EBAY selling advice.

[bear95]

Hi, I'm selling something on ebay and I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I've only used craigslist before and so I felt more secure making the transactions in person so I'm kind of uneasy handling this online.
So I'm selling my desktop for $1200  7-day auction and $1350 buy-now on ebay. The same day i posted it(saturday), it got sold via buy-now. I'm selling it to a guy in new york. I got a payment received notice. I'm not sure about the process from what I know now it is... Buyer buys, Seller prints shipping stuff, Seller receives pending payment, Seller posts tracking info, Buyer receives items, Seller holds payment?. Correct me if I'm wrong.
And now I'm not sure whether to trust the buyer or not. He's a new user and his account was made the day I posted and so he has no previous record. The address I received from eBay was not to a home address but to some public building when I checked google maps which raised a flag for me. After some talking, supposedly the address was wrong and he wants me to ship it to a different address which looks like a home address. Should I be cautious or is this alright?

[alaricljs]

If it is not a paypal verified address attached to the account that paid the bill, do not ship to that address.

[bear95]

I've been trying to do that but idk how.

[alaricljs]

When you go into paypal, click the details link for the payment transaction.  They will list the correct address to send to, make sure that it is shown as protected or verified.  If that isn't the address he wants you to ship to then either you cancel out of the sale and refund the money or he deals with paypal to get the correct address submitted and verified.

[bear95]

On ebay it says payment sent, in paypal I've got nothing(no transactions pending). I've got his email address. Can I use that to check paypal somehow?

[alaricljs]

When you listed the item did you specify paypal only?  If not what payment options did you allow?  Until you see evidence that you have fully received the funds then you don't ship anything.

[bear95]

Only paypal. But I don't see anything in paypal. Which is why I'm completely lost.

[bear95]

I expected to not receive it. But I expected to see something like pending. But because I see nothing, I'm completely lost. I thought it was another fake paypal thingies like that happen with craigslist but in ebay it says payment sent, which makes me confused. I'm not sure how this works. Does the buyer voluntarily mark something as payment sent? Or does eBay mark something as Payment sent. If its voluntarily than I'm guessing its definately a scam.

[alaricljs]

His paypal account may be new or have some sort of restriction on it.  Until you see the transaction listed and your balance reflect that transaction, don't ship.  If you don't see anything by mid-day Tuesday contact the buyer and tell them paypal is not showing a payment from them and that THEY need to fix it.  Recommend that they also fix their shipping address so that it is part of their paypal account and is verified.

[alaricljs]

In ebay there is an option to mark it as payment sent.  You're supposed to use it in the shockingly rare (read: never) instance that the seller accepts money orders or something.

[Wildcard]

go to your "My eBay" section, on the left side under "Sell" click on "Sold". You should see the listing for your item here. Click on the link to your listing. This gives you a page of the item you sold with several items above "print shipping label, view order details etc..." you can print your shipping label from here. Or..... You can click "View Paypal Transaction" to be taken to a Paypal sign in page which will take you to this specific transaction. If you ship the item yourself at a store keep your tracking number and enter it in eBay by "mark as shipped".

Also helpful note, shipping insurance doesn't mean crap if it's a large item and you package it yourself, if anything have them inspect it first by talking to whomever you ship with about this. Sometimes it's worth it to pay $50 to have them package it just in case.

Also make sure you document your motherboard SN and any other SN in case the seller tries to say you sent a defective PC and sends you different parts back.

eBay is usually a great place to buy and sell, but be careful and you should be fine.

[bear95]

Ok. Thanks! I contacted the seller that I would start shipping as soon as I saw the transaction in paypal. I can't believe I sold it in less than a day. I've sold a lot of stuff on the craigslist but that desktop I'm selling, I've tried to sell for the past 1 year.

[alaricljs]

As far as that shipping insurance thing, my experience is opposite as long as you *follow their rules*  there is a minimum distance from the inside of the box to the item that is supposed to be packing material or empty space.  It is shockingly large in comparison to the packages you receive from stores.  If you ship the computer in the original box the case came in, it's not a big enough box by any shippers rules.

