How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

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dshap
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How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by dshap » Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:06 am

Do you guys have any tips for me on how to protect myself as a watch seller? The Doxa will be my first sale, so any advice from the pro flippers on here wold be much appreciated.

:cheers:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by DMB » Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:51 am

Simple, don't ship until the $$$ clears. If it's a money order, only take USPS money orders. You can cash them at the Post Office and you will know instantly if it's real. For Paypal, transfer the $$ out of your paypal account when you receive it. Don't sell outside of CONUS (mainly for insurance reasons), and only shipp to a verified Paypal address if using Paypal. Also, use Google Earth street view to check out the shipping address. If you want the safest way, insist on a USPS money order, and insure for the full amount.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by mattcantwin » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:07 am

Always ship with insurance to at least cover the cost paid by the buyer.

I always check that it arrived safely and all is okay if I don't hear back from buyer.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by matt.wu » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:14 am

DMB wrote:For Paypal, transfer the $$ out of your paypal account when you receive it.
Unfortunately, if a Paypal dispute is opened, Paypal will actually reverse any outgoing transfers that you may have initiated, so it's not a guarantee that you'll get to keep your money even if you transfer it out right away. Of course, you could wait until the transfer actually clears, but that's usually 3-4 days or more, and it doesn't make buyers happy to wait that long.

Paypal is NOT very friendly to sellers.
DMB wrote: If you want the safest way, insist on a USPS money order, and insure for the full amount.
This or a bank-wire would be the safest ways to get your money. However, you need somewhat of a good reputation for people to even consider sending payment these ways since they have much less recourse if something goes awry.

The BEST option for you would be to sell it here - believe me, the potential loss in profit pretty much makes up for itself in peace of mind, IMO.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by matt.wu » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:16 am

mattcantwin wrote:Always ship with insurance to at least cover the cost paid by the buyer.

I always check that it arrived safely and all is okay if I don't hear back from buyer.
:1:

Always, always, always buy insurance. There are even ways to get independent insurance (so that postal or shipping company employees don't know the value of the package).

There are a couple times I decided to skimp on insurance, and sure enough, BOTH times I did, the package was "lost". Coincidence? Maybe - but I suspect either shady buyers (both were international :raised: ) or customs agents.

That was a long time ago and a HUGE headache. NEVER skimp on insurance.
Last edited by matt.wu on Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by aikiman44 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:22 am

If the watch is over $500/$1000 (take your pick), I like to send it Express Mail.
The less time in transit, the lower probability of a problem like loss or theft.

And, who doesn't like to get a watch the next day (unless you live in Bumf**k) North Dakota. :shifty:
Last edited by aikiman44 on Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by jimyritz » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:22 am

Always track, insure and require signature....

Watch should never be sent until $$$ clear...

Make sure you have pics of the watch, serial # etc
just in case there are any issues pertaining to condition...

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by SCM64 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:52 am

I've never sold only traded. And the trades were with Jason and Roar, so no worries there.

Unless it was an emergency, IF I ever sell something, it would only be on DWC. Just to crazy out there for me.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by FlyPenFly » Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:48 am

I've sold a lot of watches and did a lot of trades. Only time I was screwed was on a trade deal who turned out to be a professional con man.

Fortunately, I always independently insure all my watches over $700 so after I explained what happened to the insurance company, they decided to cover me for it.

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by moishlashen » Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:07 am

aikiman44 wrote:If the watch is over $500/$1000 (take your pick), I like to send it Express Mail.
The less time in transit, the lower probability of a problem like loss or theft.

And, who doesn't like to get a watch the next day (unless you live in Bumf**k) North Dakota. :shifty:

+1 on this Doc. Express shipments with USPS have many eyes on them and they are always moving along toward final destination.

Package your watch very very well. For a Doxa take screwdriver out of tube and put it in a small ziplock outside of tube. I bought a 5000t where the screwdriver came out of its slot and scratched the bezel up pretty good. Use a lot of padding and when all done and taped up shake it to make sure nothing is loose and package is solid.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by mattcantwin » Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:14 am

moishlashen wrote:For a Doxa take screwdriver out of tube and put it in a small ziplock outside of tube.

I bought a 5000t where the screwdriver came out of its slot and scratched the bezel up pretty good.

Never gave that possibility any thought...


great tip! :thumbsup:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by toxicavenger » Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:14 am

ALWAYS, ALWAYS research your buyer or seller. And if have ANY doubts then don't do the deal. If the person comes off as a dick then charge him more! :thumbsup:

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by Docrwm » Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:19 am

Good advice. Ask for references. I've been asked often on WUS and do not mind AT ALL telling folks the good, bad, and ugly about transactions in the past. Ask more than one person though as many people are spineless and will never say anything negative no matter how much it is deserved.

When in doubt - don't is the best advice on this possible IMHO.

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by FlyPenFly » Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:22 am

Also, becareful about references as when I was scammed, he provided references but they were all fake. I think a simple check would be to make sure they're not all free email addresses. A deeper dive would be to match it to screennames and do IP traces on the email.

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by dshap » Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:25 am

mattcantwin wrote:
moishlashen wrote:For a Doxa take screwdriver out of tube and put it in a small ziplock outside of tube.

I bought a 5000t where the screwdriver came out of its slot and scratched the bezel up pretty good.

