[DrB]

So I post a For Sale Ad for my Garmin 215 Chartplotter on Sailnet's Classifieds Section. A fellow forum member posted that they were interested and we exchanged emails and such. I was looking for $90 + ship and everything was agreed upon.

I am a trusting soul, and there was a concern that the Chaprtplotter may not work with the potential purchaser's existing antennae, so I said, I'll ship it to you, try it, and if it works, send me the $ for the unit plus a few bucks to ship. The buyer agreed and I sent the unit, checked up and they said it appeared to work and would send me the $. A few days later they said the money was sent. That was over a month ago. Sent the buyer another email a few days ago and no response yet.

I think most folks are generally good eggs, but maybe I am out a few $ on this one. Hopefully the buyer is away from their computer and hasn't seen my email, and absent mindedly forgot to mail it previously. I can only hope.

 

[miatapaul]

Sorry to hear this. I have done a few deals on internet forums(not here though) and have had good luck. I did a "trade" on a shaving forum and we both put some bonus items in the box. Nothing of real value but but made me and him happy.

 

[clip68]

I would bring this to the mods' attention.

-Chris

 

[Rezz]

Sorry to hear that happened.

There's a reason internet transactions are considered "buyer beware." I hope this works out for you in the end, but if not, $90 is a relatively cheap lesson learned.

Again, best of luck with a happy resolution.

 

[Donna_F]

I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done. Personally, this is why I don't like the classifieds on this site at all although this is the first time I've heard of something like this happening since I became a mod. However, my feelings notwithstanding, I'll see if we can get some kind of response from the site owners.

 

[krisscross]

In the good old days local stores posted checks from customers who wrote bad checks. That was a good practice which not merely shamed the offenders, but also let other folks avoid problems with these customers.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

How many posts has the buyer done?

 

[Puddin'_Tain]

In god we trust. All others, please pay cash.

 

[MikeOReilly]

Give this person a generous and reasonable time to respond. Maybe they are off cruising. But if he/she has really stiffed you, then name names. Silence and secrecy benefits no one (except the wicked).

 

[tdw]

I'm still of the opinion that the OP should let the Mods know who the buyer was. Not for public consumption at this stage but it would allow us to make a few checks behind the scenes. No action would be taken unless we had the OP's permission.

Think about it DrB .. it does make some sense.

 

[jzk]

Next time, get paid with paypal first.

 

[PaulinVictoria]

Get the pitchforks boys, we're goin' on a beatin' run.

 

[Fstbttms]

Give this person a generous and reasonable time to respond. Maybe they are off cruising. But if he/she has really stiffed you, then name names. Silence and secrecy benefits no one (except the wicked).

I'd say more than enough time has elapsed. Not only has it been a month since the OP shipped the item to the buyer, but the buyer fed him a line about the check being the mail, which of course turned out to be bullsh*t. If this was a big ticket item (like a boat), would you still advise that the buyer should be given more time? The fact that this scenario only involves a $90 piece of gear doesn't lessen the fact that the OP is being ripped off.

Bottom line- when you sell something, you get paid before you deliver the goods.

 

[chall03]

A nudge from the mod squad may help he/she find their conscience and wallet.

Likewise if the 'purchaser' is reading this thread then a reminder that the sailing world linked as it now is thanks to the internet is quite small and that for a small amount of money being known as that guy( or girl) is not worth it.

Or you could just remember it is christmas and do the right thing anyway

 

[MikeOReilly]

I'd say more than enough time has elapsed. Not only has it been a month since the OP shipped the item to the buyer, but the buyer fed him a line about the check being the mail, which of course turned out to be bullsh*t. If this was a big ticket item (like a boat), would you still advise that the buyer should be given more time? The fact that this scenario only involves a $90 piece of gear doesn't lessen the fact that the OP is being ripped off.

I suggested this b/c we're only hearing one side of the story. Although it seems pretty black and white, I've learned most stories rarely are. But if it continues to play out as it seems, then I say this person should be named.

 

[SHNOOL]

Next time, get paid with paypal first.

