Quick E-bay question

[Dryst999]

So i've never sold anything on e-bay before. I have listed a pretty expensive trombone with no buy it now price, I just received an offer from a buyer for an amount i'm willing to take on the spot. Is it safe to cancel my auction and sell it to him via e-mail to avoid the e-bay closing fee's? As long as he has a verified paypal account I should still be protected shouldn't I?

My only worry is that i'll ship my horn to him, he will swap it out for a cheaper knockoff horn, file a "Item not as described" claim with paypal and i'll be stuck getting ripped off. Is this even possible or am I just being paranoid?

 

[lxskllr]

I think that's against the terms of service. You're worried about getting ripped off, but don't have a problem ripping off Ebay?

 

[mb]

No. Always sell it through ebay.

 

[NutBucket]

You're not protected if you cancel the auction and sell to him directly.

Your worry is complete legit. Paypal/ebay is so skewed towards buyers that its really easy for sellers to get screwed; exactly as you describe.

 

[ahenkel]

Sell it through Ebay. If he's desperate enough to have it he'll place a bid.

 

[Ns1]

You're not protected if you cancel the auction and sell to him directly.

Your worry is complete legit. Paypal/ebay is so skewed towards buyers that its really easy for sellers to get screwed; exactly as you describe.

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that said, I've been selling for over 10+ years and as long as they have decent feedback and play by the rules, I'll sell to them outside eBay. I haven't been burned yet.

 

[blinblue]

I wouldn't say you are being paranoid at all. And even if you do it all through ebay, it is far to easy as a seller to get screwed. I personally wouldn't sell anything at all on ebay. And I'm fairly sure its against eBay's terms to sell an item to a buyer who found it on eBay, outside of eBay.
I would highly recommend against doing it. I would much prefer to deal locally on craigslist and with cash.
Especially with eBay transactions, if something feels even a little off, don't do it. You'll probably get screwed.
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[airdata]

You're not protected if you cancel the auction and sell to him directly.

Your worry is complete legit. Paypal/ebay is so skewed towards buyers that its really easy for sellers to get screwed; exactly as you describe.

Neither is the buyer... but paypal generally sides w\ buyers 99% of the time regardless.

How much was the offer, and how did you list your item? Is it listed as online auction?
I mostly do Buy it now / best offer because I sell for maximum $$. The auction item i sold last week only went for $15+5 shipping and then I had to pay 7-8 to ship it + ebay/paypal fees. Could probably have gotten $50 if i listed as buy it now/best offer.

 

[Dryst999]

How can I protect myself from getting screwed like I mentioned in my original post? I'm going to go ahead and let the bids continue, it's currently up to $800 and the guy was offering $1300 for it.. I should be able to get up close to that in bids.

Is there anything I can do to protect myself from a "Item not as described" scam swap that i'm worried about? I could take pictures of the instrument at the post office but that's still circumstancial and would probably not hold sway in a paypal dispute. I'm trying to sell it on craigslist as well but it's alot harder to find a buyer in my city, it's a speciality instrument and is easy to sell nationwide but a pain to find someone local who wants it.