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eBay/PayPal sale nervousness
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watchyouwant
·So i now have the funds 'safely' in my account. If i follow the shipping rules closely, i should be protected if things go awry from here.
But...on the cynical-but-crucial assumption that every potential buyer is a crook, how about this nuclear-scale disaster: I record, photograph and weigh the box, send it insured and tracked, they receive it and write to me saying either "it's fake" or "it's damaged", send me back a fake/damaged watch, and keep mine. In that scenario, as far as eBay are concerned, the buyer have complied fully with their rules, so will benefit from buyer's protection. I therefore have to refund. What the hell do i then do? Do i call PayPal, and call in my seller's protection, explaining that i've been scammed? Do PayPal automatically believe me? I have no evidence that the watch i sent was genuine/not broken... Given, as far as PayPal are concerned, i have complied with their rules, aren't I equally as covered as the buyer, and can expect to get my money back from PayPal after refunding the eBay buyer? I guess that's what's meant to happen, but it feels as though if this sort of thing happens a lot (these are desperate times for some people, why wouldn't it?), that considerably eat in to PayPal'd margin.
Perhaps the 3% fee i paid is fixed by modelling the risks of these sort of things happening... i.e. they worked out that 3% will still make them a fair margin after accounting for scumbags pulling tricks like this ?
As you can tell.... i'm still nervous about this one, despite selling on eBay for 10yrs.
If that happens, you have no chance. As soon as tracking shows, you received it, they refund. You can only give the deliverer $10 and ask him to wait until you unpacked it and get his statement under oath, if a brick shows up.... Been there.
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john_coburg
·If that happens, you have no chance. As soon as tracking shows, you received it, they refund. You can only give the deliverer $10 and ask him to wait until you unpacked it and get his statement under oath, if a brick shows up.... Been there.
Right. But then what is PayPal's "Seller's Protection" for, exactly? Isn't that meant to protect me against this sort of thing? Or is it just to cover things like non-delivery?
"PayPal Seller Protection can cover you in the event of claims, chargebacks, or reversals that are a result of unauthorized purchases or items your buyer didn’t receive."
In the case of a return, I would video tape opening the package along with a closeup of the watch.
Also, I am not sure what the program is by you, but ebay now has authentication policies in place and act as middlemen to all transactions (including returns) making this type of scam nearly impossible. BTW, with the new eBay authentication, returns are not even allowed as long as it is as described and the seller says “no returns”.
I heard a lot about the authentication process, but seen absolutely nothing in practice. I have bought and sold a handful of watches in the £2-5k range over the last 12mths, and there's never been a mention of the authentication process, nor was there with this chunky sale i made.
Are they brought in only when things go awry, such as the nightmare scenario outlined here?
Incidentally, you're of course right, the vast majority of people are decent and honest, and incredibly, i have never yet had a problem (buying and selling). But that can lead you to 'relax', and when the stakes are high, you really have to think about how you can lose your shirt... just in case.
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john_coburg
·YOU SOLD A DAYTONA, JOHN???
it’s a horological crime!!!
I felt it was a lot of funds tied up in something i just didn't wear all that much.
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Dan S
·I think that authentication has only been rolled out in the US so far.
Regarding the main topic of the thread, I think that the take-home message for the OP is that perhaps there is a price-point above which his comfort level with PayPal ends. Regardless of buyer-protection/seller-protection features that exist, there will always be exceptions, scams, and horror stories. They are rare, but they happen. If the possibility is going to cause a lot of anxiety, in the future, it might be better to sell high value items using other venues, e.g. consigning with a dealer.
Regarding the main topic of the thread, I think that the take-home message for the OP is that perhaps there is a price-point above which his comfort level with PayPal ends. Regardless of buyer-protection/seller-protection features that exist, there will always be exceptions, scams, and horror stories. They are rare, but they happen. If the possibility is going to cause a lot of anxiety, in the future, it might be better to sell high value items using other venues, e.g. consigning with a dealer.
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john_coburg
·I think that authentication has only been rolled out in the US so far.
Regarding the main topic of the thread, I think that the take-home message for the OP is that perhaps there is a price-point above which his comfort level with PayPal ends. Regardless of buyer-protection/seller-protection features that exist, there will always be exceptions, scams, and horror stories. They are rare, but they happen. If the possibility is going to cause a lot of anxiety, in the future, it might be better to sell high value items using other venues, e.g. consigning with a dealer.
That's spot on, Dan. I'm a bit above that threshold here.
Thank you very much to all who chimed in with advice, it is much appreciated.
Fingers crossed it works out okay.
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