Lemme tell you about paypal!!!
Paypal, is buyer swayed... meaning if a controversy comes up, they lean towards the buyer... which is why they NOW provide "seller protection." I've had two friends get bit by this policy, after a long distance transaction on $1000 items (saddles actually)... You know the scam goes something like this... I post something on the web. Someone looks at the pictures online, contacts me... says I want it... I spend a fortune shipping a 30+lb item... They pay for paypal for it. It gets shipped. 3 days later it arrives, they say it doesn't look like the picture and lodge a paypal dispute. Paypal always sides with the buyer... seller is screwed gets no money (and they already had to wait 8-20 days to get their money)... buyer keeps the item!!! you know cause it's so expensive to ship back! Yeah I know Paypal has the seller protection but one must be aware of that service.

I use paypal and like it, but one must understand the limitations.

Funny story.... when I bought my boat, it was from a online posting. It was 500+ miles from my home. I told the seller that I was traveling 500+ miles and I was bringing CASH! The seller was concerned! I could not figure out why. She was worried that I was doing something illegal I think. NO, the problem was I have bought and sold several trailerable boats, and I would not myself accept a check, and even cashiers checks now are getting copied and causing havoc. I told her this, and that I was trying to make sure she didn't have to worry about this. But yeah, she was more leery of cash than a check?

The almighty dollar is a sure way to pay for something... no BS, no questions. She was quite worried that my under $10k transaction was in her hands as greenbacks. NOT that I had just printed them! heheheh. But yes, we as buyers AND sellers have a duty to do our best to make this pain free. By the way I went with her to the bank to ease her fears of walking around with thousands of dollars of cash... and allowed them to test the bills to make sure they were legit.

Sorry this happened to you, I hope sailnet can help you get it sorted.

 

[Minnewaska]

Get the pitchforks boys, we're goin' on a beatin' run.

And the OP has the buyer's address. Leverage..........

The old six degrees of separation has been proven to be down to about 2 degrees, via the internet. Someone posting in this forum right now, knows someone who knows the buyer. Really. You just need to out them.

 

[Maine Sail]

Lemme tell you about paypal!!!
Paypal, is buyer swayed... meaning if a controversy comes up, they lean towards the buyer... which is why they NOW provide "seller protection." I've had two friends get bit by this policy, after a long distance transaction on $1000 items (saddles actually)... You know the scam goes something like this... I post something on the web. Someone looks at the pictures online, contacts me... says I want it... I spend a fortune shipping a 30+lb item... They pay for paypal for it. It gets shipped. 3 days later it arrives, they say it doesn't look like the picture and lodge a paypal dispute. Paypal always sides with the buyer... seller is screwed gets no money (and they already had to wait 8-20 days to get their money)... buyer keeps the item!!! you know cause it's so expensive to ship back! Yeah I know Paypal has the seller protection but one must be aware of that service.

I use paypal and like it, but one must understand the limitations.

Funny story.... when I bought my boat, it was from a online posting. It was 500+ miles from my home. I told the seller that I was traveling 500+ miles and I was bringing CASH! The seller was concerned! I could not figure out why. She was worried that I was doing something illegal I think. NO, the problem was I have bought and sold several trailerable boats, and I would not myself accept a check, and even cashiers checks now are getting copied and causing havoc. I told her this, and that I was trying to make sure she didn't have to worry about this. But yeah, she was more leery of cash than a check?

The almighty dollar is a sure way to pay for something... no BS, no questions. She was quite worried that my under $10k transaction was in her hands as greenbacks. NOT that I had just printed them! heheheh. But yes, we as buyers AND sellers have a duty to do our best to make this pain free. By the way I went with her to the bank to ease her fears of walking around with thousands of dollars of cash... and allowed them to test the bills to make sure they were legit.

Sorry this happened to you, I hope sailnet can help you get it sorted.

14,000+ transactions with PayPal as both a seller and buyer and not a single bad transaction. I've had a few disputes, maybe 2 or 3 but all were settled fairly and involved shipping issues not issues myself or the buyer caused.

PayPal has been so good I actually dropped my credit card processor and now let PayPal do everything. Customers seem to like that they can pay with either their PayPal account or their credit card.