Never gave that possibility any thought...


great tip! :thumbsup:

+1 Great tip! I'll be sure to do that.
-David

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by mrsnak » Wed Aug 11, 2010 2:26 pm

Despite the always present possibility of problems, I've never had any real issues with buyers. Be upfront in describing the watch, post very clear photos showing a few sides of the watch, especially any flaws the watch might have. Create an ad that would make you buy the watch.

Research the buyer (post count, etc.). Respond quickly to emails or PMs and always be polite/professional.

I ship as soon as I get the PP payment (but also pull the money out then). I ship fully insured and pack well.

Those that seem to have the most bad incidents seem to also attract those same situations in other aspects of their lives (funny how that works). :lol:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by jimyritz » Wed Aug 11, 2010 5:29 pm

moishlashen wrote:
aikiman44 wrote:If the watch is over $500/$1000 (take your pick), I like to send it Express Mail.
The less time in transit, the lower probability of a problem like loss or theft.

And, who doesn't like to get a watch the next day (unless you live in Bumf**k) North Dakota. :shifty:

+1 on this Doc. Express shipments with USPS have many eyes on them and they are always moving along toward final destination.

Package your watch very very well. For a Doxa take screwdriver out of tube and put it in a small ziplock outside of tube. I bought a 5000t where the screwdriver came out of its slot and scratched the bezel up pretty good. Use a lot of padding and when all done and taped up shake it to make sure nothing is loose and package is solid.
-----------

Excellent suggestion about screwdriver.... :clap: :clap: :clap:

Thanks Chris....

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by SCM64 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 6:14 pm

I have a question about USPS. I've seen for sometime how everyone always recommends them. What am I missing because the tracking sucks ass compared to UPS. I've been tracking Roars speedy thats on the way back to him from Tampa, to Virginia to NJ to England, and it's now sitting in Cologne, Germany right now.

With USPS, by the time the freakin tracking is updated the package has been delivered. :raised: :rolleyes:

Someone enlighten me please. :scratch: :shrug: :think: :popcorn:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by Jamie » Wed Aug 11, 2010 6:24 pm

Boys don't exclude all international deals there are a few of who live outside the CONUS that are not scammers...

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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by moishlashen » Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:25 pm

SCM64 wrote:I have a question about USPS. I've seen for sometime how everyone always recommends them. What am I missing because the tracking sucks ass compared to UPS. I've been tracking Roars speedy thats on the way back to him from Tampa, to Virginia to NJ to England, and it's now sitting in Cologne, Germany right now.

With USPS, by the time the freakin tracking is updated the package has been delivered. :raised: :rolleyes:

Someone enlighten me please. :scratch: :shrug: :think: :popcorn:

Yeah tracking blows ass no doubt. Stateside is worse and basically worthless at least overseas you have some idea where it is. They seem to be getting better though with tracking as the last package I sent to MI I could track pretty closely. I've had really good service from them for much cheaper than the private companies which is why I use it.
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by matt.wu » Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:58 pm

SCM64 wrote:I have a question about USPS. I've seen for sometime how everyone always recommends them. What am I missing because the tracking sucks ass compared to UPS. I've been tracking Roars speedy thats on the way back to him from Tampa, to Virginia to NJ to England, and it's now sitting in Cologne, Germany right now.

With USPS, by the time the freakin tracking is updated the package has been delivered. :raised: :rolleyes:

Someone enlighten me please. :scratch: :shrug: :think: :popcorn:
USPS is very reliable among countries, especially when it comes to customs, because of supposed contracts that USPS via the government has with national postal carriers in other nations.

Within the US, it's a good option because it's relatively reliable as far as shipping companies go (in my experience), it's cheapest, it's generally fastest for the price, and everyone has easy access to it.

Tracking isn't a big deal to me as long as the packages have a reputation for arriving relatively on time. :shrug:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by ezcheese » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:00 pm

I think for USPS delivery confirmation is really a literal thing. Tracking an item as it travels does suck, but at least you have a record of the item being delivered, which is what they promise. :shrug:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by matt.wu » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:01 pm

ezcheese wrote:I think for USPS delivery confirmation is really a literal thing. Tracking an item as it travels does suck, but at least you have a record of the item being delivered, which is what they promise. :shrug:
This is indeed the case. :1:
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by demer03 » Thu Aug 12, 2010 4:12 am

I will not deal with low post members. Period.

Check references.

Cash cleared.

Always ship insured and trackable.

International I do frequently, but I insist the buyer cover additional costs to track and insure.

As was said above, try to deal with known persons first...this is a great community (bar the "Continental") and self monitoring.

I want our Doxa badly, BTW, but I already have Orange...
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Re: How To Protect Yourself As A Seller?

Post by mrsnak » Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:13 am

SCM64 wrote:I have a question about USPS. I've seen for sometime how everyone always recommends them. What am I missing because the tracking sucks ass compared to UPS. I've been tracking Roars speedy thats on the way back to him from Tampa, to Virginia to NJ to England, and it's now sitting in Cologne, Germany right now.

With USPS, by the time the freakin tracking is updated the package has been delivered. :raised: :rolleyes:

Someone enlighten me please. :scratch: :shrug: :think: :popcorn:
UPS tracks it the whole way. USPS PM tends to track fine to the border, then hands it off to the receiving country where tracking then can be spotty on the US side, but if you search the tracking number on the receiving postal system's site, you often get a more detailed track. The package is scanned in a location when it is received, not when it leaves. Customs, going both ways, is generally always the bottleneck, and it can sit in limbo for a while in whatever city is handling customs.
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