geekhack
geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: Ngt on Sun, 23 November 2014, 08:48:07
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Hi!
I want to sell a keyboard in the classified topic for the first time and I wonder what it is the best way to process.
Is it ok to wait for the payment to be issued before shipping the keyboard?
Is using Paypal for the transaction a good idea?
Feel free to give me any pieces of advice ;)
Thank you.
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Or just don't do it..
give it to your little brother.
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/info-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862510)
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Paypal is good for receiving payments. Just be sure to factor in the cost of the fees into your selling price.
Absolutely wait until payment has cleared before shipping out your goods. Always send things tracked and insured.
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Paypal is good for receiving payments. Just be sure to factor in the cost of the fees into your selling price.
Absolutely wait until payment has cleared before shipping out your goods. Always send things tracked and insured.
Alright. Thanks ;)
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Also, take payment only as a Goods payment, and only ship to verified addresses.
For the goods payment are you referring to this: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/requesting-payments? (https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/requesting-payments?)
How do you verified the addresses? Google Maps?
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Always send things tracked and insured.
Unless the buyer complains about the cost of shipping and wants a cheaper option that is not insured.
If an insured package gets lost, then it is the seller's responsibility to file a claim with the shipping company and later refund the buyer when the insured amount has been received.
If an uninsured package lets lost, and the buyer had chosen to take that risk, then it is the buyer's loss and you have no further obligation.
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Thought that's not to say you couldn't invoice them if you wanted to. It might make things a little easier.
I have a hunch, though I can't prove it, that PayPal makes it slightly harder on people who dispute payments when there is an invoice involved. It may make your case as a seller slightly stronger, if you actually went through their invoicing process, rather than simply having someone send you the payment directly.
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PayPal is super easy. Tracking and insurance are also a good idea. However, tracking won't work internationally, once the package leaves France, AFAIK, unless you use a global shipper like FedEx or DHL. The private companies will track your package, but they cost more. So it's up to the buyer really. Or you, if you want to split the added cost with the buyer.
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^ EMS is the best option for shipping internationally. Good balance of shipping time to cost. And you can usually track it end-to-end.
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Also, take payment only as a Goods payment, and only ship to verified addresses.
For the goods payment are you referring to this: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/requesting-payments? (https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/requesting-payments?)
How do you verified the addresses? Google Maps?
No, not an invoice. When a buyer sends you money, they have multiple options to do it. The most common are Goods/Services and Gift. If you're selling something, the money should be sent as a Goods payment. This way, PayPal can cover you. It will also allow them to present their address for you to ship. When you go in to PayPal and look at the transaction, you will see their shipping address and it will either say it is a verified address or not. If it isn't, I would refund and not go through with the transaction. Also, I always ask for people to include their GH username and what they're purchasing in the notes, so I can make reference to PMs if necessary.
Thanks I'll have to dig into that.
PayPal is super easy. Tracking and insurance are also a good idea. However, tracking won't work internationally, once the package leaves France, AFAIK, unless you use a global shipper like FedEx or DHL. The private companies will track your package, but they cost more. So it's up to the buyer really. Or you, if you want to split the added cost with the buyer.
Is it the case only for the tracking service or does it concern the insurance too? I mean, are you covered only in France for the insurance?
^ EMS is the best option for shipping internationally. Good balance of shipping time to cost. And you can usually track it end-to-end.
I'll check that out and see what the prices are.
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Gift payment is much, much safer for the seller. I try to make all my transactions gifts. Since I can't gift from a Singapore account I sometimes sell something and tell the buyer to gift the guy who is selling me stuff instead.
Something else I've experienced, is that fees are not always what they seem. USA accounts should all be ok, but when it is a non-USD account and another non-USD account in another country, sometimes additional currency and transaction fees are deducted. I get the impression that paypal hasn't set up smoothly functioning agreements with every single credit and debit card provider in the world. One time I ended up unexpectedly paying 9% in fees as the seller (actually it was over 20% because of the fixed $0.45 charge on a small payment of a few bucks). So I am quite rightly allergic to goods payments.
That said, I have been around quite a bit and have (hopefully) racked up good karma by helping people and making many successful transactions. You're still relatively unknown, so I won't recommend that people make gift payment to you. In any case I have nothing expensive to sell and most people should know that if they peruse my posts, whereas if you're selling a $800 keyboard it is not sensible for anyone to trust you with a gift payment.
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I used to use paypal. It is safety way to you and the buyer. You can directly send your keyboard when you receive the payment on paypal.
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People make this ridiculous claim that a gift payment is better for the seller, but it's not. Quite perpetuating this, please. The truth is a gift payment is easily overturned. All they have to do is claim a false payment and there's zero proof that you can offer to prove your side. IF you follow PayPal and their rules, even if a fraudulent claim is made, you are covered and therefore have no worries as long as you ship a tracked package to a verified address from which you received a Goods payment.
not disputing your point here.
but it costs me starting at $40 to ship tracked to the UK. for some combinations of countries, a proper transaction is just never going to happen without a proxy system (which is ridiculously ridiculous) and the parties will just have to trust each other.
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People make this ridiculous claim that a gift payment is better for the seller, but it's not. Quite perpetuating this, please. The truth is a gift payment is easily overturned. All they have to do is claim a false payment and there's zero proof that you can offer to prove your side. IF you follow PayPal and their rules, even if a fraudulent claim is made, you are covered and therefore have no worries as long as you ship a tracked package to a verified address from which you received a Goods payment.
Sorry, esoomomena, can you clarify how people can overturn a gift payment?
There is also the question of buyer fraud. Not likely on a $10 keycap or $30 switches transaction, but on a $500 keyboard, if buyer falsely claims that keyboard is not working (after he spoilt it or swapped out the metal casing or decided he hates the switch type), you will be screwed if he files a false claim because paypal takes the buyer's side.
In any case as a guy who uses bulk proxy shippers, following paypal rules don't help me any. It still works on trust. I can't buy from people who only ship to verified addresses, unless they ship directly to Singapore and I spend far more on shipping. Equally, who's going to file a false payment claim on a $30 stems purchase? That will be clearly fraud, and I'll be trumpeting my experience with that guy on this forum and he won't be doing it again.
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Alright so if I should resume what you all said:
- Gift payment are simpler when it comes to small transaction amounts.
- Goods payment or invoice payment are the way to go for both side to be protected on a higher value sale.
Did I get everything right or did I mess up?
Thanks all for your answers :thumb: