[videian28]

I have heard to many stories of buyers and sellers getting the shaft on ebay (particularily of apple notebooks) any thoughts on how to protect yourself? as of now I think I am just keeping it on the marketplace


beautiful machine, I just wish I could justify it..

any ideas on where to also advertise other than ebay would be nice as well

[The Placid Casual]

Be careful... Ebay and Powerbooks don't mix.

I just sold a 12" PB. Via Ebay, I had offers from people via spoofed accounts, offers from Holland, France, Germany and Indonesia, all asking me to send the machine abroad...

I would only do a deal 'face to face', even if it would seem to jeopardise a sale.

Also when listing I would use actual photos of the machine, don't copy and paste the specs, and also be as totally honest as you can be re condition, reasons for sale, where you bought it from etc. These are things that 'genuine buyers' look for, and will help it to sell.

Just remember that you can't be too careful with Powerbooks and eBay.

Good luck,

Marc

[tooki]

Read the thread "ebay fraud on powerbooks" and the Macintouch "internet fraud" reader report.

But basically, the only way to protect yourself is to require payment via USPS money order, since then, any fraud becomes mail fraud and will be investigated by the postmaster general.

tooki

[videian28]

Read the thread "ebay fraud on powerbooks" and the Macintouch "internet fraud" reader report.

that is enough to scare me away lol, I think I will just advertise on the mac sites, if it doesn't sell oh well, I won't be unhappy

for those interested the link is below


http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=167401

[schmoe]

ebay is indeed risky, but I sold my TiG4 667 a few months ago and the experience was fine, ended up selling to a corporate buyer who was legitimate. My advice would be to contact the winning bidder via phone, and accept payment via a cashiers check or money order, both FedEx and UPS ship via COD. Only ship within the US, and make sure the buyer is in the US too.

[CyberPet]

Actually, it's kind of a pity that some doesn't trust people abroad. I know plenty of people (honest ones) that would love to buy an used PowerBook from ebay but cant since most sellers doesn't ship abroad even if they want to pay the high shipping cost.

It's almost an insult to say that anyone in Europe is thinking of defraud you. But I'd be worried if they used a hotmail account and don't want to pay in advance.

[The Placid Casual]

Originally posted by CyberPet:
Actually, it's kind of a pity that some doesn't trust people abroad. I know plenty of people (honest ones) that would love to buy an used PowerBook from ebay but cant since most sellers doesn't ship abroad even if they want to pay the high shipping cost.

It's almost an insult to say that anyone in Europe is thinking of defraud you. But I'd be worried if they used a hotmail account and don't want to pay in advance.

I have family in France, Italy, Spain, etc etc I am not insulting anyone in my post above.

I trust everyone, until they prove to be untrustworthy. However, I am not stupid either...

The people who offered to buy the 'book, were mostly all on Hotmail or using spoofed eBay user accounts.

More than half of them were asking to pay 'on approval' with no deposit, or use a dodgy 'escrow' service, which in one case they had actually created themselves!

I am also a little suspicious of buyers who offer me MORE than the price of a NEW machine of the same spec in their own country, ad then say they don't mind �150 shipping on top..!

I have shipped on trust, all over mainland Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan and Africa... However if something is very, very obviously fraudulent, I would be stupid to send a �1000 computer.

I could be just as easily ripped off by someone in the same street as me!

[schmoe]

Obvious fraud is one thing, but the big worry is that you get someone smart who is using a stolen credit card number that hasn't been reported stolen yet. Paypal or someone processes the payment and gives you the money, 30 days later the real credit card holder notices the fraud and has the charge reversed. Now your Powerbook is gone and you have to return the money to Paypal. Paypal will cover this if you follow specific rules, which include shipping only within the US.

Non-US criminals know that it is unlikely they'll be prosecuted, so if something happens there is pretty much nothing you can do but suck it up. On the other hand, remember the recent article about the FBI catching up with a US Powerbook scammer? Even if you are dealing with cashier's checks, how do you know a foreign cashier's check hasn't been altered? US banks aren't likely to know until the check bounces.

