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Thread: Selling/Buying Protocol

  1. #1

    Default Selling/Buying Protocol

    Hello,

    I would like to know what the preferred method of money exchange is for selling a mandolin long distance. Thank you for your thoughts and recommendations.

    sunnyd

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    Our site owner recommends very strongly against postal money orders or wire transfer. Too much potential for fraud. That pretty much leaves checks or Paypal. Checks are ok as long as the buyer agrees that you will wait until it clears before shipping. But my favorite is Paypal. It protects both parties and the extra cost is totally worth it for the protection it provides.
    Don

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  4. #3
    two t's and one hyphen fatt-dad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    Call the seller.

    f-d
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  5. #4
    Registered User Steve Sorensen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    PayPal. Well worth the 3% it costs the seller.

    Both Seller and Buyer should have Paypal verified information before the transaction.

    Steve
    Steve Sorensen
    Sorensen Mandolin & Guitar Co.
    www.sorensenstrings.com

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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    i wonder about the USPS money order thing being risky. Seems like all one has to do is take the MO to the PO where it will be verified and cash given across the counter. There are stories about altering the amounts, but cashing it before sending the merchandise would eliminate the risk, methinks. Seems pretty fast and trustworthy to me. i'd rather give the whole amount to the seller instead of the Pay Pal crooks getting a cut anyway. Also, defrauding the USPS is a serious crime that means jail time, and that's a risk i'm not willing to take.

    So...where have i been doing business wrong all these years?

  7. #6
    Registered User Paul South's Avatar
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    I have sold for less than what I wanted for an item, but then I have paid a lot less for something than expected so it all works out.

    Last week I sold a mandolin in person(cash), week before that paypal transaction, this week depositing a check and waiting for it to clear before shipping. Guess it all depends if the buyer is signed up to do paypal, or maybe they live close and you can do cash. Every transaction can be different.

  8. #7
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    Quote Originally Posted by multidon View Post
    Our site owner recommends very strongly against postal money orders or wire transfer. Too much potential for fraud. That pretty much leaves checks or Paypal. Checks are ok as long as the buyer agrees that you will wait until it clears before shipping. But my favorite is Paypal. It protects both parties and the extra cost is totally worth it for the protection it provides.
    +1

    I would add that the time-honored Cashier's Check via snail mail can speed things up a little, if you have a local bank account. There are actually major banks now that allow shooting a quick photo of a Cashier's Check on your phone, and sending that online to your bank, where they'll verify funds before you physically deposit the check. Seems like space age Sci-Fi stuff to me, but apparently it works.

    I don't love Paypal; it's sort of a necessary evil at this point, but it's probably the best way to do a quick transaction between strangers where both parties can feel comfortable that funds have moved from Point A to Point B with at least some protection at both ends. As mentioned above, make sure it's verified Paypal addresses at both ends.

    Regardless of the payment method used, always, always, send anything expensive with both shipping insurance and a signature required at the receiving end. Otherwise Paypal only benefits the buyer and not the seller.

  9. #8
    Registered User Zissou Intern's Avatar
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    It takes tens of thousands of dollars of mail fraud before the USPS swoops in and starts investigating and arresting criminals. The big "resogate" scandal that Matt Rowe perpetrated on the dobro community 10 years back wasn't even investigated by Cliff Clavin and the men and woman in blue until there was $30-40K in complaints. It ended up being north of $75k in fraud. In the end, the jerk did a few years in jail and has made very little court ordered financial restitution to the victims.

    So, USPS money orders are only good if both parties are trusting and trustworthy. As mentioned above, a five minute phone call can be all it takes to put one's mind at rest. In my experience PayPal is the best way to make a purchase. But then again, I have used USPS money orders and have had no issues that way either.

  10. #9

    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    Forget USPS. By the time you fill out the paperwork, you'll have spent a week. Paypal's fraud protection is pretty good, they investigate usually just on the phone regarding either party, just like other card providers; however, my experience is that fraud can take 90 days to resolve, having recently gone through an issue with a scammer I sold to from here in Colorado to Massachusetts.

  11. #10

    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    Unfortunately, there is no payment method that equally protects buyers and sellers. It is one or the other.

