Be Leary! (1 Viewer)

[gk5717]

There has been a "member, about 11 post, all for buying" wanting to by AWI sets. I had some to sell, contacted him, made a deal, then when I wanted a check or money order, he balked saying a mo cost money and didn,t want to take the time waiting for a check to clear. However he was willing to pay 5% more and pay me thru paypal.
Just my suspicions kicking in here, but sounds to me he was going to claim thru paypal that things arrived broken etc, and try to get money back.
Again this fellow has done nothing wrong, but I thought I would give everyone a heads up. This just didn't seem above board. Contact me if you want to know who it is.
Gary

 

[Spitfrnd]

Well I think a fair number of us like to use Paypal for convenience, not ulterior motives. Many sellers have requested it. I can appreciate your concern but it seems a bit premature to me. I have used Paypal hundreds of time and never had to pursue a claim. In fact, these days it is likely more of a red flag to find a seller that only wants a check.

 

[JAGCDR]

Well I think a fair number of us like to use Paypal for convenience, not ulterior motives. Many sellers have requested it. I can appreciate your concern but it seems a bit premature to me. I have used Paypal hundreds of time and never had to pursue a claim. In fact, these days it is likely more of a red flag to find a seller that only wants a check.

Concur. I would not buy from a seller who refused to let me use PAYPAL.

 

[tdubel]

Tough call here. I take check, paypal, etc, I also pay by both methods, actually I prefer to pay by check. I understand the issue with taking paypal, as a collector 5% is a pain to suck up.

I have found that most toy soldier traders are honest on this board, so that helps. I also have a rule, that if a transaction becomes a pain in my posterior, I don't do it and part ways.

TD

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Well I think a fair number of us like to use Paypal for convenience, not ulterior motives. Many sellers have requested it. I can appreciate your concern but it seems a bit premature to me. I have used Paypal hundreds of time and never had to pursue a claim. In fact, these days it is likely more of a red flag to find a seller that only wants a check.

I agree. Paypal is very easily done in 2 minutes on the computer. A money order requires going to a bank or post office, and for me checks are no good because I don't have a US checking account.

Terry

 

[tdubel]

Concur. I would not buy from a seller who refused to let me use PAYPAL.

Curious, why is that? I would say nearly ever seller on this board is honest, what is the adversity to paying them by check? You can certainly get a lot of references to bring comfort!

TD

 

[tdubel]

I agree. Paypal is very easily done in 2 minutes on the computer. A money order requires going to a bank or post office, and for me checks are no good because I don't have a US checking account.

Terry

Terry,
Agree 100% on non US transactions, that is a good point.

Tom

 

[theBaron]

I agree with Spitfrnd. While you're right, and wise, to be cautious, your buyer is right, money orders cost money, and usually, when checks are involved, a seller does want to make sure that the check will clear, so from a buyer's perspective, I can understand that he might not want to wait (personally, I don't mind waiting, in such cases, but, so ist das Leben).

For PayPal, it's an electronic funds transfer from his bank account, or even credit card, to your account. You could still wait a couple of days for the EFT to complete (it is not instantaneous, though your bank may give you immediate credit on your account, for the money, especially if his bank is in the same Federal Reserve district as yours), as an electronic transfer, it is faster than paper.

Apart from any fees PayPal might charge you, I don't see a disadvantage to you, if you accept his payment via PayPal.

Just my 2 cents, I apologize if it's intruding.

Prost!
Brad

 

[JAGCDR]

Curious, why is that? I would say nearly ever seller on this board is honest, what is the adversity to paying them by check? You can certainly get a lot of references to bring comfort!

TD

I don't know anyone personally on this board, so I have no idea if they are honest or not. Besides, as a lawyer, I have seen a lot of people burned by folks that they thought were honest. PAYPAL provides a means to resolve disputes. Paying by check requires you to trust the person on the other end to send the product. There is no useful recourse if he/she does not. I have no interest in getting references, and, since I know no one on the board, references would be of little value to me. Plus, you have to wait for the check to clear before you get your little toy.
The original concern of a buyer claiming an item arrived broken and then trying to get money back made no sense to me. If the buyer claimed the item arrived broken, he would have to return it to get a refund. He then gets reimbursed and has exactly the same amount of money that he had before, minus return shipping charges. Not the best scam in the world.

 

[tdubel]

I don't know anyone personally on this board, so I have no idea if they are honest or not. Besides, as a lawyer, I have seen a lot of people burned by folks that they thought were honest. PAYPAL provides a means to resolve disputes. Paying by check requires you to trust the person on the other end to send the product. There is no useful recourse if he/she does not. I have no interest in getting references, and, since I know no one on the board, references would be of little value to me. Plus, you have to wait for the check to clear before you get your little toy.
The original concern of a buyer claiming an item arrived broken and then trying to get money back made no sense to me. If the buyer claimed the item arrived broken, he would have to return it to get a refund. He then gets reimbursed and has exactly the same amount of money that he had before, minus return shipping charges. Not the best scam in the world.

Understand your points, agree, however, I like to think our hobby is more warm and friendly than you describe.

One other idea though, say the buyer does return the items, what happens if they substitute broken pieces? Then the seller is screwed.

It is always buyer beware, so it is up to each to his own regarding comfort.

TD

 

[theBaron]

Curious, why is that? I would say nearly ever seller on this board is honest, what is the adversity to paying them by check? You can certainly get a lot of references to bring comfort!

