Classifieds selling advice

horse

Hi Guys

I've been experiencing some GAS symptoms, but really need to sell or trade to make room for any new arrivals.

I was prepping a post with some guitars I could let go, but then thought that I shouldn't really post it without thinking through how it would all work.

I guess paypal gift is the usual payment approach to avoid fees? Once you've got the payment you post out the guitar, presumably with signed for delivery. With paypal gift are there any pitfalls such as non-cleared funds or the buyer pulling back the payment etc which can result in you having sent the guitar and getting ripped off?

Any advice on what can be done to ensure the seller and buyer are best protected when trading on the classifieds?

I suppose local in-person deals are safest, but you're probably lucky to find a local buyer?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

DiscoStu

Post photos.

Put a sensible price on it.

Paypal gift is the most common currency on here and seems to work. I've used it many times with no problems.

Package your guitar well. Very well.

And DON'T USE PARCELFORCE.

rpr

Swapping landline numbers and speaking to the seller before hand is a good idea.

Wazmeister

NEVER EVER use Paypal gift...

Your protection and cover with Paypal is removed with gift... It's worth the very slight extra to get both parties covered.

My advice, be honest in your description, show integrity, parcel and wrap well, ALWAYS use Special Delivery (insured up to £500) and it arrives guaranteed next day. Welcome to this exciting world !

TTony

In all my time on the previous forum/s, I can remember very few deals that ever went wrong, and many more posts about evilBay deals that had gone very wrong (despite all the "protection" that PayPal and evilBay offer).

And on those very few occasions when a forum-based deal did go wrong, the forum posse soon assembled to hunt down the wrong-doer and encourage them to undo wrongs and do some rights instead.

That said, nothing is ever perfectly safe - that's life.

Check the good/bad traders list on here.

Look at the buyers/sellers other posts (ie not just in the Classifieds section).  Have they been around a reasonable time?  Do they post stuff that makes you think that they're generally trustworthy, and the sort of person that you'd buy a used guitar from in a pub?

PPG (paypal gift) is good if you want to avoid the fees that PP impose, but you do lose any protection that they might offer if a deal goes bad.  Most times in trades, I've done PPG and not had a problem - but nothing is ever perfectly safe.

There's probably more risk with stuff getting damaged in transit than there is of a buyer/seller being dodgy.  Use a recommended courier (UPS via interparcel usually get recommended) and pack it better than well.  I've had one package arrived damaged - the numpty had wrapped a guitar in bin liners and parcel tape.  It got busted in transit - unsurprisingly.

You often find very good deals on here.  People trade stuff with each other directly, there's no shop mark-up to pay and no evilBay fees to pay.  But you will also find that people know what something is worth.  If you want to sell, you'll need to price it keenly - particularly at the moment when the market is generally quiet.

blueskunk

Spot on T.

horse

Thanks for the input guys.

axisus

Not keen on PayPal gift at all. Asking for trouble unless you are within reasonable driving distance. Seen plenty of problems over the past couple of years. Might consider on small purchases.

UnclePsychosis

I don't like paypal gift and do not ask to use it either as a seller or a buyer. I would only ever consider using it for small items and for amounts I could afford to lose. Personally I think it should be a forum rule---no paypal gift. 

As a buyer I have in the past covered the seller's fees by paying them a bit more, this is because I wanted buyer protection. 

Otherwise, the usual rules apply---post lots of pics, make sure you state a value, nice prompt communications, make sure you package the instrument *well*, post it when you say you will. 

Have fun

John_P

I have no problem with ppg - but I can see why buyers should be aware of the potential pitfalls...  like TTony said above though - take sensible precautions and communicate with the seller and if you want the extra security just pay the fees or take the risk.
I'd much rather meet up and do a cash deal and have a gossip about gear given the choice but as the trading feedback thread shows problems have been pretty rare so far.....

BigBearKris

Guys - if I want to buy an item from provate seller and I'd like to use paypal - do they cover that transaction (i.e. I will pay the guy and he's not going to ship the item). I assume thatif he prefers normal bank transfer I'm not covered in any case?

