Potential buyer wants the bike to be posted ???

kinioo

Morning All,

I have my bike for sale at the moment on G*mtree...

I stated: cash & collection only, however 'potential' buyer has just contacted me saying: "Its the bike he has been looking for for ages and If I could consider posting it to Aberdeen - he will cover all additional costs etc."

We are not talking about thousands of £££ as the bike is worth £600-ish.... However, I am a bit nervous doing it.

Firstly, I'd like the new owner/buyer be 100% happy with the bike thus I'd like him to see it in the flesh.

Secondary, all the scams thing etc.

Its a yes or no-no ??
How should I prepare/secure myself here ??

Thanks,

Chris

shirley_basso

If he does bank transfer/paypal GIFT (friends and family) then he has no recourse to funds if the package goes missing.

Note that there are circumstances where people can make payments from Paypal but when it clears the buyer has no money so it claws the cash out of the sellers account. I can't remember the exact circumstances whereby this can happen but I did read about it once.

Insure it up to £600 when you post it and provide a tracking number.

kinioo

Shirley Basso wrote:

If he does bank transfer/paypal GIFT (friends and family) then he has no recourse to funds if the package goes missing.

Note that there are circumstances where people can make payments from Paypal but when it clears the buyer has no money so it claws the cash out of the sellers account. I can't remember the exact circumstances whereby this can happen but I did read about it once.

Insure it up to £600 when you post it and provide a tracking number.

Thanks for your reply.

I told him i can consider posting it but it will be 'sold as seen on pictures' etc. (if he has any quesitons this need to be asked before I post the bike etc.) also I stressed that full agreed price (including any additional costs) by bank transfer (cleared) before I post the bike etc.

We will see what he says?

BTW, what is the best courier to use for bike shipping ??

C.

cooldad

Ask him to arrange the courier himself and take the risk on that, get payment by bank transfer, and just box it up and wait.

JBA

Either do as CD advises or suggest the buyer gets the train down to view the bike and he can then take it back with him.

defever

Hello kinioo,

Long reply (sorry), but I've seen / heard enough unfortunate stories of selling / buying things online so I thought I'd share my thoughts (please feel free to dismiss if it doesn't reflect your circumstance).

I’ve been using local adverts, Gumtree and eBay to sell and buy things for over 10yrs and I feel there’s something uncomfortable about this. Though I never sold anything more expensive than £250.

If I were in your position, I'd be considering things like these:

• How common or rare is this bike? Is it something "anyone can buy locally/online" common or is it something "few and far in between" rarity?
• Is it something that, if someone wants it, you’d have to look “for ages” to find?
• For £600, I'd want to see the item myself as a buyer and make sure it is as described / photographed on the advert. Unless it’s a mega bargain price / not bothered about the condition and I have the capacity to customise at my cost to the standard I’m satisfied with.
• Perhaps the potential buyer didn’t use the exact words, but stating that he will “cover all additional costs” (how much and how many different types of costs is he anticipating?) give me a second-thought. It’s the blanket “I’ll cover all the costs” without asking how much all these “costs” could add up before making the decision to buy (mind, it already has a £600 tag on it) sounds like a nice stranger from Nigeria or an off-shore worker to me.
• How are you going to make sure you can receive the money securely and not get your personal detail stolen?
• Can you afford to wait for another offer preferably from someone local?
• How am I going to pack the bike, where am I going to find the packing material, and do I have time for this extra hassle?
• What’s your gut feeling?

I once sold something like a £20 car stereo on Gumtree (I posted, got paid via bank transfer) and a week later, an unauthorised DirectDebit to Gold’s Gym of a certain branch in London (about £30/month subscription) was set up to my account (I don't live anywhere near London). I called the bank and it got all sorted but the bank fraud team asked me if I have given my bank detail to anyone recently (!!!). I was educated that a complete stranger can set up DD as long as a legitimate sort code and account no are provided; banks don’t check the holder’s name and address upon setting up (i.e. can be made up). Just a single example, it only happened once in over 15yrs of holding a bank account.