[Karim]

With all the negatives I thought I would offer a positive:

I have sold around a dozen Powerbooks on eBay from the Powerbook G3/233 to a Powerbook G4 1GHZ/SD and sooner or later a Powerbook G4 17"...

I have never had any major problem. The only thing that was a slight headache was when I sold my Powerbook G4/800 DVI and the person was from Canada. I explictly stated no international shipping because Paypall doesn't allow for protection with International sales. She eventually, after alot of BS, sent payment in the form of a Canadian check which I had to wait about a month to clear before I sent the Powerbook. I contacted the Canadian bank to verify the check was paid...

For domestic US sales I have to say eBay is a valuable channel.

Now that I have gotten used to MacNN I will offer my 17" for sale here first before going to eBay when the new models come out...

[webb3201]

One piece of advice learned the hard way. Dont use the Buy It Now option on computer listing. I have had two auctions ended recently by fraudulent accounts with no feedback. they seem to either want to screw with people or to get other machines out of the market. If you run a standard auction, you will have a list of buyers you can contact if the first one falls through.

Use an escrow service if possible.

[NewOldbie]

You gotta remember ebay is just like any other [flea] market, or perhaps they like bazaar.

Lots of crooks around those parts so stick with your hunches and walk away if it seems fishy.

[ae86_16v]

Yeah, the only major problem is people not paying after winning a bid. They will make up a bunch of excuses and what not.

[DigitalEl]

Yeah, the only major problem is people not paying after winning a bid. They will make up a bunch of excuses and what not.

Yep. I had two d-bags with no feedback whatsoever "win" my auctions, then not bother to respond to my invoice or e-mails at all. Totally wasted my time, especially since I was selling my other computers to finance my 12" PowerBook purchase.

On the flipside, my DVSE did finally sell with no further glitches, as did a Pismo PowerBook. Listing the former for the third time in just two weeks, I put in bold, red type "If you have very little or no feedback, I will not deal with you." And you have to stick to it. Not fair to the honest new eBayers out there, but hey... It's apparently every man for himself here in the wild, wild west!

[videian28]

thanks for all the input, getting some good feedback. I have a few people interested from MACNN so hopefully will not have to go the ebay route. (tho everyone says it is a bit much in price) If you could take a look at what I am offering and tell me if that is a good price for what I am offering.

[OptimusG4]

No offense to people out of the US, but that's exactly why I only sell in the US and also make it a point that I will not sell to anyone with less than 10 positive feedbacks. I had someone with 0 feedback from Brazil use the buy it now option and then heard nothing from them. Luckily I was able to relist it and sell it to someone that turned out to be reliable and trustworthy.

[kbdog]

It just makes sense to keep commerce within your own country unless circumstances are exceptional.
I live in Canada and would feel a bit powerless if I had to go after someone in another country.
As for insulting Europeans by refusing to deal with them - it's not an insult. There's shady types everywhere but you can deal with them more confidently when they're inside your own legal jurisdiction.

[beachmark]

I am from Holland but live nowadays in New Zealand.

I can very well understand that people do not like to do business with Europe. It is a darn long way by an means of transport to get back what is yours when things go wrong.

And you are not alone by doing so. Multiple Us stroes refuse to do business with Europeans even thought they have a legitimate European credit card. One of the few shops I could ever do business with are Amazon and Macsales.com but not be fore going through a long cycle of sending back and forth information. In the end I could order from Eurpe but have it only delivered to a confirmed business address in California.

So if businesses are already making it difficult for Europeans to do business with them in the Us why should you not be allowed to do so: it is always better to have USD1000 in the hand than maybe USD1200 from Europe.

By the way: at this moment the Euro is very valuable in the USA. It is cheaper to fly to the USA buy a Powerbook 1Ghz at a webstore taxfree, have it delivered to your address in the USA and fly back home and hope that Customs will not catch oyu.