Wazmeister

UnclePsychosis said:

I don't like paypal gift and do not ask to use it either as a seller or a buyer. I would only ever consider using it for small items and for amounts I could afford to lose. Personally I think it should be a forum rule---no paypal gift. 

As a buyer I have in the past covered the seller's fees by paying them a bit more, this is because I wanted buyer protection. 

Otherwise, the usual rules apply---post lots of pics, make sure you state a value, nice prompt communications, make sure you package the instrument *well*, post it when you say you will. 

Have fun

Absolutely spot on...

TTony

There won't be a forum rule about not using PPG.

For people who know each other and/or who've traded previously and/or who trust each other, then PPG is a perfectly acceptable (and efficient) form of payment.

If someone's offering a '57 Goldtop in mint condition, that they really will ship from Nigeria, honestly, just as soon as you PPG them £500, really, honestly ... then you might want to think twice about using PPG.

Use your own judgement.

But this discussion did prompt us to get the "rules" for using the classifieds posted in each section

BigBearKris

Never used a paypal to pay a private person - only for online shopping. I don't know a difference between money transfer via paypal and paypal gift (whatever it is). Is direct money transfer to seller covered by anything in case something goes wrong?

Fazer

paypal fees are about 3-4% + there is the postage

3-4% isnt such a bad price to pay for a bit of security and less stress, and dealing through the forums you are not having to pay another 10% to ebay

that said pretty much everything i bought and sold through music radar and other places was done with paypal gift and i've not yet had a problem with any of them, apart from a couple of people being very tardy about actually posting the thing.
on those occasions i thought that i should have used paypal payment rather than gift, but they did eventually post the things after having to email them a few times, and the items arrived fine.
i'm only talking about a week or so delay in posting, so not a massive length of time

Sporky

Not really. You could potentially launch legal action, but there isn't, as far as I'm aware, any protection built into a bank transfer.

stickyfiddle

I have no problem with paypal gift, but a) I generally only buy from regulars here, many of whom I've met in real life, and b) I know I'm trustworthy as a seller so it's not a problem from that side as far as I'm concerned. 

I would certainly not insist a buyer used Gift though if they weren't happy to do so, and would be wary of anyone insisting I did when buying, as long as the buyer is happy to pay the fees, as they're the one benefiing from the protection

BigBearKris

Thanks for replies guys, I'm considering buying an item via forum and I'm just trying to figure out the safest way to do it (I'm rather face2face contact person when it comes to buying gear).

impmann

I've done probably hundreds of transactions via PPG on the old MR forum. Never had any problems - and the 'protection' offered by PayPal is woeful at best, tbh. But each to their own... personally speaking if I'm selling something I'm not going to 'donate' the fees to PP but if someone doesn't want to use PPG, then they will need to pay the fees. Or come and get the item and pay cash...

On the subject of couriers - read the small print. I haven't found a courier that will insure a guitar that isn't in a hard case, nor one that will insure a valve amplifier in transit... If you want to take a chance, then courier... if you want to know its going to arrive safe, then I'd suggest collecting it.

Finally - if someone lives a long way from you, suggest meeting up halfway at a motorway services or similar. 

strtdv

I'd only send a guitar in it's hard case with insurance, and next day signed for delivery.

I've used paypal gift before with no issues, but for buying more expensive items I use regular paypal and pay the difference myself.

I've done around a dozen deals between the old MR forum and Harmony Central before they messed it up and other than one guitar which wasn't quite as described (and to be honest it was so cheap I couldn't complain), I've had no issues.

axisus

impmann said:

... but if someone doesn't want to use PPG, then they will need to pay the fees. 

Personally I think that's ridiculous! If a seller wants to sell, and he wants to use an intermediary to facilitate a sale, why should he expect to not pay for that service!?!!? Why should it be on the buyer to pay them, and if they don't risk getting stiffed?