Littlestown Mike Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 When buying or selling on internet forums or marketplaces, what is the safest form of payment for both the buyer and the seller. There are way too ,many evil scammers--both buyers and sellers--how to be protected? First of all--I know BEST is to meet face-to-face, examine the actual parts and exchange cash. Both parties are present. That would be ideal, but it is limited to people physically near or to flea market events. I listed a few parts on a Falcon=specific forum and got lots of immediate interest....from people halfway across the country. They agree to my price and ask about "cost to ship to ____their zip. Seems like an appropriate question, but in this case, one of the items is a six cyl cylinder head that weighs 70 lbs. Shipping will be many times the asking price, and I want to be compensated for my time preparing it for shipping and doing all the work. OITOH--If I was buying this same cylinder head, I'd like to be sure it is usable before parting with my cash. is C.O.D. still a possible transaction? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I assume everyone is out to get me. May be the wrong attitude but I have never been ripped off. As far as selling a cylinder head you should assume that the shipping will be high and price it accordingly. OR, set a reasonable price and shipping is extra. As for your time and expense building a shipping crate, that is on you. Again you need to figure what expense you will have in it before you set a selling price. I am not in the parts business, but do sell stuff occasionally as I have accumulated a fair number of spares. I buy a lot also, mostly for use in my restoration, occasionally if I know something is a good deal. I do not do paypal and in the past I have asked for the buyer to send me USPS money orders. Most if not all the parts I have sold have been to people I 'know' from forums and I have trusted them. I usually will send the part and tell them if they are happy to send me the money. Again, I am not in this to make money. I wont send something out unless I am comfortable doing so. I bought some NOS parts from a vendor that I knew of him but never dealt in person. He had me send the money through a walmart money gram. That was pretty easy as the money is available almost immediately. Once he had the money he sent me a shipping confirmation. This was for a $300 part. I wasnt completely comfortable but he had a good reputation so I trusted he would follow through, which he did. I accept credit cards for my business so I will give that as an option to a buyer and have had one or two people use that. In my case, I try to only deal with people I know of, or have a good reference and I try not to spend anymore than I am prepared to loose. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I've passed on a sale several times because the buyer didn't look right. I look for background info on a potential buyer before providing my name and address to receive a check or money order. I also check to see how long the buyer has been associated with the forum. If the potential buyer has been enrolled in the forum for a short time, it's a red flag for me. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) Determine your cost to ship and tell the person! I once shipped an antique military radio to New England. I crated it and shipped Fed Ex . Shipping +crate (built from scrap wood, NC) was about $175. On a non working, looked like it was thrown off the ship, but sole remaining example of that receiver and the new owner was ecstatic. So so price it and let the purchaser decide. I take checks from from people I “know” on forums. Others I take checks and wait for them to clear before sending items. I now also do PayPal, especially for keys and auto parts. I agree with Harold, one time posters to forums are suspect, especially if you are the buyer! Edited January 24 by Frank DuVal (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) One other thing I do for Facebook Marketplace is to use the 'Buyer Info' button when someone inquires about an item. If their history looks shady they don't get a reply. Edited January 24 by Harold (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
41 Su8 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I have always asked for either USPS money orders or personal check. Don't use paypal or any other money orders. Haven't gotten stuck yet. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge28 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I have never sold a part to any member of this forum. I gave them away. highest price would be about 25 dollars . I was sent small parts by members of this forum for the price of shipping. Those members are no longer with us. They have been replaced by Hyeenas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studebuddy Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I've had luck with Paypal. They offer buyer protection and I have found it to be secure. There is a fee to the business/seller unless you select the option that you are sending funds to friends/family and the paypal account of the person sending the money is linked to a bank account. That's how it was the last time I used it, but it has been a couple years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsmoke Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I use Paypal for all long distance transactions, on this forum, Ebay, etc. Yes there is a small fee, but if you include that in your price, buyers winds up paying it. When buying, same applies. This method settles the money aspect in 1 hour, and assuming both parties are otherwise honest, the rest of any delay is shipping time. Last year I had a fellow buying a $200 item from me who only wanted to pay by personal check. He was in a hurry to get the item, I explained the advantages of paypal and I would ship next day. but he would not budge. I suggested a bank draft or money order. No. So I reluctantly agreed to accept a check. He mailed me a check which I got 3 weeks later. I'm in Canada. Clearly written on the face of the check was "Negotiable only in the USA and it's territories". Just to be sure, I took it to my bank and they refused it as I expected. I got in touch with buyer, and he was frustrated that I told him I could accept a check! I returned the check (which was made out to me) and suggested he go to his bank and redeem it. He then told me his bank would not redeem it because it was made out to me and he had thrown away the receipt! Said he was going to forget the whole matter. About 3 weeks later, a money order arrived for the funds and the sale concluded. So it took him about 7 weeks to get a part he could have had in 4/5 days. I relate the story only as an example of how a simple financial transaction which can conclude in 1 hour on paypal can take weeks using antiquated technology. Paypal guarantees satisfaction at both ends of the deal. I've used them perhaps 100+ times, and never a blip. