A few non-ebay Paypal questions over fairly big ticket items.

[Graham_A_M]

Hey guys, I posted this very high end lefty bass guitar for sale, and a guy from Belgium wants to buy it.

I'm kind of a Paypal n00b, and just want to make sure I dont get hosed on this. How do I know the payment has been received, whereas after I ship the bass, he cant file a complaint and get his money refunded/removed from my account?

Is there anything I should be worried about? or how do transactions like this normally work?

I apologize as I dont know too many people that are knowledgeable about this sort of thing, otherwise I'd ask them to avoid making a post such as this.

[adidas]

Insure the item at the post office, make sure u have a tracking number as well.

When he sends money it will appear in ur account, make sure that it has cleared and if you are really worried withdraw the money and remove ur CC and debit card info.

[yellowsnow]

make sure it's CLEARED! I'm not sure how long a payment from Belgium will take to clear (just hearing it's from Belgium is a red flag for me)... i'm guessing 20-30 business days?

once you are 100% certain is has cleared, do what ^^ says.

oh and paypal has been known to just take money out of your account without your authorization (or they say it's somewhere in the agreement you signed). not sure if removing your banking info will prevent them from backtracing.

[Pacman]

I wouldn't accept Paypal from a buyer that you didn't know/trust.

Paypal is great for BUYING things, because you are protected to some degree.

When selling, there is always a chance you can get screwed, as the buyer can file a paypal dispute claiming the item was not as described (the buyer could claim you sent a broken guitar worth $50). Then, all he would have to do it ship it back to you, and Paypal would probably end up reimbursing the buyer.

I've seen this happen many times with wristwatches. A guy sells a Rolex to someone who pays via paypal. The buyer receives the real watch, files a dispute claiming it's fake. Paypal asks the buyer to send the watch back to the seller registered mail. The buyer sends a fake rolex back, and gets a full refund.

I would ask for a bank wire and not ship the guitar until the money clears.

[Graham_A_M]

^Yeah it's shit like that, that really has me worried.

Gotcha, so an international bank draft should be in order then, alright I'll let him know thanks a ton guys!

[spike98]

Carefull with bank drafts too. They can be counterfit and it will take a few days for the banks to find out. Make sure when you cash the draft you get the bank to verify it before you ship the item.

[Graham_A_M]

^ I will, or do a wire transfer instead. There's no way I'd send off. $4k guitar unless I knew everything cleared with the bank

[zipdoa]

If you get him to 'gift' the money, you can avoid all transaction fees and he has no recourse.

[Pacman]

Originally posted by zipdoa
If you get him to 'gift' the money, you can avoid all transaction fees and he has no recourse.

Good point, I totally forgot about the "gift" option with Paypal. That's probably the easier way to do it, and make it safe for the seller.......

[sabad66]

Look at it from his point of view: "hi, I'll sell you the guitar if you send me a bank draft or send the money as a gift via paypal"

Might scare of your potential buyer... Jus sayin