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 Buying / Trading Tips / Guidance to live by [message #15451] |
Sun, 28 October 2012 11:33 |
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cajuntec
Messages: 1246
Registered: November 2009
Location: Williamsburg, VA
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There have been a few deals here lately that didn't quite go as planned, so I thought it would be prudent to put an announcement up to everyone.
Please note: Encore Classifieds does not get involved in disputes. We may attempt to contact a buyer / seller for you, but it is not our responsibility to ensure a deal went through. If we contact someone for you, it's done as a favor, not as a duty.
1) Deal in public. All of these "Sent you a PM", "PM returned", and then all of a sudden the post is marked "Sold, please lock", and we have no idea who bought what because it was done in private. If people can't see the transaction, it's easier for the deal to go bad without proof.
2) If you aren't 100% certain that you aren't going to get ripped off, you have a few absolutely guaranteed ways of dealing with it.
a) Walk away from the deal. Period. You don't have to buy it.
b) Have the item sent to an impartial intermediary, like an FFL. When you put eyes on, you pay the person in a way that you both
have agreed to. When the item is paid for, the seller releases the item via the FFL to the buyer.
c) Face-to-face.
3) Do NOT change the original title of your post when you sell it. Just mark it sold in a reply and we will see it and lock the topic. Do NOT delete the contents of your original post when you sell it. We want to see what was for sale, as well as the description.
4) Check the buyer out on different sites by doing a Google search on the user name. Most people use the same user name on several sites. Look for sites that the user has posted quite a bit on. If the user has a bad reputation elsewhere, you probably want to avoid dealing with them.
5) Get a name, location and phone number and do another Google search. You would be amazed what information is available out there.
6) Compare the information you receive. If the sellers listed location on the site is California, and they ask you to send payment to Virginia, start asking questions. If the persons name is John Smith, and their email address is Joe.Smoe@hotmail.com, start asking questions. If the person claims to live in Nevada, but their phone number is a Texas area code, start asking questions. Please note - I said "Start asking questions' for each of these. I didn't say to avoid dealing with them. There may be a perfectly good explanation for it, but if the explanation given doesn't sound right - Don't do the deal.
7) Used equipment is just that - Used. Sometimes it's better than expected, sometimes its worse. If the sellers description is way off from what you received, arrange a refund if possible, and be done with it. If you claim that something is broken, don't take it apart and send a person back pieces. That negates your "broken" claim, as you started messing with it too.
8 ) There has been some discussion of sending to P.O. Boxes. The truth of it is - Sometimes people just have P.O. Boxes, especially if they are military, live in a rural area, or live in an apartment. Don't avoid someone just because a P.O. Box is listed. But do your due diligence and check it out further with the advice provided above (Google searches).
9) Be careful with Postal Money orders - buying and selling. If you are a seller, cash the money order before shipping. I have received a fake money order before. Check-cashing places will show you why it's fake. Luckily, mine was only for a small amount. If you are a buyer, use a Post Office money order if possible. Although still difficult to work with if the deal goes bad, the USPS might be able to help you, but the Valero Gas station will look at you like you are crazy if you ask them for help.
10) Be patient. Things come up. I'm not making excuses for people, but it's the truth - Things come up. Before you go blasting someone on this site publicly, make every effort (not just a few phone calls / emails) to contact them.
11) Sellers - Do not ship until you have received payment in full.
12) NEVER use Paypal "gift" option. It doesn't provide any recourse for either party if the deal goes bad.
13) Read the forum rules and abide by them.
14) Stay on topic if someone has asked a question. Taking a subject way off topic takes away from the purpose of the originator asking that question, which is to get the information they desire. If you want to have a friendly, polite discussion about something unrelated, please do so in your own post on the General Conversation sub-forum.
That's all I can think about for now. I don't want this to be a dog-pile, so I'm going to lock this thread. If you think of something that I should add to this list, please PM me and I'll consider it for addition.
Thank you all for using Encore Classifieds.
All the best,
Glenn
If at first you don't succeed... buy newer / better equipment!
[Updated on: Wed, 12 February 2020 19:40] Report message to a moderator |
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