieve payout from a local agent.

Only if you decide to accept an international money order by mail would it be a good idea to have the authenticity of the actual document be verified.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

Yes, and if you read the post before yours, you would realize that the Craigslist warnings apply to a completely different situation, not this one.

The OP is not wiring money to anyone, he's the one getting paid.

 

[drnickriviera]

When I sold items internationally on ebay, my only 2 payment options were wire transfers and bidpay. Never had a single problem with bidpay, so i'll second jpeyton's advise