No payment, no item. Simple, no?

[Dreamstalker]

Another tale from online-selling land (not ebay). I sometimes sell things on consignment for friends; one of the items I have listed right now is a Fuld ouija board. I'm not 100% certain of its manufacture date, but it seems to be one of the birds-eye maple veneer boards. I'm in the process of trying to narrow it down further.

A bit scruffy on the edges (no paper label on the back--which would be key in identifying it--slightly warped and one corner is damaged), but I'd say it's in pretty good shape for being in a humid attic for Gord knows how long. Not quite 'collector' quality, but nice if you just wanted one to display. I have very good pictures and described it the best I can.

So I have it listed for one price; on this venue you list things for a set price and buyers can negotiate if they want. A buyer messages me, asking 'can u go any lower?' The owner of the board gave me a price floor that I can't go below, other than that I have some leeway. I give her $XXX with free shipping (I can't get an exact shipping quote, just that I know it's going to be at least $50 due to the oversize box and I don't want either of us on my end to lose money). The owner also doesn't want to mess with online payments, so has requested that I take money orders only. That's fine with me, most buyers understand.

She asks for more photos. I do so. Then asks "is there anything engraved on the back" O_o These boards had paper labels on the back. I say that no, there's nothing on the back but according to research the date of manufacture is likely 1901 (I don't want to give her the site I'm using for research; I've done that before and had dustups where someone tries to claim an antique is newer than it actually is because the color/resolution on their screen is off).

Newest email last night (copied verbatim, I haven't replied yet):

the only thing is i can not send it without it being sent ot me first?like you could send it and then i will pay you.like send with delivery signiture conformation?thanks

Now I do have a zip code so I think this person's legit, but... I never send anything without payment first. Now I kinda understand how they might want to inspect the board first/make sure it's worth what they're paying, but at the same time I am not an escrow service and I can't take the risk of them getting the board and then deciding what they want to pay.

[Aethian]

The post office still does do COD. So that might be a idea. Specially if they pay by check cause if there are no funds for the check the PO goes after them cause the PO will send back a money order.

[LillFilly]

Sounds suspicious, like they have no intention of paying, and might be fishing for more info so they can maybe re-sell the thing themselves.

[XCashier]

Sounds suspicious, like they have no intention of paying, and might be fishing for more info so they can maybe re-sell the thing themselves.

They might even claim they never got it to get out of paying. It won't work if you have insurance/tracking, because the post office can track it, but they'll try it anyway. Do not send until they pay, and since your friend only wants money orders, make sure the money order is okay and goes through before you send it. (Money orders can be [and have been] counterfeited, too.)

I've had far too many of these flakes on feeBay. Oh, they want the item soooo bad, it's just what they want...pay? You mean, they have to pay for it, can't I take the price down any, can't I give them free shipping, can't I wait a month to receive payment?

[mhkohne]

They might even claim they never got it to get out of paying. It won't work if you have insurance/tracking, because the post office can track it, but they'll try it anyway. Do not send until they pay, and since your friend only wants money orders, make sure the money order is okay and goes through before you send it. (Money orders can be [and have been] counterfeited, too.)

Heck yea.

When I deal with money orders, I always do USPS money orders, and I go into a post office to cash them in person. The postal people are better than me at detecting from fraud, and if they mess it up, well, I've got the cash.

[Pixilated]

Does this potential buyer try this with local shops?? "Please, let me take it home and look at it in my house lighting; I'll bring the money to you in a week or so!"

Would love to know how it works -- and which stores it's successful at.

[2gigch1]

The simple answer is no, and there is no further discussion. The idea someone would even suggest this would immediately disqualify this buyer from any further conversation in my book.

[Dreamstalker]

I'm planning to reply ONCE and once only, stating what I've already been saying. USPS money order only, pay before I ship (goes without saying that the cash must physically be in my hand before I even start packing it up). Now that I think of it, the repeated 'can u go any lower' queries...yup, probably a reseller. Although why they would try to resell something that's not in the best of shape...they're probably going to try a bad restoration job and scam someone.

My seller policies state NO RETURNS on consignment items, and the site will back me up on that. I might even be able to add a moron tax, seeing as I didn't give them a precise shipping quote This entire odd conversation was conducted through the site's message system, so they (as well as I) have a log.

[XCashier]

The simple answer is no, and there is no further discussion. The idea someone would even suggest this would immediately disqualify this buyer from any further conversation in my book.

An excellent point. This idiot is trying to get something for nothing. Block him/her immediately and spare yourself further headaches.

[emax4]

Although unlikely, you could give yourself some insurance by having the buyer pay more than what you're offering it for, then give them a certain percentage back if they accept the item. Yeah, it's unlikely to happen but... They can alter the terms to benefit them, but it doesn't mean you can't alter them to benefit you too. If they wanted it THAT BAD though, they wouldn't haggle on the price.

It's also possible to make up your own terms and put them in your ad, as long as they don't override eBay's own policies. I've done this before and haven't gotten any notices (and I hasve gotten noticed before, like selling a CPAP peripheral when I didn't know it was a prescription piece and couldn't be listed). What I did was put in my shipping paragraph (the last part of my ad), that anyone who wants to bid has to have their last 5 feedbacks be positive. This puts a better spin on things as there's less chance of scammers, and you can manually remove bids from those who don't fit your criteria.

[XCashier]

Although unlikely, you could give yourself some insurance by having the buyer pay more than what you're offering it for, then give them a certain percentage back if they accept the item.

That can be tricky, and could cause problems. I wouldn't suggest it.

What I did was put in my shipping paragraph (the last part of my ad), that anyone who wants to bid has to have their last 5 feedbacks be positive. This puts a better spin on things as there's less chance of scammers, and you can manually remove bids from those who don't fit your criteria.

Unfortunately on the ubiquitous auction website, sellers can only leave positive feedback. We cannot leave neutral or negative, no matter how badly the buyer deserves it. Yes, it skews things very much in favor of the buyer, so feedback is an iffy indicator at best.

[Dreamstalker]

This is another site which compared to FeePay, is very seller-friendly. Sellers can leave negative or neutral feedback if they desire; I have yet to leave feedback for my pushy idiot a few weeks ago and am trying to wait until he does so to lessen my chances of getting into a drawn-out comment war.

I've only left one negative over there; that was for some tool who bought a corkscrew that was clearly described as a cast resin reproduction, then returned it claiming it wasn't real (in 'testing' it, he damaged the corkscrew so I could not sell it). Luckily it never dawned on him to chargeback through Paypal; I successfully fought the refund request on the grounds that the item was returned damaged and I had pictures to prove it.

[Andara Bledin]

We cannot leave neutral or negative, no matter how badly the buyer deserves it. Yes, it skews things very much in favor of the buyer, so feedback is an iffy indicator at best.

The feedback the buyer leaves has always been a better indicator than what they get, anyway.

^-.-^