TD

Hi, Tom, one disadvantage with a checking account as opposed to PayPal is with a person who has a checking account with transaction fees, like a per check charge, but who has the basic PayPal account, with no charges for sending money to a recipient. I can see that for a person with such an account, he would look on transaction charges as equivalent to the fee for a money order, and try to avoid them or keep them to a minimum.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Njja]

Interesting thread. I find most of my deals are through Paypal, it is quick, easy and safe, especially if you also use a credit card so you are covered twice. I have found the exchange rate for international business to be much more reasonable thru my credit card, then thru Paypal....so watch out for that little scam.

If I notice that someone refuses to accept Paypal I simply move on. Who needs the hassle of waiting for a check to clear, or standing in line somewhere buying a Money Order like an 18 year old. I don't mind feeling like I'm 18....... I just don't want to be treated that way!

 

[tdubel]

Hi, Tom, one disadvantage with a checking account as opposed to PayPal is with a person who has a checking account with transaction fees, like a per check charge, but who has the basic PayPal account, with no charges for sending money to a recipient. I can see that for a person with such an account, he would look on transaction charges as equivalent to the fee for a money order, and try to avoid them or keep them to a minimum.

Prost!
Brad

Lots of good points from all posters, provides a better look from all angles that is for sure.

I personally like paypal for its ease of use and wholeheartedly agree to that point.

I don't worry as much about the protection as I like to think our hobby steps beyond the buyer beware fraud that goes on. That said, my momma didn't raise no dummy either!

Tom

 

[gk5717]

Let me add a bit to my origional post.
I contacted him relative to what I had on his want list, further I had more AWI to sell. He replied with his next list. I told him what I had and stated $305 which included shipping, however if he was to pay me with paypal I would have to add a 5% charge to cover the paypal fees. He then asked several questions about the figures I had, one being "are they perfect", and they were.
Now that is a reasonable question, but it did raise a small flag.
He then asked me to lower the price to $300, I agreed and advised him I would prefer to be paid by a MO. He then asked if a personal check was ok, I then said yes, however it must clear.
He then said mo,s cost money and he didn,t want to wait for the check to clear, that he would then just pay the extra $15 to cover paypal.
This is what arose my suspicions. If he was complaining of the COST of a mo, what maybe a dollar, yet he was willing to pay an extra $15 for paypal and he did not want to wait for a check to clear?
I then checked his fact sheet here on the board joined just a few months ago, about 11 post, all wanting to buy something, list his residence in Philedelphia, however he told me he lived in NewYork.
When I replied MO or check only I have not heard back from him.
As for paypal itself really not a problem for me although one time on an international sale a guy tried to rip me off and it froze my paypal account until it was resolved, the guy never followed up and I won.
I will say again, what this guy did was not wrong, but as a long time collector, if I advertised that I was looking for something, got a response, agreed to a deal, then never followed up for the above reasons, just don,t ring right with me.
Maybe my 40 years as a cop makes me a little more suspicios of others!
Gary

 

[JAGCDR]

Understand your points, agree, however, I like to think our hobby is more warm and friendly than you describe.

One other idea though, say the buyer does return the items, what happens if they substitute broken pieces? Then the seller is screwed.

It is always buyer beware, so it is up to each to his own regarding comfort.

TD

I guess I have seen too many bad operators in my life, and probably shouldn't be so suspicious. My wife tends to get a bit annoyed when I get so cautious. I certainly hadn't thought of substitution of broken pieces, either.
After reading additional details from the guy who started the thread, I could see why he would be leery (Not "leary." If I was going to "Be Leary," I would be Denis Leary, who seems to have a pretty good life as an actor.)

 

[Spitfrnd]

Indeed Gary your concern is more understandable in context. Hopefully your experience as a cop does not cause you to generalize too much about the population here. I do believe there is justification for much differentiation.

On the Paypal freeze, as I have noted before, it is best to use a separate account that you do not keep much in for Paypal. Most banks will not charge you any more for that and it prevents a whole host of problems.

 

[tdubel]

I guess I have seen too many bad operators in my life, and probably shouldn't be so suspicious. My wife tends to get a bit annoyed when I get so cautious. I certainly hadn't thought of substitution of broken pieces, either.
After reading additional details from the guy who started the thread, I could see why he would be leery (Not "leary." If I was going to "Be Leary," I would be Denis Leary, who seems to have a pretty good life as an actor.)

LOL on last line!

I would agree as a CPA, I am about as skeptical as they come (too much so bordering on cynical at times!). I always say, this is supposed to be fun and this board always delivers on that thought, its always fun.

Anyhow, good discussion and good thread, we should all continue to be skeptical as it will always tend to keep you out of trouble!

Tom

 

[gk5717]

I guess I have seen too many bad operators in my life, and probably shouldn't be so suspicious. My wife tends to get a bit annoyed when I get so cautious. I certainly hadn't thought of substitution of broken pieces, either.
After reading additional details from the guy who started the thread, I could see why he would be leery (Not "leary." If I was going to "Be Leary," I would be Denis Leary, who seems to have a pretty good life as an actor.)

Yea, "leary" didn,t look right, was to lazy to use spell check!
Glad this was not on another message board I am on, the spell check police would have nailed me to the cross on that one.
Gary

 

[PJDeluhery]

Payal is much more convenient than running to the PO for a money order. With all due respect for your intuition, I think you're jumping the gun a bit on being suspicious unless there is somehting you are not saying. Let's see what happens.

 

[marco55]

Myself if I want to buy something from someone I respect his wishes on how he wants to be paid.Remember he has something I want not vice-versa.I'm never in that much of a hurry that I can't wait until my check has cleared or spend 90-95 cents for a mo.International would be different as it's much easier to do a tranaction via paypal.
Mark