There has been much discussion here regarding how members have been scammed including details. My question is what steps do you take to protect yourself from these types.
The steps I take (if not buying locally) are:
determine your comfort level for a transaction
ensure that the price is reasonable (not a bargain)
get a real email address
get a real name
get a phone number and call the seller to confirm the number, and deal details, and satisfy yourself that he is for real
I try to pay with paypal if possible, insured up to 1200 I think, and credit card company will reverse the payment if there is a fraud
have the item shipped with a tracking number and if you can't find it in the tracking system within a few days get on it and call the seller
if I am uncomfortable with any of the above I pass and move on
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iMac 27"- i7 X & XP Pro
I backed up today (LaCies' SilverKeeper)....have you?
If you're buying or selling in a hurry, you're more likely to overlook or be taken in by someone trying to scam you.
If you take your time, exchange several emails, build up a relationship with the buyer/seller - you can glean a lot of information about the person and when you feel comfortable, go ahead with the deal. If the email exchanges start to sound panicky or pushy, back away.
I recently sold something to another ehMacer (hi S ) and partly because I'm just plain lazy, it took me a couple of weeks to get around to sending the thing. By that time, I felt I knew S well enough that if he never paid it would be alright with me. He did pay, promptly (as I knew he would) and as far as I know he was happy with his purchase.
This was a strange experience for me because I'm the queen of panic buying - do you want to have a look in my storage room?
I've bought a few of items on ehmac, and even sold a few items. But I think ehmac was a much safer place back then. But my transactions have all been with members who actually took the time to make a few posts on ehmac and that aren't just here to hock their wares.
I've had face to face transaction whenever possible, and is always the best way to go about it. I've bought items from people who actually make posts, and have been here for awhile. The one item I sold was not a the most expensive sold here on ehmac, but was a high ticket item. We sent a lot of PM and emails to each others to keep the communication going, as we both didn't want to get ripped off, and I told him exactly what I would do in terms of waiting for a cheque to clear, and once said and done, that I would send him a tracking number. I had his money, and he had all my info. there was a bit of trust involved, but the most important thing is to keep the communication going. As soon as the cheque came in, I let him know. when it cleared I let him know, and when I shipped it, I let him know.
The last item I sold, I wouldn't ship, and I let the buyer know that I wouldn't, so it was just a smooth face to face transaction, which also allowed to buyer to inspect the item to make sure it was everything that I said it was.
But to be sure, I wouldn't deal with anybody who doesn't take part in our community unless it was a face to face transaction. Because this is a forum first and a classifieds page second. If they don't want to take part, then their craigslist and should hock their ware there.
I try to pay with paypal if possible, insured up to 1200 I think, and credit card company will reverse the payment if there is a fraud
You might want to read up on paypal stuff more closely. I think they cover you up to $150 USD max, and even that can take some time to get -- if it happens at all. Don't rely on Paypal to protect you. Ebay scammer RELY on paypal to pull off some of their scams. You're better off with the creditcard protection than with paypal. Also you might want to check the fine print on that as well. If you pay PayPal with your credit card I don't think that you have the grounds to refuse the payment. Very fine line to walk. Beware also as most credit card companies are getting _very_ sticky about reversing a payment through them. Paypal doesn't commit the fraud (they just collect $$) so the CC companies can, and sometimes will, refuse to reverse a payment to them on those grounds. Moral of the story: read the fine print, always.
My good advice: If it's an expensive item, use an escrow. Well worth the small amount of money to ensure protection. For those that don't know about excrow, it's a 3rd party that does the actual transaction .. you will send them the $$ other person will send them item to be purchased, they verify that item is as advertised and $$ amount are correct and then forward the money and items to the appropriate parties.
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But to be sure, I wouldn't deal with anybody who doesn't take part in our community unless it was a face to face transaction. Because this is a forum first and a classifieds page second. If they don't want to take part, then their craigslist and should hock their ware there.
I recently bought a fairly expensive powerbook from the classifieds here. The seller had no rating or previous posts. Where normally I wouldn't deal with someone like this, in discussing the details the seller wanted to do the transaction through his law office as an escrow. This made the sale for me ande removed all doubts ... had it not been done this way I likely would not have purchased as it was a cross country transaction. BTW, the seller was great -- now has rating on our classifieds even though he doesn't use the forum, and the powerbook 17" is wonderful
I recently bought a fairly expensive powerbook from the classifieds here. The seller had no rating or previous posts. Where normally I wouldn't deal with someone like this, in discussing the details the seller wanted to do the transaction through his law office as an escrow. This made the sale for me ande removed all doubts ... had it not been done this way I likely would not have purchased as it was a cross country transaction. BTW, the seller was great -- now has rating on our classifieds even though he doesn't use the forum, and the powerbook 17" is wonderful
I keep seeing this "the seller had no rating" statement and it makes me furious.
I only have one computer for sale so that automatically makes me a bad person???
In my opinion, the bad person is the creep that has dozens of computers for sale - he's more likely to be a crook than I am.
Where did he get all those computers from? If he's in business, what's he doing selling them on ehMac?
I keep seeing this "the seller had no rating" statement and it makes me furious.
I only have one computer for sale so that automatically makes me a bad person???
Somebody with as many posts as yourself and has been here for as long as you probably won't be put in the bad seller rating category, and most posters would probably take the chance with you. I know I wouldn't question you.
I've bought and sold a few items on ehmac, but I'm sure my rating is 0 just because the items I've bought and sold were before the current forum setup. The last item I sold here was not Mac or even technology related, I just mentioned I had an item I wanted to get rid of in a post, and I had about 3 people PMing me about it, so I sold it to the first person to email me, who also happened to be a lurker. But it was a smooth face to face transaction, so neither one of us took a risk.
) and partly because I'm just plain lazy, it took me a couple of weeks to get around to sending the thing. By that time, I felt I knew S well enough that if he never paid it would be alright with me. He did pay, promptly (as I knew he would) and as far as I know he was happy with his purchase.
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