Ebay scam or not

[RogerS]

Woahhh..timber.

I posted a similar question over on Thewoodhaven2.

If he does send you money via PayPal then because you have not used PayPal for a similar length of time (to receive money) as eBay, PayPal will hang onto your money for 21 days. So easy for the buyer to kick up a fuss, claim none delivery, broken, whatever, subsequently and block your payment.

I was recently in a similar position and despite clicking on all the various options that PayPal give under the 'How to expedite your payment' section, it wasn't until I gave the PayPal guy an ear-bending that I got him to release the funds as the guy was on his way to collect.

I also don't trust PayPal and so have a dedicated bank account into which I move PayPal funds as soon as they hit my PayPal account. Once the funds are in that bank account then they are moved immediately to my main bank account and so out of PayPal's clutches. My only slight concern is whether or not PayPal in their 247,000 page T's and C's say they can take money without your approval from any registered credit card if there are insufficient funds in your linked bank account.

OK - back to your situation. Assume he pays by PayPal. There is a way to get your funds released - when he arrives get hi to log into his PayPal account and register collection/receipt of the goods. That's about the best you can hope for.

I'd stick out for cash.

 

[rafezetter]

Ditto the 'be wary of paypal and collections.....

Cash can also have its downsides too believe it or not..!!

You dont say how much it sold for, but if i was you i would VERY QUICKLY invest in one of the pens that can detect if the notes are real or not.

My missus used to work part time for Sainsbo's on the check-outs, and they were all given pens to check £20 & £50 notes, and she said it was surprising just how frequently fakes were passed.

We sold a cooker a few years ago via ebay for £540, asked for cash on collection, and we said to the buyer we were going to check the notes (with her present) using one of these pens, she was just as curious as us and had no problem with it, and as it happened everything was fine.... but as they say "Better safe than sorry"

A trick I know that few others seem to but £10's £20's and £50's have a built in check system. On all of them where the colour is heaviest - £10's on the E II R - £20's below the queens head - if you press that and rub against white copier paper, ink will be transferred. If not it's fake.

note: (heh) the £10's & £20's colour is faint so use a strong light to see it but it IS there, just did it myself with £10 and £20.

The £50 is really obvious.

if you have a pen ofc is easier but not always the case to have one to hand.

 

[AJB Temple]

Exact from Bank of England web site re pens (I was just about to buy one):

What type of UV lamp should I use to check that a banknote is genuine?

A good quality ultra violet (UV) £10 note under UV lightlamp that emits light at around 365 nanometres is best for checking the fluorescent feature on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. The use of LED (Light Emitting Diode) devices (such as key fob type detectors) is not recommended as the majority of these emit light at greater than 365 nanometres. Remember, do not just check one security feature but check a few such as the feel of the paper and the raised print, the watermark and the metallic thread.

Can I use a "detector pen" to check that banknotes are genuine?

Simple tests reveal that some (but not all) counterfeit notes can be detected using such pens. The pens work by a chemical reaction between the pen ink and the paper. Using such pens is not a foolproof method of checking that a banknote is genuine because some counterfeits may be configured to react in the same way as genuine banknotes. Unreliability can also occur if pens are old or dirty.

 

[RogerP]

............
I also don't trust PayPal and so have a dedicated bank account into which I move PayPal funds as soon as they hit my PayPal account. Once the funds are in that bank account then they are moved immediately to my main bank account and so out of PayPal's clutches. My only slight concern is whether or not PayPal in their 247,000 page T's and C's say they can take money without your approval from any registered credit card if there are insufficient funds in your linked ..........................

PayPal will and do sue for outstanding debts and they also employ debt collection firms. Search the web it's full of PayPal horror stories from both points of view.

Having said that in 15 years or so of using them and eBay as a buyer and a seller (mainly the latter) I've had no problems that weren’t amicably resolved.

 

[Wuffles]

Just use Faster Payments then, whilst the buyer is there. Sounds like it's safer than even cash for a decent amount.

 

[RogerS]

............
I also don't trust PayPal and so have a dedicated bank account into which I move PayPal funds as soon as they hit my PayPal account. Once the funds are in that bank account then they are moved immediately to my main bank account and so out of PayPal's clutches. My only slight concern is whether or not PayPal in their 247,000 page T's and C's say they can take money without your approval from any registered credit card if there are insufficient funds in your linked ..........................

PayPal will and do sue for outstanding debts and they also employ debt collection firms. Search the web it's full of PayPal horror stories from both points of view.

Having said that in 15 years or so of using them and eBay as a buyer and a seller (mainly the latter) I've had no problems that weren’t amicably resolved.

I agree with you but at least doing things my way it keeps me in the driving seat as I am not out of pocket by some arbitrary whim on PayPal's part.

Regarding cash on collection, one other point worth noting is to ALWAYS count the money and don't be embarrassed in doing this. This was brought home to me a long time ago when we sold my wife's car for £1250. The guy gave me a bundle of notes. I counted them. £50 short. "Oh yes", the con artist said " I nearly forgot" reaching into his back pocket for the £50 note that he'd stashed there. *******.

 

[AJB Temple]

Faster Payments is very good as recommended above. Not all banks and building societies are participating quite as fully as they could do at present. Easy to check as there is an on-line sort code checker on their website. Also worth remembering that although transfer usually occurs in a few minutes, it can take 2 hours and visibility in your account depends on the processing schedule of the receiving account. The service is 7 days but some operate a business days only schedule. Excellent system and safer than cash.