A Summary of The Safest Ways for Sellers to Transact on Gumtree

Member 0230 on 02/04/2019 - 22:42
Last edited 04/04/2019 - 23:37

OzB family, in recently selling on Gumtree, I thought to do a little research on how to reduce my likelihood of getting scammed as a seller.

In descending order of safety (perceived or genuine), here it is — I'd love to know what you think:

  1. The Gold Standard: In person, cash only. *^
  2. Bank (not personal) cheque, or Australia Post Money Order.º
  3. Direct bank transfer by Pay ID.º
  • *Bonus: where possible, at the local police, bank, or a public venue with CCTV.
  • ^Extra Bonus: have your bikies friends in attendance.
  • ºWait until the funds are in hand or in your account

Re #3: I now prefer PayID over bank details after reading this Money article — Jeremy Clarkson was famously proved wrong that nobody could use his bank details (that he posted publicly) to withdraw money from his accounts.

For big transactions, user toys19’s suggestion in this forum is probably the Platinum Standard — a combo of #1 and direct bank deposit:

“made buyers meet me at the bank and paid it into my account with me looking over their shoulder”.

A different opinion: According to BlazinPast back in 2017, #2 and #3 are safer than #1 if scammers pay you with fake currency. Maybe not likely, but worth thinking on for big dollars?

So does that sound about right to you?

Happy to know if I missed a great option or got something very wrong.

On a related note, it would be great to come up with a similar list from a buyer's view.

Cheers.

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Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2019 - 23:13

    Photograph of the happy transaction for posterity and crimestoppers. Transaction in a CCTV area is a good idea.

    • AustriaBargain on 02/04/2019 - 23:31
      +11

      I also recommend swapping fluid samples with the buyer, so you have each other's DNA and blood types.

      • spackbace on 02/04/2019 - 23:43

        I hate to ask how you get their fluids…

    • Member 0230 on 02/04/2019 - 23:53

      I’ve not tried that one, but I have asked to sight drivers licence before, and made duplicate signed receipts, eg,

      “Received on this date from Joe Blogg of 21 Jump Street is the sum of XYZ for the item ABC from (my details) co-signed and dated…”

      Does that count?

      • AustriaBargain on 03/04/2019 - 00:48
        +4

        What are y’all writing documents for, there’s an element of risk with gumtree and Facebook marketplace and part of it is accepting that you’ll never see the buyer or seller ever again no matter what. If you buy speakers, you blast them in the sellers apartment before paying, you don’t keep little papers so you can argue you are owed a refund later. For any item up to $2,000 I would not give or expect a receipt. A house, or antique, or whatever you’d want paperwork sure.

        • Member 0230 on 03/04/2019 - 08:47

          You make a good point. Signed bits of paper are prolly for most things.

          I’ve been doing the receipt thing (depending on value) since the ol’ Trading Posr days when I sold my first IBM PC XT with Seikosha dot matrix printer… Habit?

      • blehgg on 05/04/2019 - 16:03

        never share your driver's license ~ it's asking for identity theft

    • dust on 03/04/2019 - 10:00
      +1

      Transacting in front of a bank or in the lobby of an office/hotel is my preference.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2019 - 23:34
    +6
    1. Don't meet in a place you'd get mugged. This means well lit, CCTV and no last minute change in meeting place (whatever the excuse).
    2. Cash transaction only.
    3. If too much to carry in cash, meet in bank where you can receive cash and deposit before leaving the bank.
    4. All sales are final and as is.

    This is an exhaustive list of rules for Gumtree sales and applies universally (both as buyer and seller).

    • Member 0230 on 02/04/2019 - 23:47

      Thanks, and I generally agree with you too. But after reading the Money article, I decided PayID was safe enough for the small amount of money changing hands in this instance.

      It also helped to know that the Buyer has been around for four years and has heaps of items for sale, many of them sold, giving me vibes he’s not a fly-by-nighter.

      From the Money article:

      “Registering for a PayID is done within your usual mobile or internet banking and requires you to go through a number of identification and verification steps.

      “So unless you forfeit your details to someone else, it will be difficult for them to create a PayID linked to their account using your personal details.”

      The platform also has a payee confirmation step, where you’ll be shown the name of the person linked to the PayID you’re about to pay. This is designed to reduce the risk of mistaken payments.

      • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2019 - 23:51
        +1

        Or you could ask for cash.

        Unless you live somewhere devoid of ATMs, there's no need to have a third party payment system involved

        If it is a small amount, the more reason for it to be cash. You're not a shop, you don't need to accept all payment methods nor even provide change.

        State the price. Bring correct change.

        • Member 0230 on 02/04/2019 - 23:56

          Oh yes, for sure. The reason I’d look to #2 and #3 is when the buyer is a good two hours drive away, ie, an in-person isn’t going to happen, and what I’m selling isn’t a high-demand or even high-value item.

  • askme69 on 03/04/2019 - 08:32
    +4

    For big transactions, user toys19’s suggestion in this forum(singletrackworld.com) is probably the Platinum Standard — a combo of #1 and direct bank deposit:

    “made buyers meet me at the bank and paid it into my account with me looking over their shoulder”.