PayPal, you could ask the buyer to pay as “gift” but PayPal does not recommend this, and they make it very clear to the buyer. And the buyer can still put it through as “purchasing an item” even if you ask (when he sets up the payment, PayPal will use “scaremongering” to make it clear buying an item and paying as “gift” is a big no no). Plus if he’s genuine, he’d think “that’s doge to be asked to put through as ‘gift’ when I’m clearly purchasing an item; the seller (you) looks a bit dodgy”. If he does put it through as gift and subsequently claims he was told to, then I have a feeling PayPal will not help you. If he puts it as “purchasing an item” then all hell brake lose (he can claim “item not received”, “item not as described”, “item faulty”) and you’ll have absolutely no grounds. PayPal (and eBay) favours a buyer in nearly almost every disputed case. You’d lose your bike and £600.

I’m aware that millions of online purchases are completed with success on daily basis, but for £600, which to me, honestly, is not a small amount of money so I’d feel uncomfortable being asked to post despite you noted “cash on collection” on the advert… if it is at all possible, I’d meet halfway so at least it’s dealt with in person and paid in cash (I’ve done this quite a lot with success as I used to be on the road quite a lot).

I’m possibly being overcautious and paranoid as I don’t know the complete circumstance of this. Just a thought, but perhaps you’ve considered all these.

Sorry to be a party pooper. Fellow biker helping out another biker.

arthur_scrimshaw

For something like that I wouldn't risk it especially as you stipulated cash and collection. My suspicious mind thinks this is a scam, paypal is no protection for you only for the buyer - if he rejects the bike by disputing the quality or condition when it arrives paypal will refund them in a flash and you will have the issue of getting the bike back. There was a case a while back of a guy who shipped two folding bikes to a buyer, they disputed the condition so paypal refunded, the seller was left to collect the bikes from the buyer, arranged a DHL collection but when they turned up no one knew where the buyer was - they had moved back to Europe. Paypal weren't at all helpful to the seller when he explained the predicament.

May be rare but it happens and you'll have no protection if it does.

arthur_scrimshaw

Not my example but plenty to be concerned about here.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/ ... d-scammers

thistle_

How close are you to the seller? I'm guessing it's quite a distance.

Unless what you're selling is particularly special, or cheap I'd wonder why he doesn't find a bike closer to home?

Years ago I bought a bike via eBay from someone far away, but it was the only one I had seen for sale for a long time. I was happy to go there on the train and fetch it, made a day of it, had a little ride around somewhere new on the way back.

I guess you looked the guy up on Facebook?

02gf74

No.

JGTR

I always Ask them for a phone number if I’m unsure, if they refuse or won’t speak on the phone then don’t do it.

Otherwise if you really want to sell it get them they pay extra for the postage making sure it includes adequate insurance, and use BACS payment.

Lol just read it’s in Aberdeen.....SCAM!! Bet they work off shore on the oil rigs aswell :roll:

Say that your up that way for work next week and you’ll drop it off, bet you don’t hear from them

kinioo

JGTR wrote:

I always Ask them for a phone number if I’m unsure, if they refuse or won’t speak on the phone then don’t do it.

Otherwise if you really want to sell it get them they pay extra for the postage making sure it includes adequate insurance, and use BACS payment.

Lol just read it’s in Aberdeen.....SCAM!! Bet they work off shore on the oil rigs aswell :roll:

Say that your up that way for work next week and you’ll drop it off, bet you don’t hear from them

...How did you know he wanted to post it to Aberdeen ??!!

Thanks All for replies!

I said 'no' to this 'potential' buyer.

C.

cooldad

kinioo wrote:

JGTR wrote:

I always Ask them for a phone number if I’m unsure, if they refuse or won’t speak on the phone then don’t do it.

Otherwise if you really want to sell it get them they pay extra for the postage making sure it includes adequate insurance, and use BACS payment.

Lol just read it’s in Aberdeen.....SCAM!! Bet they work off shore on the oil rigs aswell :roll:

Say that your up that way for work next week and you’ll drop it off, bet you don’t hear from them

...How did you know he wanted to post it to Aberdeen ??!!

Thanks All for replies!

I said 'no' to this 'potential' buyer.

C.

Er you said so in your first post....

02gf74

Aberdeen and Shetland Island are also where the majority of Wilson Benesch speakers tend to be advertised for sale.