[bear95]

@RiffRaff.
Thanks! I'll take that in mind. But I've set my desktop as no returns. Can the person still complain to ebay and make me return or refund it?

[alaricljs]

Oh yeah, and I recommend packing the graphics card and CPU cooler in boxes inside the case.  Make sure the buyer is aware of this and OKs it and that they are responsible for damages if they insist on you shipping the system whole.

[Wildcard]

His paypal account may be new or have some sort of restriction on it.  Until you see the transaction listed and your balance reflect that transaction, don't ship.  If you don't see anything by mid-day Tuesday contact the buyer and tell them paypal is not showing a payment from them and that THEY need to fix it.  Recommend that they also fix their shipping address so that it is part of their paypal account and is verified.

If you have issues with a pending transaction contact Paypal first, they will usually be able to tell you pretty quickly what the hold up is and what actions if any need to be taken on your side.

[alaricljs]

The buyer can complain and win no matter what you say.  Often even when you are right and they are wrong.  It happened to me.

[alaricljs]

If you have issues with a pending transaction contact Paypal first, they will usually be able to tell you pretty quickly what the hold up is and what actions if any need to be taken on your side.

As he said, in paypal it's not even pending, it's not there at all.

[bear95]

Ah. didn't know that about shipping. I was going to send it in the original HAF 912 packaging. But the packaging is going from NJ to NY. Should it be ok or should I take more measures in packaging?

[Wildcard]

@RiffRaff.
Thanks! I'll take that in mind. But I've set my desktop as no returns. Can the person still complain to ebay and make me return or refund it?

If you sold it as working and they claim it isn't then yes. They could always file a claim that they received an item not as described. Remember eBay protects the buyer more then the seller. Even if that buyer is willfully trying to take advantage of you.

[Wildcard]

As he said, in paypal it's not even pending, it's not there at all.

Or he just can't find it? If you follow my directions above it will take you directly to the transaction page. If it isn't there then something else is going on.

[bear95]

Ok. If than, I can drive right to the buyers house :argue:
:tongue:

[bear95]

I don't see anything in the page you directed me to. Which is why I'm confused again. I expected paypal to be instant. So I thought I would see something paypal related in ebay but I don't. If somehow he didn't use paypal, how did he mark the item as sold?

EDIT: Also, paypal was the only method I allowed.

[Wildcard]

Ah. didn't know that about shipping. I was going to send it in the original HAF 912 packaging. But the packaging is going from NJ to NY. Should it be ok or should I take more measures in packaging?

Definitely, I've had empty cases sent from Newegg in the original box and they've come damaged. Now imagine loading those cases up with electronic components. If you put the tower in the original box then put that box in a larger box with at least 2-4 inches of packaging, peanuts, spacers etc.. you should do fine. Like I mentioned earlier, some shipping centers will package for you for a nominal fee (when compared to a $1,350 item). If you choose to package it yourself, don't completely close the package and have them inspect it at the store and close it themselves. Get the name of the employee who inspected it and said it was fine and you'll be covered if anything goes wrong. I have friends who shipped large computer equipment themselves that were destroyed in the shipping process, and UPS wouldn't cover them at all because they wern't packaged properly, even though they were in bubble wrap with foam block spacers and peanuts.

Items get dropped a lot in shipment, so take that into account.

[Wildcard]

You can mark an item as paid under your list of purchased items without any difficulty. That's usually used when another payment method is involved. If you don't see that link for "View Paypal Transaction" then give it a few days since you've already contacted the buyer.

Edit: And yes Paypal is pretty much instant.

You should also receive an message to your Paypal email address telling you that you've received funds once the seller completed payment.

[bear95]

He's also acting like he used eBay for a while.
"Don't worry i was like that in the beginning as well lol, take care."
But his account was made that day.

[Wildcard]

Until you see the funds in your Paypal account you're not obligated to ship anything, so just wait for the buyer to respond and see how it goes. Also PM me if you encounter any other issues. I've been using eBay to buy/sell for almost a decade.

[cheebs]

Do not sell on eBay.  Ever since they introduced the heavy buyer protection policies it's just been a pit of scams for sellers.