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CChinn Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I use PayPal for many online transactions. Never had a problem. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 I sent a small payment to a fellow in Canada. It was a USPS money order. I had no idea Canada would not cash it! I think paypal is ok, but I have been told if you use the friends and family edition that any protection you may have is down the drain. Another one, may be called zell? my wife was getting stuff on market place at one time and the seller insisted on that form. We had no idea how to use it, a friend walked us through the process. It did work flawlessly and the seller had money in their account immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 7 hours ago, TAKerry said: Another one, may be called zell? One of my tenants insists on paying her rent via Zelle. It has to come to my private checking account, not the LLC account. She has it on auto pay and shows up on the last day of every month. Easy-Peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 12 minutes ago, JACK M said: One of my tenants insists on paying her rent via Zelle. It has to come to my private checking account, not the LLC account. She has it on auto pay and shows up on the last day of every month. Easy-Peasy. Jack, I too have tenants who pay by Zelle, and it is indeed easy for me. Note that NEXT year it appears we'll have to account for payments made to us by Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, etc and assign them to a particular activity covered by Sch C, Sch E, etc. Perhaps one of our CPAs can explain further.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Safest way to do any payment is a bank to bank wire transfer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 4 minutes ago, Grimy said: Jack, I too have tenants who pay by Zelle, and it is indeed easy for me. Note that NEXT year it appears we'll have to account for payments made to us by Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, etc and assign them to a particular activity covered by Sch C, Sch E, etc. Perhaps one of our CPAs can explain further.... Interesting, I wouldn't have any problems with accounting for the deposits. I am always up to date on the rents. I update my ledger every month. (old school, my computer skills are limited). It often occurs to me how easy it would be to hide some of this stuff. Just can't bring myself to do it. My tax guy likes the way I keep track of stuff, so I guess it must be good enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregush Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Pay-Pal works fine for me, but only by sending or receiving an invoice, NOT Friends and Family. You have NO protection as buyer or seller using Friends and Family. I avoid anyone that cheats the system and demands to only be paid that way, F&F. If I know the person or they have a posting track record, cash or check works too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Have done paypal numerous times on the forums, I suspect being around on here for a few years does help a little bit with people not thinking you're a scammer (getting stuff car shipped here from other places you generally have to use a forwarder) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainey Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) On 1/26/2024 at 3:26 PM, JACK M said: One of my tenants insists on paying her rent via Zelle. It has to come to my private checking account, not the LLC account. It's not a good idea to commingle private funds with an LLC. Courts will consider this "Lifting the Corporate Veil". If you are unfamiliar with this term, or "Piercing the Corporate Veil", then Google it. This is a legal phrase that describes the owners of a corporation losing the limited liability that having a corporation provides them. When this happens, the owners' personal assets can be used to satisfy business debts and liabilities. Edited January 30 by Gainey (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Guy Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Assuming we're talking about non-face-to-face transactions: For me, if I can't use Paypal with my credit card, I'm probably not going to buy something online that's being sold by an individual. Paypal has good buyer and seller protections (NOT friends & family - suck it up and pay the small fee for the protection of their goods and services division!) and using my credit card through their system provides another layer of protection if anything goes sideways. I have used Venmo a couple time (in much the same way - with credit card) and it's fine, but I've used Paypal for many years and have never had a payment related issue with their system so I go there first. I do think it's important to always use a credit card when using these online payment systems as that provides some added protection against fraud and unauthorized charges. Bank wires are, to me, only for major transactions. I'm not going to setup a wire to an online stranger for run-of-the-mill transactions and certainly not for things found on FB, craigslist, or eBay. Money orders are a pain to get and it's been a long time since a seller insisted on receiving them, but I've done those too. There's buyer protection there by virtue of what the system is, so it's understandable that some sellers would prefer this. I will rarely send a check to someone. I have to REALLY want the item and there has to be no other payment option for me to bother with sending a check in the mail and waiting for it to clear. You can get scammed with ANY payment method. It's just about which method is the easiest for me to use and provides me with the easiest way to get my money back if there are problems. For me that is the double layered protection of paypal (again, not friends/family) used with a credit card. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 We have seen fake money orders at our business. They looked really good, too. I prefer PayPal or cash, but I accept personal checks...as long as there is time for the check to clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trulyvintage Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I just sold an enclosed car trailer on Facebook. I had probably 100 inquiries. The new owner lived 100 miles from the trailer. He paid a small deposit to hold the trailer over the weekend until the roads were clear to travel. I offered for him to pay the balance once he picked up the trailer from storage and got it back home. Everything went fine. I don’t do business of any kind unless I can talk to the other person on the phone. The exception is folks who live overseas. Who you do business with is equally important as what you are buying or selling. Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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