Advice Please - Sold Laptop on eBay and Feeling Uneasy

Limurgod on 28/01/2019 - 11:47
Last edited 02/02/2019 - 09:35 by 1 other user

Hi peeps, I would like some advice from anyone who might be able to assist.

I sold a laptop on Ebay recently (a pretty expensive one) and after some google work, I read about some scams and so on and now I'm uneasy.
Here's some details:

  • I'm in Sydney, the buyer is in Adelaide
  • He and I negotiated through the ebay offer and acceptance option and came to an agreed price
  • He paid straight away by Paypal
  • The funds aren't cleared yet, but I told him I would not send until funds are clear and in my account.
  • He provided his mobile number.
  • He requested the laptop be sent to a different address than the one on ebay and paypal (the registered email also has a spelling error in the street name). I am not comfortable doing this so I'll say I will only send to the registered address.
  • He has 1 feedback (Member since 2015).

I am concerned about various scams that I read about including buyers doing a chargeback, saying they didn't receive the item (of course, I'll be sending by courier requiring a signature), saying it arrived broken or DOA or any of the many things they could do.

It seems the scams are usually for laptops and high end mobile phones.

I would love to proceed with the sale and for him to get a great laptop and for me to get the money, but I am afraid of being scammed and losing such a large about of money.

I contacted paypal for advice and they were useless, providing the expected "refer to our terms" which don't really offer much advice.

Is anyone able to provide some advice to protect myself or should I just cancel the order?

Computing Computer Laptop

Related Stores

eBay Australia
eBay Australia
Marketplace

Comments

  • Quantumcat on 28/01/2019 - 11:56
    +8

    He requested the laptop be sent to a different address than the one on ebay and paypal (the registered email also has a spelling error in the street name). I am not comfortable doing this so I'll say I will only send to the registered address.

    This screams dodgy. Cancel the sale citing problems with the buyer's address, tell him if he wants it he needs to buy it again and use his own account with the right address in it.

    • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 12:25

      I feel the same. To be fair, the spelling error looks a typo "Aliison" vs "Alison"

      • [Deactivated] on 28/01/2019 - 14:04
        +3

        Not many people misspell their own address

  • Melb69 on 28/01/2019 - 12:07
    +2

    You need to send it to the address on the paypal otherwise Paypal wont cover it or at least you wont have any ground to get a refund as you didn't complete sale by palpal methods. Do as Quantumcat did. Its not worth it. Sell to local buyer. The guys probably not even in Adelaide.

    If it smells sus it probably is.

    Also address needs to be to a proper address not some post office box. Or I believe you cant even send it to click and collect location.

    Did you do a google street view of the postal address on paypal. Not that that makes any difference. Just don't complete transcation.

    • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 12:25

      I did google both addresses. They're houses, not po box.

      • [Deactivated] on 28/01/2019 - 14:05

        But it is very far from you, not like you can just rock up to their home. Right?

        • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 14:08

          That's right. It's another state.

  • triviums on 28/01/2019 - 12:11
    +1

    Funds for sales almost never clear instantly, you need to wait up to 21 days for it to clear. A date for when the funds are cleared is not given until you send the item.

    Whatever you do only send it to the registered address since ebay & paypal will only protect you if you send it to the registered address.

    • Melb69 on 28/01/2019 - 12:14

      If there are funds in buyers account it should clear within 2 or 3 days max. The address he sends it to must be the one on Paypal for Paypal protection from what I understand. Can seller trust that its not a scam. I wouldn't sell to an interstate buyer. Understand you cant really control that, but you could try on the listing description. Gumtree or facebook good for local sellers for pick up.

      Ebay is now to easy for scammers. Both for sellers and buyers. Use to be good for individual sellers, but now its mainly only for larger online type store links. Or reputable BMS with ebay store.

      • triviums on 28/01/2019 - 12:35

        I have a sold hundreds of items on ebay and if the funds don't clear instantly, how long it takes for the funds to clear depends on how I send the item. If I send it via a courier service it takes 21 days for the funds to clear and if I send it via australia post through ebay it will clear within a week.

  • Some Human on 28/01/2019 - 12:20

    Read “sold laptop on eBay” and already knew it was a scam.

  • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 12:28

    Thanks for the help, guys. Guess there's no point waiting until I transfer funds to my account then send? He can still scam?

    • Quantumcat on 28/01/2019 - 13:13

      Yes you can do that, after you definitely have the funds in your bank account remove your bank account from PayPal. I don't think they will debit automatically but better safe than sorry.

      My story - buyer scammed me by claiming item not as described using photos which were definitely not of my item (different serial numbers). I didn't want to have them send it back for a refund since they were definitely going to send their broken one, but ebay didn't care. Ebay refunded the buyer, and there was a negative balance on my PayPal for a long time (several months). Even though my bank account was still linked they never debited the money (though I did remove my phone number and I never had my house address in PayPal or ebay only PO box posting address). I got debt collector emails for a while but I ignored them and they eventually stopped. I can still buy on ebay but can't sell.

      This could be different if it was a claim from within PayPal itself, I think maybe ebay refunded my buyer out of their own pocket and politely requested PayPal to refund them but as I didn't voluntarily cough up the money they said nope. If the claim was to PayPal they might try harder to get the money back, hence best to remove your bank details as soon as you get the money out (once there is a dispute you can't change any details).

      • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 13:28
        +1

        For the extortionate fees eBay and PayPal charge, this process is terrible and stressful.

  • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 13:28

    I think I'm going to cancel the transaction and offer them to have someone in Sydney pick up and pay cash or nothing at all.