[bear95]

@cheebs I think I'll be alright.

[Wildcard]

The only part where this becomes a real PITA is when the buyer won't pay so you're forced to wait. You can't open a dispute for a certain amount of time to claim the buyer didn't pay, so it draws on for a bit.

If the buyer comes back with some type of, I'm sorry but I can't buy this now, just send a cancel transaction request and move on.

[isp]

I only ship to people with a verified paypal address and who have a decent feedback record.  I've even refunded people before if I don't like their attitude etc.  If it doesn't feel right then I suggest just backing away man.  There will be other (more credible) people interested...

[fohat.digs]

You are in a tough spot, but until you have money in hand, you don't have to do anything. If the transaction evaporates, you might let the "final transaction fee" go as tuition for a lesson learned.

My small handful of ebay disputes have always ended in frustration. As a seller, protect yourself. As has been said before, photograph all the serial numbers, and make sure that delivery was confirmed. A required signature is worth a few dollars and a few days wait for a costlier item, although it is a major nuisance for the buyer.

Allow other payment and delivery options, for a whole system I presume that you were charging AT LEAST $50 shipping, it might be worth a drive to the next state for a cash transaction in person.

Ebay/Paypal jerks you around whenever you start or change an account. There MIGHT be a legitimate reason for the address-shuffle, but it is a huge red flag.

[bear95]

"alright i already told you though, it says "paid via paypal". Since the transaction is done through eBay and you are a new seller, the payment is transferred into your account after they verify you shipped the item to make sure there is no fraud occuring and to make sure you actually have the item. "
The person is obviously trying to make me ship it without me getting paid. I told him that I was going to wait until something came out on paypal. I feel this is a scam.

[alaricljs]

If it was done via paypal then there would be a transaction in your history and an explanation as to when/why you can't have the money yet.  They don't leave you in the dark.

[fohat.digs]

Yes, even when they are jerking you around, they will show a payment as "pending" if it is in the system somewhere.

[cheebs]

"alright i already told you though, it says "paid via paypal". Since the transaction is done through eBay and you are a new seller, the payment is transferred into your account after they verify you shipped the item to make sure there is no fraud occuring and to make sure you actually have the item. "
The person is obviously trying to make me ship it without me getting paid. I told him that I was going to wait until something came out on paypal. I feel this is a scam.

:/

[rknize]

Yeah, this all sounds really fishy to me.  What kind of notice did you receive?  Was it from eBay or PayPal?  Is your eBay account linked with a different PayPal account?

[Wildcard]

If the buyer never pays you need to file a seller claim to cancel the transaction on the grouds you wern't paid. The buyer will have a set time to respond, if they don't respond you can move to close the transaction which will credit you back any eBay fees for the listing

[bear95]

I got an email from ebay. And I only have one paypal. he's being ridiculous now. like "ok than you won't get your $$$$$$$$" I can do the buyer not paid thing on the 20th so wednesday.

[Wildcard]

Good, and once that's done drop a little negative feedback on their a**

Buyers like that piss me off and ruin the eBay community.

[mkawa]

ebay is a terrible place to try to sell or buy things, period. the whole thing is a pit of despair. we have quite a nice classifieds and buy/sell community going here. i've also used hardforum for pc equipment pretty successfully.

rules of thumb for doing business online: deal in online communities that are small and chummy in which reputation really matters. don't ship internationally. don't ship before you have cash in hand. ship very carefully. keep careful documentation in photos and a paper trail with tracking and insurance and signature confirmation if necessary. always always overpack. don't hold out for every last dollar and don't deal with people who hold out for every last dollar. communicate every relevant query and event promptly and expect the same from the other party. don't be afraid to back out at any point.

i've moved thousands back and forth in probably a hundred transactions at this point and have never had a single problem (knock on wood). none of these transactions have used ebay, but some of my items have definitely ended up being resold on ebay by my buyer for higher prices. my view of this is that even though you might yield 20ish% more on paper selling a handful of items on ebay, at the limit you're probably going to make less than i am asking under market and putting integrity into my sales. that is, if you price the risk of selling on ebay into your take, it suddenly becomes a really raw deal for sellers.