trz Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I found an item on cl that i want but I'm in Michigan and the item is in Pheonix Az. Small item probably 15# or so, so shipping cost wouldn't be an issue. But, is there a "SAFE" way to make a long distance transaction ? Seller doesn't want to use paypal. He suggested going to walmart and wiring money. ???? If I knew someone personally that lived in Pheonix I would have them pick it up for me but I don't, What's the best way to do it? Or should I pass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted June 4, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 NO NO NO!!! Never wire money to anyone on craigslist...that's a HUGE red flag. A favorite for scammers. The reason they don't want paypal involved is because paypal offers buyer protection...they can just reverse the charge. Once you wire money, your money be gone. Usually the scammer is the buyer though, and they offer to send you way more than you're asking in a check, then all you have to do is wire them back the difference and they'll have someone pick up the item you're selling later. Then in a few days you find out the check was a fraud and it bounced...but you've already wired the money. You're toast. I was selling an antique dresser once and I got that treatment. I was asking like $600 and they sent me a check for more than four grand. Not kidding. I cut it into a bazillion pieces and threw it away. They stopped calling me after about two weeks. Marc lives near Phoenix...I'm sure he's not too busy. If it's a cheap item it might be worth the gamble. I'd call the person on the phone before I sent any money. If the emails you're getting are somewhat nonsensical and in broken English, run away and run away fast. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 That was really nice of you to volunteer Marc like that, I'm sure he'd love to pick it up, I mean all he does is play in the shop all day talking to himself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Good info Eric! -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trz Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I don't have two hundy to gamble with so I think I'll pass on this one . Thanks a lot for that info. I would contact Marc and see if he would take a look at the item but Im sure he's kicked back sipping a cold one and I hate to pull anyone away from that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Yeah, what Eric said, I once sold a motorcycle to a guy from Florida and he had me ship it to Mexico, PayPal tools not only make that possible but they guarantee you get stuff or your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 On the flip side, for a seller to accept paypal is a huge risk. The scam is that people pay in paypal, take the item then reverse the charge, keeping the item and the money. Paypal sides with the buyer about 100% of the time no questions asked. To the point where people who make a living on ebay are having trouble staying in business. Cash is the only way to truly buy on CL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Paypal sides with the buyer about 100% of the time no questions asked. To the point where people who make a living on ebay are having trouble staying in business. Sorry, this is just entirely wrong. I've had a few incidents go through paypal resolutions, and every time it ended up in my favor. It's not even close to "about 100% of the time no questions asked." That's so far removed from reality it's obvious you just "heard that somewhere." I'm a professional online seller, and while ebay is not my primary venue, I do sell quite a bit there...and business is fine. If you're an honest seller with clean, quality goods and you ship quickly, then 99.9% of your transactions are going to go smoothly. The other .001% is just life. If you know people who are struggling to make a living selling online, that's their problem, not ebay's or paypal's. There are many very rich small-time online sellers. The biggest problem with ebay is that people still see it as a huge online garage sale, and they'll haggle with you over a freakin' nickel. But that's another conversation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Walk away..... or in your case, close the browser. Don't even consider it. There will always be a better option close if you're patient. It usually happens after you've already made the first buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Sorry, this is just entirely wrong. I've had a few incidents go through paypal resolutions, and every time it ended up in my favor. It's not even close to "about 100% of the time no questions asked." That's so far removed from reality it's obvious you just "heard that somewhere." I'm a professional online seller, and while ebay is not my primary venue, I do sell quite a bit there...and business is fine. If you're an honest seller with clean, quality goods and you ship quickly, then 99.9% of your transactions are going to go smoothly. The other .001% is just life. If you know people who are struggling to make a living selling online, that's their problem, not ebay's or paypal's. There are many very rich small-time online sellers. The biggest problem with ebay is that people still see it as a huge online garage sale, and they'll haggle with you over a freakin' nickel. But that's another conversation. I have had it go both ways. There have been times when eBay/PayPal were reasonable. But most recently eBay sided with the customer who sent back a product different from the one I sent. They do not care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 No system is perfect. Mistakes are made. But to say that they side with buyers 100% without question is just flat wrong. Scammers will scam and occasionally they'll get away with it. That's the .001% I mentioned. I've experienced credit card fraud a couple times...that doesn't keep me from using credit cards. I've been screwed by insurance companies but I still carry insurance. I've had items break the day after a warranty expired and I've been told tough luck. I still buy things. There's inherent risk in every aspect of consumerism, not just buying online. Black and white thinking dominates everything these days...if something isn't perfect, it sucks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 On the flip side, for a seller to accept paypal is a huge risk. The scam is that people pay in paypal, take the item then reverse the charge, keeping the item and the money. Paypal sides with the buyer about 100% of the time no questions asked. To the point where people who make a living on ebay are having trouble staying in business. Cash is the only way to truly buy on CL. That is just not true. Pay pal protects both parties equally. In order to get your money back, you have to file a complaint which a real person follows up on. I had someone try to scam me when buying a bow. They sent pay pal, I shipped the bow. A week later they filed a claim that said I shipped them an empty box. I told the PayPal rep exactly what was in there, they did their own research to determine the weight which matched my ups receipt to within a few oz. PayPal denied the complaint, and shut down the buyers account Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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