Following the measures taken by the owners of this forum regarding deal security I wanted to share the following with the community here.
As one who has sold watches on the Internet for over 17 years I have sometimes encountered buyers who had been justifiably leery
of sending funds to someone who does not maintain a "brick and mortar" location. Most were satisfied with references but still some were not. If you pay with a credit card or PayPal you as a buyer are protected but many sellers found that they are open to fraud and have lost thousands of dollars until they took better precautions in vetting out the buyers. Even if everything goes as planned, using credit card or PayPal costs close to 3% to one party or they split this fee. I was almost scammed by a buyer in Idaho who bought a $5000 watch and later filed a chargeback. He received his funds before even sending the watch back !!! He then jerked me around for a few weeks acting like he may do me a favor to return the watch if he chooses to do it at all. I did finally get it back minus one of the items that were included and valued at $100. This after I threatened him with a legal action. Lesson learned.
I had recently an inquiry from a buyer in Sweden who happens to be a retired attorney. He wanted to buy a watch in the $5000 to $6000 range and was still leery even after I provided numerous references. This is when I suggested he send the funds into an escrow account of my attorney who is licensed both in Nevada and New York state. We both agreed on the terms of our deal and the agreement was e-mailed to the attorney. Then the buyer wired the funds to the attorney's account. The funds were to be released within 3 days of the buyer receiving his watch giving the buyer ample time to verify that he received what was agreed upon.
The transaction went smoothly. The attorney's fee is $150, there were also wire fees on each end. Incidentally, had this deal been done using PayPal the fee would have been $165 with no absolute protection to the seller.
Yes, there are Escrow companies out there but many of dubious reputation. Some are only a front on the Web. The attorneys are registered with states where they are licensed and a pretty safe bet
Such escrow account comes especially useful when dealing with an unknown party and a large value watch.

 

interesting

 

Sounds like a good method for both parties.

IMO, it may be difficult to find an attorney who will do it for such a low fee, unless you're sending a lot of other work his/her way.

 

I have such an attorney

 

escrow...hmmm...but don't think it makes sense for buyer to use seller's lawyer
....nope

 

This idea seems pretty interesting, but also a bit expensive (bank wire transfer x2 + attorney fee). Sure, if you have lots of medium to high value transactions, it does make sense to negotiate the fee with the attorney (for him this is easy money), but this would ultimately also reflect on the price.

 

Look, the attorney does not provide any legal advice and does not represent one party only. The attorney is forwarded agreed upon terms of both parties and only keeps funds in escrow.

 

Yes, it is only advisable to be used on higher ticket items. Suppose you see an ad in the newspaper in another state or an ad on craigslist and you are tempted to "bite" but are afraid of being scammed. If you use this service all is good.

 

Buy a watch from you....I can wire you cash, no prob. I'm already set up LoL

I guess the suggestion may help others, that's fine. Look,,,but speaking for myself, I'd use my own attorney or none. Using the other guy's lawyer wouldn't solve the issue in this case...my 2 cents

 

no problem, use yours or one you trust.

 

In your example, if you're the buyer you should be just fine with Paypal. If you're the seller, you are indeed more vulnerable to scams via Paypal. But here comes into scene the advantage of large communities (regardless if from forums such as this or wus, tz etc or even ebay) - as long as you can see some proof of previous transactions that went well for both parties, the risk is somehow reduced (not eliminated though). I think the main question is how can you be protected as a seller if a new member wants to buy a watch from you, and he does not have any references (neither from the forum, nor even from ebay)? Do you take a leap of faith and send him the watch? Do you refuse him, or do you present him with this solution with escrow via an attorney which ultimately raises the price? -> by the way, if you go down this route, who's paying for it?

 

In this specific situation, wouldn't only accepting a wire transfer
that has cleared funds be a prudent way to go?

 

As a recovering lawyer I find it unwise that a lawyer is representing both parties to the good of either. Plus you get what you pay for---$150. It sounds like the escrow agreement was not drafted by the lawyer. This will get you problems when trying to enforce under a state's law. Concept excellent, but execution needs work IMHO. A good example to help understand is in real estate where escrow is common and such agreements are standardized. Regards, bill

 

Funny! Everyone likes a good lawyer joke.
But what's it mean in your case? No longer a lawyer?
-or- My name is Bill, and I'm a lawyer...

 

Ditto.
When two lawyers agree, somethin ain't right I tell yer. LoL. Mind you, I just play one, a lawyer, at work, myself

 

A recovering lawyer is one who no longer practices but is still under the Death Star of having been one . Some actually recover and can relate to civilians again. But it is like curing Ebola--- you may need someone else's blood infused to get you there. Regards, bill

 

When you go to an escrow company to close a real estate deal, does the company represent just one party to the deal or simply accommodates the deal? The lawyer in the case I stated only acts as an escrow agent, the parties reach the agreement first. If any of you do not think it is for you, then pass on it. Remember what I said when I started this thread, the buyer was an attorney himself and felt comfortable with this solution to doing the deal.

 

The cost of which party pays for the escrow is something the parties need to agree upon as well.
It can be shared as one option.

 

For the seller for sure this would make sense.