Would you do a deal with someone that isn't a registered user?

[Dug]

I got a guy that wants to buy something from me on the f/s forum and emailed me about it.

When I asked him what his username was and if he had any heatware he replied that he just visits the forums but has never registered and he has never done a trade before. In fact he didn't even know what heatware was.

Anyway he's willing to send money first. But is there anything I should be looking out for?
Seems a bit wierd that someone comes out of the blue and is willing to send money for a big ticket item.

 

[gopunk]

well if you get the money first... hard to see how you could get burned

 

[Viper GTS]

If he's willing to send money first, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Just make sure the funds are valid (only a real concern with PayPal or personal checks), you should be fine.

If I were you I'd demand a MO or Cashier's Check.

Remember that everyone has to start somewhere, and newbie does not necessarily = troll.

Viper GTS

 

Make absolutely sure you have the $ in full before shipping ANYTHING to him

 

[woodie1]

If he sends the money first what's the harm? How else is the guy going to get started. Everyone had to be at this point once.

 

[Dug]

Remember that everyone has to start somewhere, and newbie does not necessarily = troll.

True, but I think you have to at least register to become a newbie.

Thanks for the responses. I don't do a lot of trading so I wasn't sure if there's any tricks out there that I wasn't aware of. I know it sounds obvious that if I get the money first everything should be ok, but you never know. Maybe some after the sale quirks.

 

[Mandrill]

Sage advice in this thread. If you ask for a Money order, I'd insist on a USPS Money order.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Just ask for a money order.

When it comes in flip it over and call the number and verify that it's legit (my father was burned $8,000+ from a fake MO. luckily the money was returned and the guy who did it is dead now).

Deposit

Ship

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
Just ask for a money order.

When it comes in flip it over and call the number and verify that it's legit (my father was burned $8,000+ from a fake MO. luckily the money was returned and the guy who did it is dead now).

Deposit

Ship

dead? :Q

 

[Garet Jax]

I think Heatware evals, ebay evals and all evals are useful to a point. The most important thing to me is to get a warm fuzzy feeling when swapping emails with the person. If there is something I am suspicious about, I raise it immediately when dealing with them. If they do not address it to my satisfaction, then I will not deal with them regardless of the number of positive evals they have.

You are suspicious about this person's lack of online trading history. I would be up front with your concern and say that you will do a deal with them if they can address it. They can address it by:

1) Shipping money first
2) Paying only via Money Order, Cashier's Check, Personal Check.....
3) If they choose to pay with a personal check, then you will wait until it has cleared before shipping.
4) Anything else that you want addressed.

I find that if you are dealing with a reasonable person, they will do one of two things. They will agree to meet your conditions or they will choose not to deal with you. If they try to negotiate, then you are safer to move on and find someone else to deal with.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: gopunk

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
Just ask for a money order.

When it comes in flip it over and call the number and verify that it's legit (my father was burned $8,000+ from a fake MO. luckily the money was returned and the guy who did it is dead now).

Deposit

Ship

dead? :Q

Yeah. My dad sold his watch in Dallas and went to meet the guy at a popular resturaunt. Guy bought him dinner and all that stuff. Gave my pop a Wells Fargo cashier's check. Dad desposited it with AG Edwards. 8 months later AGE calls him and says it was a fake and that he owes them $8000 (8k and change, whatever he deposited). He told them too late. They sold $8000 in stock that he had with them to cover it. Ended up suing AGE, their bank (Hibernia IIRC), and then that bank's bank (don't remember the name). It was whoever the check went through and was cleared by.

On the court day he was sitting outside the court room with his briefcase thing dressed all snazzy (he's a business owner and pretty well kept) and one of the lawyers walked up to him and introduced herself. Started going over their defense (since the 2 banks and AGE were all defendants and the lawyers were working together). A few minutes later one of the other lawyers walked in. She realized my pop wasn't one of the defendants but the plantiff The other lawyer didn't show.

Trial was super quick, just an hour or so (wasn't really a trial, a summary judgement I guess). Judge said the law is 90 days (or something like that), and that 8 months was unreasonable and pop got his money+expenses.

A couple of months later he got a call from the sheriff's department in Dallas saying that a guy was found dead and was asking what relation my pop had to him. Was the guy that bought the watch from him. Apparently had been doing the same thing with cars and houses. Guess he screwed the wrong person. They just asked my dad to ID some pics of the guy.

 

[NutBucket]

That's how I got started. I know some of my friends have done deals on AT and they're not registered. Many times tho, they just ask me to moderate the deals.

 

[DaveSimmons]

One more bit of free advice -- you need insurance and delivery confirmation! eBay scum buyers sometimes say "the package never arrived" and try to scam you for a refund. Without DC + insurance, you'll have to pay. And don't lose the recipt and DC number!

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
One more bit of free advice -- you need insurance and delivery confirmation! eBay scum buyers sometimes say "the package never arrived" and try to scam you for a refund. Without DC + insurance, you'll have to pay. And don't lose the recipt and DC number!

Delivery confirmation dosent mean ****. I'm sorry. You need a SIGNATURE. Use USPS insurance. IIRC, they require a signature over $100, and since this is a big ticket item it should be covered.

UPS will automatically insure for $100. Drivers can release packages valued up to $900 without a sig. Over $1000 require sigs, if you dont have $1000 in insurance and want a signature, you can get one for an extra $3.

Get a SECURED payment instrument. Money orders and cashiers checks are the way to go. Make sure they have a watermark and a colored background. Like other members have suggested, they can be forged.

Thats all the advice I can give short of calling a lawyer and getting a contract signed.

-PAB

 

[joe678]

there are lots of ppl who read the forums w/o registering/posting... i did so for 2 years before i ever registered... if he pays first then theres no real problem...unless you dont ship it afterward...

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
One more bit of free advice -- you need insurance and delivery confirmation! eBay scum buyers sometimes say "the package never arrived" and try to scam you for a refund. Without DC + insurance, you'll have to pay. And don't lose the recipt and DC number!

Delivery confirmation dosent mean ****. I'm sorry. You need a SIGNATURE. Use USPS insurance. IIRC, they require a signature over $100, and since this is a big ticket item it should be covered.
-PAB

I'm honestly not impressed with the USPS signature confirmation. I put both DC (free online) and signature confirmation (not free) on a $220+ package I shipped..it arrived fine, as the DC stated. But - even months later, the USPS website *still* says there's no record of the signature confirmation.

Go figure.

If it's a really high ticket item, I'd consider using Fedex.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: CadetLee

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
One more bit of free advice -- you need insurance and delivery confirmation! eBay scum buyers sometimes say "the package never arrived" and try to scam you for a refund. Without DC + insurance, you'll have to pay. And don't lose the recipt and DC number!

Delivery confirmation dosent mean ****. I'm sorry. You need a SIGNATURE. Use USPS insurance. IIRC, they require a signature over $100, and since this is a big ticket item it should be covered.
-PAB

I'm honestly not impressed with the USPS signature confirmation. I put both DC (free online) and signature confirmation (not free) on a $220+ package I shipped..it arrived fine, as the DC stated. But - even months later, the USPS website *still* says there's no record of the signature confirmation.

Go figure.

If it's a really high ticket item, I'd consider using Fedex.

No, if thats the case you get a freight carrier and independently insure it.

-PAB