    I do this when purchasing vehicles.

    • elgrande on 03/04/2019 - 09:02
      +1

      I did this when selling a car, its the safest way.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 03/04/2019 - 10:08
      +3

      That's actually a smart way of doing it. I'll be doing this in future.

    • Zazer on 05/04/2019 - 19:43

      Bit confused, how does this work?

      • Never Pay RRP on 06/04/2019 - 10:20

        You tell the buyer to deposit the money in cash into your bank account. The second this is complete you should be able to login to online banking to confirm the transaction is complete. If you feel like it you can even call your bank to confirm.
        My understanding is that a cash deposit is non-refundable, and the bank has even done the additional step of verifying currency (not counterfeit), done all the counting for you.
        I did this for selling a car once, and it was great, no holding huge amounts of cash that I would have to deposit at the bank myself, no counting for me.
        Only problem was that the bank rejected the deposit the first time based on the size of the deposit ($18,000) because the buyer didn't have ID, so check with your bank for all requirements for a large cash deposit. They will also ask the reason for the deposit, but that is pretty simple if they are buying something. The bank might also ask for proof of sale/transaction, I think it's part of the new money laundering checks.

        • Zazer on 06/04/2019 - 10:41

          How does someone deposit cash into my bank account? At a bank, would I insert my card and then they would put money in? Wouldn’t that mean I’d get in trouble if it’s counterfeit because it’s my account?

          • Never Pay RRP on 06/04/2019 - 10:52

            @Zazer: haha, no. You give them your account details (BSB and account), and they make a deposit over the counter, filling in a deposit slip with your details.
            You don't need to be there at all, as the bank won't screw up a cash deposit. Either the money appears in your account (instantly) which is good; or it doesn't, in which case no amount of pictures of receipts or anything should be accepted.

    • Never Pay RRP on 06/04/2019 - 10:15
      +1

      I'd agree with this, but you don't need to look over their shoulder. You can just check your bank account for the receipt of the money (which is instant if they deposit cash).
      One weird thing to note, if they are depositing large amounts of cash (over $10,000 I think), the bank will ask for more information (source of funds and reason for deposit) and ID which can get annoying when they reject the deposit. So call up your bank beforehand to be aware of the restrictions in place to ensure your buyer has all the information required.

  • garmibear on 03/04/2019 - 09:22
    +1

    How about that CBA app where you can instantly transfer?
    (of course it does mean you both need CBA)

    • Member 0230 on 03/04/2019 - 09:43

      Yep that works, but I think it still requires the old BSB/Acc combo which has a level of risk. Or you can use PayID with the CBA app, which is also near-instant in my (first) experience.

      • stirlo on 03/04/2019 - 12:51
        +1

        The bigger issue is people providing fake CBA (or any bank) transfer receipts. You must check yourself and be certain the money is in your account before handing over any goods

        • Member 0230 on 03/04/2019 - 13:26
          +1

          Absolutely.

          From OP:

          ºWait until the funds are in hand or in your account

  • dust on 03/04/2019 - 10:01

    BeemIT is also not a bad option

    • Member 0230 on 03/04/2019 - 10:06

      Just reading through the FAQ now. Is it kinda pretty much like PayID (i.e., you both need to register, free to use), but not quite?

  • Easton on 03/04/2019 - 16:17
    +3

    Re #3: I now prefer PayID over bank details after reading this Money article(moneymag.com.au) — Jeremy Clarkson was famously proved wrong that nobody could use his bank details (that he posted publicly) to withdraw money from his accounts.

    I set up a NetBankSaver (but you can use any HISA) just for taking deposits. Reason for this is HISAs allow you to deposit using a BSB and account number, but you can't do a direct debit from them, like with normal savings accounts.

    • Member 0230 on 03/04/2019 - 16:25

      That's… clever. Thanks for the tip.

  • jowu15 on 04/04/2019 - 13:03

    Interesting posting

  • [Deactivated] on 04/04/2019 - 23:33

    What is everyone's thoughts on PayPal?

    • jdee87 on 06/04/2019 - 14:47

      Think the options provided by poster are still better. Though from what I know Paypal is riskier on the side of the buyer.

  • blehgg on 05/04/2019 - 15:51

    Selling electronics ~ e.g. speakers - would you let the person into your house to inspect?

    • Member 0230 on 06/04/2019 - 10:37

      If it was me I’d set it up in our garage to demo - I prefer to avoid having buyers walk into my house. Just my 2c.

      • blehgg on 08/04/2019 - 09:56

        Yea same.

        My house is just elevated so meeting in the garage without a PC is a pain in the butt.

        • Member 0230 on 08/04/2019 - 10:47

          Ah. Does it have inputs that a more portable player can drive, eg, your phone?

          • blehgg on 08/04/2019 - 11:25

            @Member 0230: yea ~ buts its 7.1 ~ so 3 inputs ~ for the surround ~ I'll try tonight and see if I can do all 3

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