The biggest issues I have with PayPal is they are very careful and often put a 24+ hour hold on a buyers purchase to make sure it is legit. If a customer is in a hurry it can be a bit of a PITA but I appreciate their diligence. Often times it is folks who have had a PayPal account for a long while but rarely use it that causes the investigation hold...

With PayPal you should always be careful with any overseas transactions and be sure you are shipping to a seller protected "Eligible" buyer with a confirmed PayPal address. The buyer also always pays for shipping insurance on the item if it is going international. No insurance, no ship...

The same thing you describe above, buyer dispute, can also happen with any credit card transaction. I had it happen with an eBay sale where PayPal was not even involved.

Beyond that there are just certain countries I refuse to ship to. I simply refund the payment and move on. I don't need to deal with shipping to a country with a high fraud rate and a high non-delivery rate. The best method for sketchy international countries is to tell the buyer to use a freight forwarding facility in the US and you ship the product there. I then have documentation it was delivered there and that is all I guarantee. If the buyer has a shipping issue they take it up with the freight forwarding outfit.

Bottom line is if you did right and can show and prove that, which is pretty easy, then there should be very few issues..

For situations like forum sales I simply create a PayPal invoice and don't ship until it is paid...

Really sucks that a forum member would stiff you.....

 

[jzk]

What you say is true, but there are advantages. Take a photo of the product before sending.

I have had only one bad experience so far. I sold an item to a lady in Florida. She said the item was damaged. It was a brand new item. It happened to be something that I drop shipped to her meaning I bought it from a supplier and sent it directly to her. The supplier got it back in a way that it couldn't have been damaged in shipping as it was marked up with white meaning it got smashed against something white. Nothing white was in the package.

My supplier just refunded the money wanting to move on. This lady obviously bought a new item, and sent back her old damaged one.

Because I did the transaction via paypal, I have her information. Had my supplier wanted to pursue it, I could have pursued a Fraud action against her in Florida. In Florida such an action will result in the defendant paying three times damages plus attorneys fees. Translation, she would pay up on the spot. No one wants to risk paying $15,000 after they get busted trying to defraud someone on a $70.00 item.

Lemme tell you about paypal!!!
Paypal, is buyer swayed... meaning if a controversy comes up, they lean towards the buyer... which is why they NOW provide "seller protection." I've had two friends get bit by this policy, after a long distance transaction on $1000 items (saddles actually)... You know the scam goes something like this... I post something on the web. Someone looks at the pictures online, contacts me... says I want it... I spend a fortune shipping a 30+lb item... They pay for paypal for it. It gets shipped. 3 days later it arrives, they say it doesn't look like the picture and lodge a paypal dispute. Paypal always sides with the buyer... seller is screwed gets no money (and they already had to wait 8-20 days to get their money)... buyer keeps the item!!! you know cause it's so expensive to ship back! Yeah I know Paypal has the seller protection but one must be aware of that service.

I use paypal and like it, but one must understand the limitations.

Funny story.... when I bought my boat, it was from a online posting. It was 500+ miles from my home. I told the seller that I was traveling 500+ miles and I was bringing CASH! The seller was concerned! I could not figure out why. She was worried that I was doing something illegal I think. NO, the problem was I have bought and sold several trailerable boats, and I would not myself accept a check, and even cashiers checks now are getting copied and causing havoc. I told her this, and that I was trying to make sure she didn't have to worry about this. But yeah, she was more leery of cash than a check?

The almighty dollar is a sure way to pay for something... no BS, no questions. She was quite worried that my under $10k transaction was in her hands as greenbacks. NOT that I had just printed them! heheheh. But yes, we as buyers AND sellers have a duty to do our best to make this pain free. By the way I went with her to the bank to ease her fears of walking around with thousands of dollars of cash... and allowed them to test the bills to make sure they were legit.

Sorry this happened to you, I hope sailnet can help you get it sorted.

 

[svHyLyte]

The solution to these on-line Buy/Sell misgivings is an Escrow Service such as Escrow.com. The cost of these services is quite low relative to the security for both parties to a transaction.