Advice on selling iPhone through eBay

[MICMAC247]

So I listed my 1st generation iPhone on eBay as is... A little scuffed up but still in working condition. I listed it for a buy it now price of $300, then came down in price to $210 this afternoon.

Within a 1/2 hour of listing it at $210, someone had snatched it up. However, upon further review this person on eBay has '0' feedback, and has yet to provide payment for the item although they utilized the buy it now feature. This immediately seems fishy to me.

I wanted to ask you guys, what's the best way to limit my liability from this person should I receive payment from them. I have the right to wait until the payment clears to ship, but is there a way for them to come back at me and try and cheat me out of the iPhone? I haven't sold anything of moderate value ($100-$200) on here before, and the fact that this person does not have single feedback kind of irks me a bit.

As of now, the buyer has still not paid.

 

[Gigamaster89]

You should have specified from the start that you don't want anyone with no feedbacks buying it (at least without consulting you first.)

Your best bet is to send with delivery confirmation so you KNOW if he received it. This is all after payment clears of course.

 

[Givmeabrek]

0 feedback is a problem. List on your sale that 0 feedback is not accepted. Also require immediate payment through paypal with a buy it now sale.

Last time I sold to a 0 feedback the guy never paid and never responded to email. All I lost was a lot of time however.

In your case don't ship until all payments have cleared. Be aware it can take weeks to detect a bogus money order. And of course he can still claim he got a rock in a box and reverse payment on his credit card. Take a picture of the item in the box as it is being packed. Of course it's always best to deal with a known responsible person. Good luck

 

[mrbrown]

In your case don't ship until all payments have cleared. Be aware it can take weeks to detect a bogus money order.

On that note, always cash postal money orders at the post office. You will know immediately whether it's good or not.

 

[MICMAC247]

The payment is strictly Paypal only. I think the best thing for me to do is relist the item...

Thanks for the help!

 

[bwfc0907]

The payment is strictly Paypal only. I think the best thing for me to do is relist the item...

Thanks for the help!

Sold my 3G in June for £310. Paypal confirmed I could send, guy had 9 positive feedback.
3 months later the bank reversed the payment through Paypal so I have no phone and no money. I did throw the Special Delivery code away after 11 weeks as I believed I no longer needed it (I take responsibility for this error).
Police don't want to know, Paypal won't even acknowledge me with a reply.

Be Warned!

 

[tlp5002]

PayPal has some unusual policies regarding transactions now. It seems all of the power has been handed over to the buyer.

I listed a 3G about a month ago, and had no trouble with the respective buyer. I did have some 0 feedback bidders, but someone with a fair amount of feedback ended up winning it.

What's interesting though, is that PayPal held the money and would ultimately hold the money until the buyer left me positive feedback and confirmed that he received the item. Since I didn't have any activity in the past 3 months, my feedback was under 100, and the item was over $250, PayPal basically kept my cash on lockdown.

Fortunately, PayPal does have a place for you to insert a tracking number, so that's one thing the buyer cant lie about.

 

[Jeremy81]

A few things you can do prior to listing the auction is to go to site preferences under account and set up your buyer requirements. For items like an iPhone never sell outside of the country. DO NOT under any circumstances ship the item if their Paypal address is unverified. If they chargeback and you didn't ship to a verified address you will most likely never receive your money back as their CC company will decide in their favor and Paypal will not cover you under their protection. There really isn't a lot you can do to prevent 0 feedback buyers other than to cancel their bids. To be honest you are just as likely to get conned by someone with established feedback and I speak from experience. The most important thing to do is to purchase tracking through your carrier even if it is at your cost and add the tracking info to the paypal transaction then keep the slip in a safe place. I've received chargebacks on phones twice one for 300 and most recently an iPhone 3G for 550 and both buyers had at least 10 feedback. Thankfully both times the cases were decided in my favor. It usually happens at exactly 90 days after the item was shipped because that is usually when the tracking information is deleted out of the carriers database. Thankfully the USPS can now restore your tracking info from backup if requested. It does take anywhere from 3-6 months to deal with a chargeback but as long as you have proof of shipping to a verified address you should be good.

 

[skye12]

Just take paypal from a verified shipping address address. Insure at buyer's expense and use delivery confirmation.
It is that simple.

 

[Hankster]

Craigslist over eBay any day.

 

[greygray]

So I listed my 1st generation iPhone on eBay as is... A little scuffed up but still in working condition. I listed it for a buy it now price of $300, then came down in price to $210 this afternoon.

*SNIP*

I haven't sold anything of moderate value ($100-$200) on here before, and the fact that this person does not have single feedback kind of irks me a bit.

As of now, the buyer has still not paid.

Don't. Try Craigslist. If not, try an asking price of $350 and bundle extra stuff with it.

 

[kAoTiX]

Sold my 3G in June for £310. Paypal confirmed I could send, guy had 9 positive feedback.
3 months later the bank reversed the payment through Paypal so I have no phone and no money. I did throw the Special Delivery code away after 11 weeks as I believed I no longer needed it (I take responsibility for this error).
Police don't want to know, Paypal won't even acknowledge me with a reply.

Be Warned!

If you read PayPal's terms and conditions of sales for sending and receiving money, by using paypal you agree that you cannot revoke a payment made on a credit card where you would normally be protected. The fact that they did this could lead to the fact that the user was using a stolen credit card or stolen account. That really sucks that they did that though and I would honestly pester them until they repaid that money. As that part of their terms and conditions works both ways and definately in your favour I would have though.

To the OP, as others have said. Only allow people with at least 5 feedback to bid on/buy your items, this is an option before you post anything.
Also, only post to confirmed paypal addresses.
I do agree that Craigslist is sometimes easier than eBay but it's only based on the fact that you usually meet the person and they pay cash in hand. It's not always the case though.

It all comes down to trust and respect of the site you're dealing with. If you don't trust eBay or Paypal to deal with things properly simply don't use them. I bet you could have listed in a local newspaper for little or no cost and sold it to someone near by for cash in hand.

Based on eBay's terms you have to wait to get contact from the other party who won the auction. But I think you will end up relisting it anyway. Good luck

 

[Nautilus007]

tip

one tip i have for you is to record your serial number incase someone tries to pull a fast one on you and return theirs.

 

[Disarm]

So I listed my 1st generation iPhone on eBay as is... A little scuffed up but still in working condition. I listed it for a buy it now price of $300, then came down in price to $210 this afternoon.

Within a 1/2 hour of listing it at $210, someone had snatched it up. However, upon further review this person on eBay has '0' feedback, and has yet to provide payment for the item although they utilized the buy it now feature. This immediately seems fishy to me.

I wanted to ask you guys, what's the best way to limit my liability from this person should I receive payment from them. I have the right to wait until the payment clears to ship, but is there a way for them to come back at me and try and cheat me out of the iPhone? I haven't sold anything of moderate value ($100-$200) on here before, and the fact that this person does not have single feedback kind of irks me a bit.

As of now, the buyer has still not paid.

Where was the address? You don't have to put the whole thing on here, but i know some people have been scammed because the buyer lived out of country and has the phone sent to a shipping company for them to ship out to them. Then they report it is never being sent, so be careful, and be sure to check everything out. Send me pictures too, i may know someone who would want it if it's not too beat up.