What is the best form of payment?

[Davidco]

What is the best form of payment that really decreases the chances of getting ripped off? I thought a face to face would be it, but as my last transaction showed, it is not fail proof either. Really need advice on this. Thanks

[sakuraba]

1) FTF at an AD/ RSC
2) Paypal if the seller takes it
3) Wire Transfer if the seller's name is David/ Oscar/ Greg/ Tony
(sorry if I missed anyone )

[sea-dweller]

Buy from a reputable party, as Sakuraba said.

[Davidco]

I was looking more for seller protection. I am selling a watch and dont want to be ripped off and lose the money and the watch.

[sakuraba]

Originally Posted by Davidco

I was looking more for seller protection. I am selling a watch and dont want to be ripped off and lose the money and the watch.

Honestly, I've never sold a watch online.

If I were to do it, I would sell to one of the sellers I trust or consign it to them.

The return might not be as good, but I am assured of some safety in the transaction.

[TSts]

$100 bills? Bring an authenticator with you for those bills - meet FTF at a reputable (to you) third party establishment.

How many ways are there to protect yourself?

[MB7000]

How did you get almost ripped off on a FTF deal. I would think that would be the best way to go.

[inspires]

Originally Posted by Davidco

I was looking more for seller protection. I am selling a watch and dont want to be ripped off and lose the money and the watch.

Your buyer probably has more concerns than you. I would suggest the following:

1. Bank Wire Transfer - Ship out only once funds clear your account
2. PayPal - Ship out only once funds are transferred out of your PayPal account into your bank account
3. Face To Face - I guess the only worry you have is with fake bills, and if this is so, you can meet at your bank and have the money checked or deposited on the spot as a stipulation of the sale.

Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Eric

[Ultraman]

Originally Posted by inspires

2. PayPal - Ship out only once funds are transferred out of your PayPal account into your bank account

I thought if the buyer file a disclaim later (after the funds hit the bank account) Paypal still can charged a negative balance in your PP account and debit your bank account. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Davidco]

Originally Posted by MB7000

How did you get almost ripped off on a FTF deal. I would think that would be the best way to go.

Just as the poster stated below. Fake bills. We met at an AD and once the watch was given the okay, they guy paid me there. He did not want to follow me to my bank which was down the road, so that gave me a little red flag. I asked the AD if they had one of the pens that marks the bills and detects fake ones and they did. He handed over some of the money and I marked about every other one and they came up bad. I said everything was okay and as they guy was looking in another case by the door, I asked the AD worker to call the police and inform them that he was on site. The AD offered to polish the watch and tune it up for him (helping stall) and took the watch in the back room. The police arrived in about 5 minutes, but it felt like 5 hours. He was still looking down into the display case when the police came in. Every one of the bills he had on him that day were counterfeit.

One thing that did do to me was take the little trust I had and stomped it into the ground. Now I'm nervouse about any transactions. Thats why I'm looking for the safest way to get paid. Sorry for the long rant.

[calvinlgoh]

USPS money order is also safe but most online buyers dont go for that.

[ijen0311]

Originally Posted by Ultraman

I thought if the buyer file a disclaim later (after the funds hit the bank account) Paypal still can charged a negative balance in your PP account and debit your bank account. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Correct, though they can't always take it from your bank account. Trust me, I know

[Wolfgang427]

As they say buy the seller, then do the exact same for the buyer. Know your buyer just as much as he/she would do you. In other words do your homework. Sounds to me that you were doing the right thing when you tried to sell the watch at your AD, so just keep doing the same next time around. In this day and age with computers and smart phones you should have no problem finding out info about anyone you want to deal with before you actually deal with them.

[JUSTROLEXES]

Originally Posted by Davidco

I was looking more for seller protection. I am selling a watch and dont want to be ripped off and lose the money and the watch.

David since you're selling here and not buying, you should do a face to face cash deal inside one of your local banks and here are few tips:
1-Banks have tons of cameras and always find the best spot for the buyer to be under one of those cameras...Just in case you need it later.
2- Attach a special tag to your watch so you can recognize it " tape, rubber band or anything like that" the reason for that is : lots of times bad guys know that you're selling a ss Sub for an Ex and they will bring a none authentic one that matches your watch in they can pretend that they are trying it or inspection it and in seconds they can give you back the none authentic one and keep yours and tell you thank you and let me think about it....
you go home after few days and you start ...
3- Accept cash cash for a buyer that you've never deal with and you don't know much about...

Good Luck

[GinGinD]

Please take a moment to check out this thread:

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=81572

Jeannie

[Davidco]

I appreciate everyones advice. This has become such a pain and trust issues that I decided not to sell my watch. I do not need to sell it, but for the right price I would have. So, again thanks everyone.

[Idle Swede]

Originally Posted by GinGinD

Please take a moment to check out this thread:

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=81572

Jeannie

That is great advice Jeannie and I have personally experienced it.

I didn't lose any money or the watch as I was suspicious from the beginning and held on from shipping until the bank told me (approx 10-12 days later) that is was a stolen, (not false check) from a Malaysian account.

[Bullyterrier]

I thought about this when I sold my sub last year. In the end I opted to sell it face to face with a reputable watch dealer in his shop.
Sure I could have got a little more selling it to a private individual, but for the hassle and chance of being stung, I didn't think it was worth it.

