eBay advice

[Spoon Burner]

I’m selling a brand new iMac on eBay. I’ve specified cash on collection only due to concerns of posting such a high value item and not trusting PayPal to side with the buyer in the event of any problems.

I’ve had a chap message me, (has good feedback etc) has asked if I’ll post it signed & tracked and he’s willing to bank transfer the funds or any other payment method of my choice.

Is this safe for me? Can a bank transfer be reversed? Was just a bit concerned if it’s a hacked bank account could they retract the payment?

[anonymous-user]

usually that is the method scammers use. Ask for id, send fully insured, tracked.

[stevensdrs]

Payment from a fraudulent account can be charged back so you would need to be sure the buyer is using his own bank account to make the payment. A picture of his bank statement header would prove he is genuine.

[The Moose]

Ask for payment by Western Union.

[Lemming Train]

Spoon Burner said:

I’m selling a brand new iMac on eBay. I’ve specified cash on collection only due to concerns of posting such a high value item and not trusting PayPal to side with the buyer in the event of any problems.

I’ve had a chap message me, (has good feedback etc) has asked if I’ll post it signed & tracked and he’s willing to bank transfer the funds or any other payment method of my choice.

Is this safe for me? Can a bank transfer be reversed? Was just a bit concerned if it’s a hacked bank account could they retract the payment?

Unless yours is the cheapest brand new iMac on Ebay then it should be ringing alarm bells. Why would he bring that risk upon himself by paying by BACS when he could pay with the protection of Paypal from anyone else selling same?

Also I don't see anyone turning up at your house with a grand in cash for it without wanting to see it working, thus making it no longer brand new because it's been opened. Stick it on Gumtree - you won't lose 20% in fees.

[bloomen]

Literally every single message I've received about computer sales in recent months has been followed by a message from Ebay about a compromised account.

Every single computer auction I've done in recent months has been won by a zero feedback bot that disappears. When I switched to buy it now the last two sales were cancelled by Ebay due to scamminess.

I dunno what it is about Ebay and computers but I wouldn't take the slightest risk. I can see where the bloke is coming from, cash on collection is an instant no for me, but I wouldn't do it myself.

[dundarach]

eBay is now more of a gambling website to be honest.

The vast, vast majority of transactions are trouble free, however if you're selling anything remotely sexy, scammers are out.

Have you considered an alternative method, facebook, gumtree, etc.??

I wouldn't post it.

[Spoon Burner]

dundarach said:

eBay is now more of a gambling website to be honest.

The vast, vast majority of transactions are trouble free, however if you're selling anything remotely sexy, scammers are out.

Have you considered an alternative method, facebook, gumtree, etc.??

I wouldn't post it.

Yeah I’ve listed on the classifieds here and on gumtree but I took it off gumtree after 2 days due to the amount of stupid messages I was getting.

I’ve offered to meet him halfway by a police station and do the deal in cash so will see if he agrees to that.

[anonymous-user]

just remember people will rob you. do it public and he pays cash into bank account.

Edited by Thesprucegoose on Sunday 20th January 19:43

[Saleen836]

Lots of fake £50's going around again (my area anyway) apparently, so might want to triple check if he pays with 50's

[Shuvi McTupya]

I just bought an 'old' tower PC through Facebook. Its a dell with an i7 chip, separate GPU, a 1TB HD And Keyboard,mouse and monitor. It still looks very smart and is plenty quick enough. I paid £120 for it and the guy told me that he had been messed about by people who didn't show up to view it after making appointments! He is practically giving it away and still struggled.

[Register1]

Saleen836 said:

Lots of fake £50's going around again (my area anyway) apparently, so might want to triple check if he pays with 50's

I have met buyers inside a bank before today.
Let the till girl put the notes through.

[CoolHands]

IMO BACS is safe for you as the receiver. Normally it’s peole who pay by bacs that can’t get their money back from a scammer seller.

You advertise it on https://www.avforums.com/categories/classified-adv...

[sjg]

Biggest issue with that is that I could not find any courier willing to insure an iMac or similar all-in-one computer. Look properly through the terms and conditions, all those I looked at had exclusions.

I assume Apple and resellers either have special contracts to cover them, or just self-insure. I sold mine on ebay as collection only, guy came over, could show it was all working OK, paid cash and left.

[anonymous-user]

Don't do it
You may get scammed

[AdamIndy]

Register1 said:

I have met buyers inside a bank before today.
Let the till girl put the notes through.

I do this too for anything of value.

Though last time I did it I walked into the bank with 2 Irish lads who handed over £5100(N.I notes). I went in a couple of days later to withdraw £3000(sold a car, bought a bike) to be pulled to the side by the bank manager to make sure everything was ok. Apparently making sure these guys weren’t forcing me to launder money. They even offered to ring the police on my behalf!

Equally, it’s nice to know they were looking after my best interests though.

[Spare tyre]

Stick to your guns, you’ve said cash on collection, if people are too stupid to understand that fk em


List it on gumtree as well

I’d insist on 20s rahther than £50 notes

I have amazing results with gumtree, copy the advert text, delete an re list every few days

Do not post anything

[LeadFarmer]

I have personal knowledge of a few folk who have advertised iPhones on selling sites such as Schpock, eBay etc and the buyer has paid cash on collection, only for the seller to discover they were fake notes when trying to pay them into a bank.

Personally I would go with the buyer to a bank with your iMac and get them to pay the money into your account, then hand over the goods.

I've done this when both buying and selling vehicles.