Curious what people's thoughts are on selling watches internationally. Not from a dealers standpoint but an individual. As many know I have a watch listed in the for sale section, and I was messaged yesterday about purchasing it.

The issue I have is with the stories I've been hearing about PayPal and people being refunded and keeping the watch. The buyer is international and states he would like to pay via credit card via PayPal gifted. He has no feedback here and as a matter of fact just made the account to message me it looks like.

What should I do or how should I go about this?

I have no experience selling overseas, I would assume since we have little recourse as sellers in the US, that I have even less power in Europe!

Think I'm set of paid gifted via a credit card on PayPal?

 

I'd suggest he wants to pay by PayPal gift (Friends and Family) to save on fees that you would probably want to incorporate in the sale price if he was to pay normally through PayPal. Ordinarily, that would result in no buyer protection for him from PayPal; however, if he pays by credit card there is always a chance that he could claim a charge back through his credit card company. I would do two things if it was me: (1) ask if he has some credentials such as references from other forums, eBay feedback or something else; and (2) ask if he will pay from his bank account instead of credit card. He may agree, in which case you can better determine the risk in the deal. Not everyone is a scammer, but you do need to take steps to protect yourself.

 

I agree not everyone is a scammer but looking at every deal from every angle has saved me from getting scammed throughout the years.

I will ask if he has feedback else where but I have mentioned to him several times that I have plenty of feedback backing me up but he doesn't, so I'd think he would have mentioned feedback if he had any by now.

I have asked that he pay via his bank, but he said he can't until August now. He had mentioned before he could in a day or two but now it's changed to August?

The issue is the risk involved with losing that money, and the possibility of losing my PayPal account that I now use for my website. Can't afford to be down this payment method on my site if something occurs from this.

I have much more to lose if I were the scammer, my reputation, my PayPal account, money from the chargeback, and the watch. At this moment he has literally nothing to lose, but he'll sure gain a free watch.

Going back to graduate school for a degree in risk management as we speak. If I got scammed now I sure wouldn't be worth my weight and should drop out

Ps: since he is new here I did ask him to pay gifted and extra for shipping internationally and he agreed. If he had been a member here for awhile or had some great references, I'd have no issue with paying the regular way via PayPal.

 

I would pass on this buyer. Just me.

 

That's what I'm leaning towards now, wish I wasn't desperate to sell to pay for some other expenses!

 

Walk away ... he does not have cash in hand. That tells me he might play games.

 

That seems to be the consensus!

 

If it quacks like a duck...

 

I was recently shafted through a paypal ebay sale from a buyer who had decent feedback.

 

The thing about feedback is that it can be built on small transactions, used to create trust, and then used to screw someone on a big transaction. I'm always a bit afraid about this aspect...
In your case I would ask for a bank transfer given that you have references and a real identity, and if he's not happy then don't sell him the watch. If he can't pay before august just tell him to get in touch when he has the money and if the watch hasn't sold, you can make a deal

 

I agree with all of the above which is why I've told him get back to my when he can pay via a bank transfer.

 

I just reacently made a sale on the forums to a member @Paladin61, he had no posts at the time and no references on these forums. I recommend that you ask for references on another forum etc.

The transaction went smoothly, we used PayPal and have had no issues. He posted in the review section that he got the watch etc. This too was an international sale.

But if it doesn't feel right don't do the transaction, there is more than one buyer out there as long as the price is fair.

Also as others mentioned PayPal friends and family negates buyer protection from what I believe and PayPal has seller protection as long as you are selling a tangible good and ship to the adress provided by PayPal. It may be worth reading up on this.

 

Stick to wire only for international sales. It's the best way to protect yourself. Accept PayPal only from trusted buyers (for international). If something goes wrong, it requires teamwork, and you need to trust that the buyer is willing to do that.

 

International sales paid via credit card (or Paypal using a credit card as funding source) is inherently risky. I need to take the risk because of the business I am in, but I don't recommend it to individual sellers.

So many things can go wrong - yes fraud is one, but there are other things that can happen:

- package could be dutied, and the buyer balks and does not take delivery, then reverses payment because he did not receive it. You're stuck with paying duty both ways, then shipping both ways.

- watch has a problem and needs to be returned, but buyer does not want to spring for the shipping. Reverses payment and you're stuck with no watch and no money.

- etc, etc.

My recommendation for an individual seller is payment via wire. Its easy these days with services like Transferwise. You'll of course get fewer bites, but it's not like you're making a living off selling watches. You can afford to wait.

 

What information does the buyer need for transferwise. It's the first I've heard of it. Obviously it's a safer method then PayPal for myself from what it sounds like. Is it similar to western union but can be used internationally.

Every issue you mentioned above seems to be what I see happening on this forum a lone with buyers. And then the seller is in a bad place and can't do anything about it. That's my fear and I've never had that issue before getting into watches!

 

They have this fancy shmancy verification method - you upload pictures of your ID, passport etc. For businesses they also require incorporation documents etc etc.

They do work like Western Union, but at least according to them, they don't take a commission by getting a cut off the currency conversion (which in my experience with Chase, is almost 3%). They work on a small flat fee (like $9 or similar)

I can't underline this enough, most bad deals do not come from scammers, but from people not behaving at their best when things do not go smoothly.

 

i know you want to sell it, but I'd pass on this guy

 

The guy has said he would do transferwise, am I all set then at that rate?

 

Lol man if I didn't need the $$ right now I would but Ill at least see if there's a good possibility of us working this out that benefits us both.

I'll look into this transferwise and make a decision.

 

I agree.
It took me a long time to get comfortable with international selling, and still usually do it as a last resort (no domestic buyers, etc.).
Be patient and someone will come along.
I never expect paypal gift anymore, unless it is truly a friend. It is a really weird payment method and there are a decent amount of unknowns - as described above - you don't know the funding source and chargebacks can still be issued.