[looking to buy]

I have always that that this would be a major problem. I am comfortable buying as the above mentioned forum members are very trust worthy. But, I have never felt comfortable selling. I have always thought I would get ripped off. So, I have just decided to keep what I have and never sell. Easier that way on my mind.

[bodybump]

Hey david its a cruel world out there..there is no such thing as the best way anymore..even for wire transfer there is still fraud...You just have to be smart and careful with everything..Reference reference reference..if there is none, trust your instinct...Face to face go to a bank and do the transaction there like what tony said..I had a deal 2 days ago that took us 8 hours to complete..from payment to shipping..and guess what this is coming from FLORIDA-DALLAS!!! less than 8 hours completed and delivered...i trusted my instinct on this...ask for all kind of veirfication paid through paypal..shipped to same day via Axis Logistics Picked up from Florida 4:30pm and arrived at Dallas at 11:30-12:00 midnight...everything went smooth...but if there was something wrong it is only i to be blamed...

[Davidco]

When I posted my watch in the for sale section, I had about 15 people PM me. 13 of the 15 people had 0 posts. I had alot of them say they would take it and immediately asked if pp would be okay for payment. I've purchased 3 watches off of here and I dont know about everyone else, but I negotiated. I also asked for a telephone number so that I could call and speak to the person about the transaction. I had a guy last night say that he would take the watch and said he would pay as soon as he got my pp info. I informed him that I was a police officer and would hold onto the watch until the payment cleared and was in my account. He stopped conversing with me. I'm not saying everyone is bad, but I really dont trust many. All of the items that I have purchased and sold on here have gone very well, but I feel that I made them go that way by calling the person buying my item or selling me one. None of the people that inquired about my watch this time asked anything except for maybe one guy. I feel badly about not selling the watch to some of the people, but I didnt feel good about how things were going in the conversation.

I sold my Explorer II a couple of months ago to someone on here that didnt have many posts. He gave me his telephone number and when I called and spoke with him, he said that if I wanted to wait to send the watch, he was okay with that. I decided to send it and felt comfotable with him. Perfect transaction. Sorry for the long rant.

[DadsWatch72]

What about sending a watch to a well trusted "third party" to hold the watch, inspect and verify the watches authenticity, and then accept the payment for the watch ........all for a fee. I have a few people in mind from this forum that I would trust to do this. I personally wouldn't want my DRSD to be handled by just anyone.....ya know. Only with payment in hand (the third partys) would I want the third party to even open my watch for verification purposes. And when he does open it, I trust in his watchmaking skill and ability to open it without scratching the piss out of it like some AD's have done with even a simple band adjustment. This person would also be able to adjust the new bracelet to a requested size for the new owner. Has anyone else done this type of transaction on TRF?

[Bisquitlips]

IMO, only USPS Money Orders. They are completely foolproof! Have the same fail-safes as US currency.

[Davidco]

I guess I could always preface it with references required and they will be checked and also you must be known on the boards or have someone well known on the boards vouch for you. In fact, I think that is how I will do it from now on. Sometimes I have intelligent ideas. Do you think that would offend or discourage anyone from buying?

[nowzen]

Originally Posted by Ultraman

I thought if the buyer file a disclaim later (after the funds hit the bank account) Paypal still can charged a negative balance in your PP account and debit your bank account. Correct me if I'm wrong.

That's my understanding too.
Paypal used to be used by alot of people selling domain names... until the scammers discovered the loophole.

Once the domain transfer was made, the buyer denied receipt and paypal does a charge back. Of course, paypal makes no investigation as to whether the name was transferred or not.
I would assume that to counter the delivery charge back on a watch, the seller would have to provide evidence that the buyer, in-fact received the watch (not just a package).
So much for seller paypal 'protection'.

I think the safest way is shipping after wired funds clear... but many buyers won't be happy with that and I'm not sure if GinGinD's post affects that too!...
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=81572

[Watchdog]

Gold.

[Ultraman]

Originally Posted by ijen0311

Correct, though they can't always take it from your bank account. Trust me, I know

Can you please eloborate on that, Jen?

By the way, wire transfer is not foolproof either. I have heard a horror story from a previous seller here who sold me a watch.

[2careless]

I think I have read a post here about even wire transfer can be dodgy. I can't find the original but if you sell something and ask for wire transfer, and if the wire transfer money didn't come from the same buyer's account name, beware it can be a trap.

The scam works like this I think - the scammer tries to sell something valuable online, while at the same time trying to buy your watch - both items approx same price. When victim buyer pays, the scammer told him to pay you instead - so you received the money from the victim buyer and then you send the watch to the scammer. Later on the victim buyer follows up with police and your account will be frozen as you did receive the money and have to cough up. Something like that.

Sorry to the OP, can't offer a really good payment method other than cash and have the money verified in a bank.

[Wolfgang427]

Originally Posted by Bisquitlips

IMO, only USPS Money Orders. They are completely foolproof! Have the same fail-safes as US currency.

Sorry not foolproof, many are forged and/or stolen. but you can cash them at the P.O.

[Andrés G]

Originally Posted by wolfgang427

but you can cash them at the P.O.

That´s the way to do it. I´ve sold several watches using USPS MO´s. I always cash them before I ship the watch and walk out of the PO with the cash in my pocket.