Sellers, Do you accept Payapl from newbies?

[Daytona88]

I have bought and recently sold a handful watches on TRF, since becoming a member in December. Certainly not a big seller but perhaps enough references between here and other selling platforms to provide a level of comfort for some potential buyers.

For you sellers out there, do you accept regular Paypal when selling a Rolex to a member who is brand new (ie. new this week) who has no references?

My initial position has been no, only transacting through bank wire or Pay Pal F&F, where it seems that I am in a better position to be protected from potential buyer fraud.

Thoughts?

[Daytona88]

Mods: I see my post was moved from General discussion to who's who. If I cannot be in General should it be under Watch Out for watch trading buy and sell issues? Thx

[KarlS]

Buyers prefer to pay in PayPal as it gives a level of protection. I have always allowed them the option and most prefer the PayPal royte

[T. Ferguson]

I have not sold a watch here but have bought a few. I have not used paypal but rather always paid the seller in advance, usually by depositing the funds directly to their bank account. Please don't take this personally but if I was buying a watch from you I would insist on paypal or no deal.

I qualify my sellers very well before sending large sums of money ahead of receiving the goods. Most buyers here do, and are advised to. I simply would not be comfortable doing that with you any other way than paypal by virtue of your short time here on TRF. I don't know you at all, so this is strictly a business decision on my part. More than likely you will at some point I'd consider you a trusted seller, but until then...

It's just how the system works Please keep in mind that the buyer is taking a bigger financial risk than the seller. Similarly, if I was selling a watch I'd expect I would have to price my offering lower than the heavy hitters here. Since no buyer will be as comfortable with me I'd expect to have to sell lower to reflect the perceived increased risk. As to payment I may be limited to a F2F or accept some sort of escrow service to mediate the sale.

Best of luck.

[Daytona88]

Great feedback, thanks so much.

[armen34]

I've been hearing about PayPal fraud too lately, but I don't really know how to spot it. I would just make sure it's a verified US address. Also, another thing may help is if part of the transaction is sent via wire or cashiers check that way you know the buyer is willing to make the deal happen.

[denmanproject]

- Have them put their full name mailing address in the message section of the PP payment
- Send only to that address
- Send with tracking and upload to PP
- Have only that person on the mailing address able to sign for and release the package
- Follow up with an email confirming receipt of the package and its contents

This is what I do, wouldn't say its fool proof but at least if a claim was ever opened you will have paperwork on your side

[mdgrwl]

If a buyer has zero feedback, I enforce Wire, Cash or Paypal Gift (F&F). If they have feedback, regular PP is fine.

Just did a transaction today with a newby for a Speedmaster I'm selling, Paypal F&F was used after I explained why.

If they are reasonable buyers & you have plenty of feedback to show your a legit seller - they should understand. If not, don't risk it.

I can't risk a buyer starting a dispute after receiving a brand new watch and saying I sent an empty box... I've heard of it happening and I'm cautious.

[jvmartin]

Originally Posted by denmanproject

- Have them put their full name mailing address in the message section of the PP payment
- Send only to that address
- Send with tracking and upload to PP
- Have only that person on the mailing address able to sign for and release the package
- Follow up with an email confirming receipt of the package and its contents

This is what I do, wouldn't say its fool proof but at least if a claim was ever opened you will have paperwork on your side

How do you make it so that only the person on the mailing address can sign for it? I know FedEx offers direct signature, but even that isn't strictly enforced.

[Professorfingers]

Hi All,

I am a newbie on this forum. I'm looking to buy a watch here, more than likely. I have bought and sold some stuff on eBay, some rather expensive--OK guitar amps and guitars. But I digress. I will only buy with PP. This isn't necessarily a trust issue, but a what if issue. I work at a Nuclear Power Plant and we have been trained for "what if". Like what if the seller gets hit by a buss on his (or her) way from work? What if the seller has a heart attack? What if you-----whatever. I don't want my (essentially) cash held up in probate, or what ever.

I don't know if this helps the OP or not, but it is a prospective buyers prospective.

And I have gotten emails from "prospective" buyers who instruct you to "allow" their shippers to pick up your item. I remember this scam is they send you the money, have their "shipper" pick up the item and then find out the item is not as described. So, they get your money AND the product.

Sorry for the long post,

TW

[southtexas]

No I wouldn't do it.


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[bdex75]

I have not really sold any high dollar items. $2000 max. And have done PayPal for all of my sales. A couple via eBay so didn't have much choice. It has all worked out fine.

I can see a trusted seller with a ton of positive sales and feedback (like David) say PP F&F only but for a transaction between an unknown seller and buyer I prefer PP. It gives me a little protection as a buyer.


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[mdgrwl]

Originally Posted by Professorfingers

Hi All,

I am a newbie on this forum. I'm looking to buy a watch here, more than likely. I have bought and sold some stuff on eBay, some rather expensive--OK guitar amps and guitars. But I digress. I will only buy with PP. This isn't necessarily a trust issue, but a what if issue. I work at a Nuclear Power Plant and we have been trained for "what if". Like what if the seller gets hit by a buss on his (or her) way from work? What if the seller has a heart attack? What if you-----whatever. I don't want my (essentially) cash held up in probate, or what ever.

I don't know if this helps the OP or not, but it is a prospective buyers prospective.

And I have gotten emails from "prospective" buyers who instruct you to "allow" their shippers to pick up your item. I remember this scam is they send you the money, have their "shipper" pick up the item and then find out the item is not as described. So, they get your money AND the product.

Sorry for the long post,

TW

Those are a lot of "What ifs....?" and the probability of them are extremely low. However the probability of being scammed on the internet are much greater, so much so that it's a hot topic. So if I'm dealing with a noob buyer who has zero feedback and refuses to pay with anything other than Paypal with buyer protection, I would simply walk away from the deal.

[ddahan008]

Where can I find feedback on sellers from this forum? Where I leave feedback?

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by ddahan008

Where can I find feedback on sellers from this forum? Where I leave feedback?

Correct, the same place you leave feedback for others to find - the "who's who" section of the classifieds.

Scroll through the for sale section to get a feel for the sellers that are most active then go through the who's who section for feedback. If you've narrowed it down to a few then search each's username in the who's who and everything for that seller will come up for you to review.

[UhurRam]

I am a forum member who doesn't post, yet have purchased a couple of watches through trusted sellers paid by Paypal. I always invite them to google me and check my ebay feedback.No problems whatsoever with those two. Yet others played hardball and insisted I wired them money. Absolutely not going to happen. And that's what separates better sellers from small fries, they know how to read their customers, research them and tell the difference between those legit and scammers.

[Corsair66]

Originally Posted by UhurRam

I am a forum member who doesn't post, yet have purchased a couple of watches through trusted sellers paid by Paypal. I always invite them to google me and check my ebay feedback.No problems whatsoever with those two. Yet others played hardball and insisted I wired them money. Absolutely not going to happen. And that's what separates better sellers from small fries, they know how to read their customers, research them and tell the difference between those legit and scammers.

I agree 100%. Though I'm a new member here, I have 18 years of 100% positive feedback as both a buyer and seller on eBay. If a seller can't determine from their interactions with me (in combination with my aforementioned history) that the likelihood of my being a scammer is nil, then they're missing an essential element from their toolchest - that of being competent readers of people.

I'll stick with Paypal for several reasons:

• Buyer protection in case of seller fraud
• Avoidance of sending 100% prepayment via wire to a stranger
• Ease of using my Amex - too many reward points with a watch purchase to simply leave on the table