Selling watches on Ebay

[Manks]

Hi All

I am going to sell a couple of watches that will probably appeal to an international audience. However I am aware that there are a few Paypal scams on the go.

Is there a way I can sell, use Paypal and not be at risk of being scammed?

[Eighteeteewhy]

Good/high feedback is a good indication.

[Manks]

I was thinking more in terms of postage method. If it is sent recorded does Paypal accept that it has been delivered?

[Hoofy]

No.

"Signed the postman's sheet then went indoors to open the parcel. SELLER SENT ME A POTATO!!"

[Manks]

Hoofy said:

No.

"Signed the postman's sheet then went indoors to open the parcel. SELLER SENT ME A POTATO!!"

So how do watch sellers do it then? Plenty of US sellers selling watches at £10k+ presumably without problem.

[T22AGA]

I have sold several on E bay £1000 + never been a problem ... Bank transfer only!!! .But you will need a very good feedback profile .. Pay pal sucks big time !!!

Edited by T22AGA on Saturday 30th June 16:23

[Y7TSY]

I have sold about three watches on ebay, all about the 1000 mark and never had a problem. Just make contact with your buyer before you send, and all should be okay. You need to ensure you describe the watch perfectly though as people will not be happy if you leave out large scratches etc and could claim through paypal as the item is not as described. But have you not thought of advertising on here? there is alot of costs in selling on ebay (advert cost,paypal fee when the money is payed to you and ebay also takes a percentage of the final sale value)this can mount up to about £150 ish on a £1000 sale. If i was to sell another watch I would try other methods before using ebay again but is good way for a quick sale.

[GCH]

Good feedback, bank transfer always best and do not accept paypal via ebay.

Accepting paypal as a gift payment when conducting the entire transaction off ebay eliminates the chance of being scammed by the 'seller sent me a brick' method as its a gift and not a sale and ebay have no involvement in it.
Also has the bonus of ebay & paypal not taking a massive fee shaped bite out of your ass too but the buyer can still pay by credit card - net result, everyone wins.

Be careful of buyers with low or zero feedback...never been scammed personally but had a few try it

Edited by GCH on Saturday 30th June 18:34

[Hoofy]

If going down the BT route, make sure it's a standard transfer and one not done via a banker's draft over the counter (which banks permit for BT). Drafts can be faked and banks tend to be quite lazy about checking. And when they finally realise it's a fake, guess who loses £2k?

[Adrian W]

I thought the latest scam is the buyer having a fake of your watch, he then claims you sent the fake, or gets it checked by an AD who says its a fake. eBay will refund him and he has your watch.

[Manks]

Adrian W said:

I thought the latest scam is the buyer having a fake of your watch, he then claims you sent the fake, or gets it checked by an AD who says its a fake. eBay will refund him and he has your watch.

There are no fakes of the watches I will be selling, so that trick won't be possible.

[crispian22]

i've sold a few expensive watch's on ebay,had problem's with paypal in the fact the buyer was'nt verified and they would'nt release the fund's and ended up losing me a £3500 sale.i alway's ask for cash on collection now and never post them.seem's safer that way.

[Manks]

crispian22 said:

i've sold a few expensive watch's on ebay,had problem's with paypal in the fact the buyer was'nt verified and they would'nt release the fund's and ended up losing me a £3500 sale.i alway's ask for cash on collection now and never post them.seem's safer that way.

Don't want Ebay buyers coming round my house to be honest.

[Gazzab]

Surely you risk a reduction in the no of potential buyers if you say no to paypal (and therefore a reduced sale price)? Whilst it isnt great for the seller it is so easy for the buyer.

[Manks]

A quick look at Ebay for an example. This seller is in the US and will ship internationally, will also take Paypal. Doesn't appear to be afraid of someone claiming that he shipped a potato instead of a watch.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CARTIER-AMERICAINE-TANK-...

There is a way round the scams I feel sure.

[Hoofy]

The only problem with TZ-UK is that you need to now have 250 decent posts. If you post-rush 250 "Nice/Yeah/Hi!" posts, Eddie will wait until you hit 250 then delete your account.