[videian28]

it's looking more and more like ebay every day, have a few interested, but don't want to pay that much, I think this is a fair price

[schk]

Selling via ebay isn't that bad (I personally found selling via msg boards and such yielded too many lowball offers and basically jerks who would say the asking price was ridiculously high). I sold my 15" powerbook a few months ago and a user w/ 0 feedback used the buy it now option and I broke dead even on my purchase. Granted, I definitely just got lucky with a reliable 0 feedback person, he sent a certified check, let me wait for it to clear, and all was good. I just don't accept 0 feedback bids if the user never contacts me first, and if they bid without contacting me, i just cancel them. That helps keep deadbeat bidders from my auctions. And especially with high priced auctions, just be cautious, once they start e-mailing you, you can find their ip in the e-mail header and trace it and see if it resolves to a location where they claim to be. I know a friend who sold a laptop which was purchased via a hacked ebay and Paypal account and the FBI actually got involved. If you do choose to accept Paypal, only accept it from confirmed and verified users.

[Axo1ot1]

My strategy on eBay eve since I got screwed selling a PowerBook online. Has been the following: I only accept payment through PayPal and USPS money orders. I NEVER ship the item until I'm sure I have recieved real money. I also offer reduced shipping costs for people that pay through PayPal because it's quicker for me to verify that the money is real.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by CyberPet:
Actually, it's kind of a pity that some doesn't trust people abroad. I know plenty of people (honest ones) that would love to buy an used PowerBook from ebay but cant since most sellers doesn't ship abroad even if they want to pay the high shipping cost.

It's almost an insult to say that anyone in Europe is thinking of defraud you. But I'd be worried if they used a hotmail account and don't want to pay in advance.

I don't think it's a question of whether our overseas friends are honest and trustworthy. It's the fact that IF someone did rip you off, it would be SUBSTANTIALLY more likely that you'd be able to get some of your money back if they were also residents of your home country.

For example, if someone in say, Denmark, wanted to buy a powerbook from me. There's a 80% chance (give or take) that they are legitimate and the transaction will go perfectly. But, if it DOESN'T, I can't simply contact their local police department and start the process of trying to collect.... instead there would be a HUGE amount of legal red tape, and even then the chances of me tracking down a person in another country without spending more than the computer was worth in the first place are slim to none.

So in my case, unless it was a special circumstance, I'd never sell my PB to someone overseas simply to cover my own ass. It's nothing personal at all. I have plenty of friends overseas (met a ton of great people in the Netherlands and England over holidays) who I would trust with such a transaction in a heartbeat.

Perhaps you see my point, however, about being able to collect IN THE EVENT that something goes wrong. I'm not saying it would, but if it DID, things would be MUCH worse than if the buyer was local.

[videian28]

if anyone is interested I have lowered the price alot as a last ditch effort not to sell on ebay

gonna give it 2 days before that happens

http://forums.macnn.com/forumdisplay...ne=&forumid=59

[macnnhelpme]

It is a great deal, I wish I could afford it!

[AssassyN]

I agree, someone better get this before it hits eBay!

I fully endorse eBay; great place to sell stuff. I sold his exact setup of mine a month ago (save the extra Power Adapter) for over $3,500. Somebody *will* pay that much on eBay...

[bcaslis]

I've sold over a dozen Macs on eBay and everyone has been OK with one exception. A person who everything seemed to check out on wanted to pay with cashier's check via COD. I did that on got a Wells Fargo cashier's check back. Something didn't seem quite right so I started checking it out right away. Turns out it had been a proffesionally forged check and they had done this to about a dozen others also. However everyone else had deposited their checks, while I had called the bank on mine right away, so within a day all these bad checks (all Wells Fargo cashier's checks) suddenly became evident.

I don't think there's a perfect solution. It's a risk either way. If you take a check get it up front and make sure it clears first (even a cashier's) or use Paypal and transfer the money into a bank account immediately where Paypal can't get it back from. Most people are definitely honest, but it only takes getting burned once to install a lot of distrust.

[videian28]

hehe, you have me wanting to delete my threads here and go straight to ebay....

[videian28]

whats the safest way? what about balance transfers?