    • Quantumcat on 28/01/2019 - 13:47
      +2

      Make sure the reason you put is problem with buyers address, otherwise you will be up for final value fees.

      • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 14:08

        Thanks for the advice. Will do.

  • Tigger76 on 28/01/2019 - 15:36
    +3

    There is a classic scan with Amazon very similar as well.
    Someone suggested you must post the correct PayPal address or you're not covered. This is true.
    The money hasn't cleared, sometimes PayPal can hold for 21 days to ensure the buyer is satisfied, but the seller always loses if there is a dispute. The money will not clear until they receive the goods, which if you're smart you will not send until you've got something to show.
    What happens with Amazon, is a by top-of-the-line, stripped the insides of the laptop or computer or phone, replace with lower grade parts, then return saying it's not what they paid for yet you have no proof the latest processor and hard drive and they replaced it with an old Pentium and 40 gig hard drive. Leaving you with a really flash looking 20-year-olds laptop. Basically like a chop shop for cars, except they do for computers.
    Again, the warranty from PayPal, must be sent to correct address. Even if they are holding the money for customer satisfaction as a so-called, why would you send someone a few thousand dollars when you don't have anything to show.
    Resend the sale citing too many breaches in method of sale, i.e. wrong address, wrong PayPal address, have been paid, wrong postal address.
    Several things could happen, one, the buyer never receive the goods, or goods were faulty
    two, you never get paid and they say they're never received the goods and PayPal doesn't guarantee because you sent to the wrong address
    three, they return the goods saying faulty, all the good bits stripped out and replaced full of class parts. And you still don't get paid.
    They could actually be legitimate and have made all these mistakes. Warning bells go off if there has only been one feedback and so many years. I've had one that was similar and I noticed the same thing, then notice that their change their names four times due to getting bad feedback, restart their name, but it still shows when they joined. They were selling stuff way to cheap and ended up trying to report me because I wouldn't put down good feedback before it even receive the goods and refuse the sale. It ended up that she had broken up with her boyfriend and was selling off his coin and Star Wars collection and everything else city-owned as he worked at the minds and was away for three months, but when somebody selling $100 coin for less than $10, and Star Wars collectables worth in excess of $5200 for less than five dollars, and other coins such as silver specials from 100 years ago for less than $10 you really have to question the motive. I accidentally ran into them again under a different name four months later, and because they recognise my PayPal address all of a sudden would not sell. All the comments may have been positive as people were getting absolutely great bargains but they were all questioning why they were asked to give good feedback before they'd receive the goods. Because I had their address and had been blocked on eBay are sent a letter, and the boyfriend it just got back from fly in fly out mining defined half his house emptied. He estimated that he lost about $20,000, she had been a member of eBay for 10 years and when I purchased my first item I notice she only had three feedbacks, but when you check the history it shows their previous names of which you dad for. I did a stalking on Facebook and she just been on a holiday to America and obviously blame the credit cards out. I contacted the boyfriend again after accidentally running into who can on eBay and it turns out she went to America and holiday but still had a key to his house, and he never even knew she was back in the country. I let him have the new eBay name and I hope that he took it to the police because I would have been devastated. So in regards to somebody that been on eBay for a long period of time with very low feedback ordering top-of-the-line stuff… Check their names history and see how many times have changed, and this is usually because it had a black flag too many times. But do not send to the wrong address evolution guarantee, do not send until you've got money and it's being cleared out of PayPal so it can't be retracted, but just don't go through with the sale. If it really is that good it will sell.

    • thatonethere on 28/01/2019 - 15:51
      +2

      Great first comment!

  • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 16:10

    Thanks for the advice, guys. The laptop is perfect and should be easy to sell to someone legitimate.

    I'm going to cancel the sale as suggested.

  • imurgod on 28/01/2019 - 16:25

    The guy messaged me obviously upset. He wants the thing. Wondering if I should get him to just transfer the money to my account and bypass PayPal.

    Would that make any difference?

    • Quantumcat on 28/01/2019 - 17:43

      That would be fine, as long as you make sure you really have the money and don't go off a screenshot of a transfer, and make sure it isn't pending in any way (like from a cheque that needs clearing). If they refuse then they were probably going to scam you with PayPal.

      I don't know why he can't just make a new PayPal account with the correct address details in it though, takes 5 minutes. Then he'd just have to buy your new listing.

  • altomic on 28/01/2019 - 20:09

    I sell on ebay.

    if funds haven't cleared then I send them an email saying -

    "Hi, thanks for your payment via paypal. I note that payment is still pending. Once the payment has cleared then the item will be sent. thanks"

    sometimes payment is pending due to new buyer, new paypal account, echeque, etc.

    just wait.

    or cancel

  • minniethemoocher on 29/01/2019 - 09:12

    Only send to the registered address, then you are covered by buyer protection. Refund, then ask him to repay you with correct address. He just needs to update his address in PayPal. You shouldn’t need to relist the item. I suggest asking on eBay forums not Ozbargain.

  • imurgod on 29/01/2019 - 09:41

    Thanks again, guys and gals! I can't tell you how helpful you've been.

    In the end, I cancelled and we ended up deciding that he will deposit funds into my account and I'll simply post when cleared.

    Not going through Ebay and Paypal anymore and that way, the risk is transferred to him and not me.

    • Melb69 on 31/01/2019 - 20:56
      +1

      That's very trusting of the buyer now. Hope it all goes well for him now.

      • imurgod on 01/02/2019 - 09:03

        I'm nothing if not honest. I've even packaged a few extra bits and pieces for free for him to say thanks.

        • Melb69 on 02/02/2019 - 05:25
          +2

          It's all good when you have honest ppl. Hope the transaction does go well for both. Happy days.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join