    As a seller, USPS money orders are very safe. You go to the Post office and cash it, they hand you the money, you ship the mandolin. This goes for any money order or cashiers check. If you go to the issuer and cash it (don't deposit it), you have the money. Of course, these are not so safe for the buyer.

    Checks are fine if you wait for it to clear. The problem here is that you really don't know when it has cleared and you won't realize it is bad for a couple of weeks. Of course the buyer never wants to wait that long, because you have their money and they want their item.

    Paypal is very safe for the buyer, not that safe for the seller. Ask any high volume seller that uses Paypal and they will have had problems. I won't post the details, but there are a few situations where the seller will absolutely lose the claim.

    The only way to limit the risk is trust. If in doubt, call the person and talk on the phone, do a little detective work on the other party and remember that the really dangerous con artists will not be scared of phone calls and have all of the right answers. If you are suspicious, verify who they are or ask for references that you can verify.
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

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  13. #11

    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    Quote Originally Posted by Zissou Intern View Post
    It takes tens of thousands of dollars of mail fraud before the USPS swoops in and starts investigating and arresting criminals. The big "resogate" scandal that Matt Rowe perpetrated on the dobro community 10 years back wasn't even investigated by Cliff Clavin and the men and woman in blue until there was $30-40K in complaints. It ended up being north of $75k in fraud. In the end, the jerk did a few years in jail and has made very little court ordered financial restitution to the victims.

    So, USPS money orders are only good if both parties are trusting and trustworthy. As mentioned above, a five minute phone call can be all it takes to put one's mind at rest. In my experience PayPal is the best way to make a purchase. But then again, I have used USPS money orders and have had no issues that way either.
    I would have to agree that it takes a lot to get any action out of the USPS and when they do act there often isn't enough teeth in the penalty--regardless of what you might hear--federal offense, etc..... a few years ago the apartment building where I lived was having mail show up as missing, mostly credit cards, birthday cards with missing money, etc. the building had a security door, but all the tenants were lazy (except me, of course) and didn't lock it. I worked from home and knew the mail was delivered about 2:30 every afternoon. I noticed around 2:15 everyday a homeless guy was hanging around, so I told the mail carrier. WELL, in a week or so, they had a postal SWAT team in place, we're talking 8 unmarked cars, guns drawn, etc., they nabbed the guy and carried him off. Like most people, I thought with a federal offense, we won't be seeing him for 25 or 30 years! Good riddance! NOPE, TWO DAYS LATER HE WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET FREE AS A BIRD and he contronts me with, "Hey man, I didn't steal your mail!" And I said, "Yes, you did." And that is about all the teeth the law seems to have.....but whatcha gonna do...we need to mail things, don't we?

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  15. #12

    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    A few years ago, we were the target of a fraud ring. We were getting a few orders per week from all over the USA. They were using stolen credit cards, but had correct billing and security codes. They also managed to get the shipping addresses to show up as valid.

    For months straight I had to manually go through each order and look for any signs, call the customers, etc. I slowly started noticing a few patterns based on which area the orders were placed from. I was logging everything and eventually had verified addresses where the packages were signed for, valid phone numbers (I actually talked to these people on a few occasions), IP addresses from the computers that placed the orders, email addresses that I was able to verify were used for other fraudulent orders. I tracked some of the email addresses to actual personal usage on forums and such. From what I could verify, just the few parties that were targeting us were doing thousands a day in fraudulent orders. So when I contacted law enforcement with all of this, I was repeatedly blown off. I contacted our local law enforcement, and the police and sheriff in every city the orders came from. After a few calls, they would eventually open a case, but there would be no followup. Once I had the patterns down, I started contacting the credit card companies, who could care less. They wouldn't let me report the stolen card numbers. I realize that no one has time to chase small fraud cases, but this was quite the operation.

    This was off and on for over a year before it stopped. Looking up the shipping addresses, some of the houses were extremely nice $3000-$5000 per month rentals. These people were obviously making serious money and a sizable amount was mine!
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

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  17. #13
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    Default Re: Selling/Buying Protocol

    I have used paypal in the past it is good for the buyer but for seller there are pitfalls. Lately I have been selling locally it takes longer but they are cash on the barrel head deals. You like it you buy it with cash. No shipping hassles,no trial periods. But it does take much longer to sell items,good if you aren't in a hurry.
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