ebay Advice Needed

jamieh

Hi all,

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this thread but I couldn't find anywhere else to put it!

I commited to buying a nokia mobile on ebay yesterday and the seller accepted Cash on Delivery as a method of payment, so I went for COD as I thought it was the easiest and safest method of payment.

However, I got an e-mail from the seller telling me I had to transfer the money to him first and then he will send me the phone. I replied saying I wanted to do cash on delivery, but he said "no, you have to transfer first."

The guy is based in Germany and has 99.2% feedback on ebay, but there is €320 involved and I lost €300 not so long ago through fraud on the net so I don't want to send the money first.

Any advice? As I commited to buying the phone under the illusion that I could pay via COD but now your man is telling me I have to send the money first???

Cheers

LegacyUser

Hi,

I didn't know you could do COD on ebay - ye learn something new everyday. I can understand your anxiety after being stung already for that amount of money.

You say the guy has a good % feedback - but how many items has he sold, many or few?

I almost got stung there on ebay myself the other week. Paid a guy for somthing and then he came back and said "Actually, I don't have the item - I'll give your 15 sterling back if you take this one instead". I asked for my money back and all went silent. Eventually he coughed back my money, with great difficulty.

I cannot really advise, its a risk that you have to take really. I understand though. Once you get stung, it makes you think twice about going there again. What once appeared "Ah sure it'll be grand", is a risk

Best of luck with your decision.

B

jamieh

Ya, its a tough one alright. He has sold 100's of items before but I'm still a bit wary.

I wrote to ebay and they said because he accepts COD as a payment method he is in the wrong by refusing to accept COD. They asked me to forward them the e-mail he sent me so hopefully they can do something about it!

gimmick

He is probably fully trustworthy, but my question to you is - If you are sceptical, why use e-bay in the first place? I frequently use it, but I certainly wouldnt be spending big money like you are.

One way around it is ask him to dispatch it by courier. He faxes you the courier reciept. That way if you dont pay, he can recall it afaik. Though this will probably knock you back a few quod extra, but for peace of mind ?????

jamieh

I use ebay all the time, but usually for small bits and pieces - I've never spent 300 quid on it before.

Thanks for the idea....I just e-mailed the seller and suggested that to him - I told him I'll pay any cost involved in setting up a COD and he can choose any shipping agent he wants!

thesteve

I moved to Germany recently and one of the guys I work with is a power seller here with ebay.de. I've quizzed him bout every aspect of it here, including the way 90% of the payments are by bank transfer, it's just the way its done here. Before I moved here I would pay with Paypal and Paypal only, but here its all bank transfer, thats why he's insisting on it, for him its as usual as Paypal is for us...

Also, there is a COD service here that operates within mainland Germany. Basically if you choose this service, you can either pick it up yourself and pay for it then or the postal service also offer a service where they collect the item, bring it to the buyer, take the cash and bring it back to the seller... he could have been offering this service and ehrn saw you were not in mainland Germany, could no longer provide it...

jamieh

Ya, I was wondering why he didn't accept Paypal, because I use that frequently.

So would you say it would be safe to send a guy in Bremen €320 via wire transfer and just wait for the phone? As I said he does have a good rating on ebay, but you know yourself....once bitten twice shy and all that.

newgrange

Credit transfer it directly into his account. It will not cost you much. Get his IBAN number.

Never never never use Western Union and the like for eBay auctions.

A good rating doesn't mean much - you need to check what sort of value items.

Xcom2

If he has previously agreed to COD and then changed his mind to a payment method you are unsure of can the auction not be voided with no negative impact to yourself?

X

thesteve

I'd say it'll be ok, if you want to, PM me his user ID and I'll ask the German power seller dude to take a look and see what he thinks (work shift work and am in work at the moment with this dude)...

jamieh

Excuse the ignorance newgrange but what is an IBAN number? How could it help?

To be honest xcom2, I don't really mind if it has a negative effect on me....all I want is the bloody phone :rolleyes: !!

jamieh

Thanks thesteve....PM sent

thesteve

No bother, I'll check shortly... th IBAN number is an international way of identifing a bank account, ie. doing a transfer within Ireland, you need the sort code and number, across european borders, your account number and sort code are replaced with your iban number and bac number, these are specific to your bank and account number, you'll have to ask this dude to get his from his bank (ihave an irish and german account and needed these numbers to transfer cash)... ill check that pm now...

thesteve

this guy seems as legit as they get, the payment options are listed including cash on delivery but as i said, this would only be offered within germany... the german dude here says not to worry, the seller has nearly 7000 feedback responses! There's also a 14 day money back guarantee... Can't do better than that...

plus just noticed this guy has his own website, including address, phone number etc... this is a business he's running, you can't get any safer on ebay...