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Author Topic: Financial Fortress?  (Read 8407 times)

markhout

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Financial Fortress?
« Reply #20 on: July 27, 2007, 03:09:56 pm »

This is a very good thread. I Have been trading stuff on eBay for a couple of years now, and after a learning curve on scams I'm quite happy now. It is clear to me though that one must have a PayPal account and a positive feedback of somewhere between 95-100% to be taken seriously.

I found eBay particularly useful if I needed a highly trafficed item, say a fairly expensive lens, for a vacation or a project. I would buy it 'mint' on eBay, use it and sell it well documented for a Buy It Now price equal to the price I paid. Most of the time, the item is sold within hours of posting. My only costs would be the shipping and eBay/Paypal fees - still quite reasonable compared to renting.

Recently I found that buying from Japanese sellers is attractive in terms of shipping time (5 days to East Coast US), price and service. Geographically this may be a good alternative for you as well.

Best,

Mark
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MarkKay

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Financial Fortress?
« Reply #21 on: July 28, 2007, 12:15:22 pm »

I in concept have no issue with sending stuff overseas but this is why I hesitate.
There are tariff laws and I know some examples where you ship something, with a declared value and if the buyer does not pay/his her tariff charges, the sender gets some sort of additional  charge and becomes responsible for these charges. As a result, I prefer to use fed ex overseas where I can check a box that states the recipient is responsible for all such charges.  Many times the buyer wants me to declare a lower value, if indeed he/she is willing to forgo any responsibility from me if the item is damaged or lost in the process.   I have had a number of items that I have either ordered or received held up in customs and sometimes for  many days for whatever reason, many of which are quite ridiculous albeit sometimes a form has the wrong box checked.  Most folks do not want me to use fed ex because of the extra cost. I understand fed ex is more expensive than USPS but I feel like I have some protection. Moreover, for me I have a fed ex dropoff near my office. Going to do USPS requires me to go to the post office, which takes a substantial bit of time.  Finally, I would say that the number of forms that I have to fill out to ship also makes it more difficult. Since I have done more overseas transactions, it becomes easier but it still takes more time. Hence I think if you add up all these issues, you can see why some US sellers are more reluctant to send stuff overseas. Nonetheless,  I know I want  to be reasonable and will send stuff overseas if the buyer is willing to pay the extra fed ex charges, and if fed ex will deliver to that part of the world.

I have also gotten numerous number of scam events including the attempt to send a money order with extra funds that i am supposed to reimburse.  It sounded fishy to me. What convinced me it was a fraud was   that it became clear that the  person who wanted  to purchase the item did not even know what it was for. He told me he was a buyer for someone else. So I told him my terms of the deal.  If a money order is sent, I need to have it clear the bank before i ship, no extra funds, etc.  Never heard back from him.
 


Quote
Hi  All
As a Kiwi (a New Zealander) who is new to on line trading and has recently been keen to buy photographic equipment on this and the Large Format site as well as Ebay, I'm horrified!!
I can't do it!
Not because I haven't got the money, not because I don't use Paypal, not because I want it too cheap - NO, its just because I'm not from the USA.

It takes no more to pack and post to  an international adress than a domestic one!

So, I'm keen to know why this is, have you become a "Financial Fortress'" not heard of the "Global Economy" .

Ah well, never mind, with some deals I've looked at I would even have been prepared to wait until the money was actually in the sellors piggy bank before asking for it to be sent! Am I stupid or what?
I like to think MOST people are basically pretty damn honest.

Sense frustration, well your right!

PS Anyone got a tidy Arcbody kit they are willing to sell to a KIWI?

Finn.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=129653\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
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Woodcorner

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Financial Fortress?
« Reply #22 on: July 29, 2007, 04:28:13 am »

I have started buying from online shops around 1996 and continue to do so. There's always a risk involved in buying from a person or a shop you do not really know very well.

My worst experience was buying from a now defunkt Mac hardware online store from the U.S. around 1997. I was shopping for an ethernet card for my trusty Apple SE/30, which in the end left me with appr. 300 USD spent, and no ethernet card. Now try to sue the company from outside the U.S., it is virtually impossible for such a minimal amount of money. All I could do was write off my expenses.

Having experienced this, the best advice is to deal only with persons or companies you either know well, or that have an excellent reputation. Google is your friend when it comes to finding out about this.

I will happily buy from and sell to most people throughout the world. With PayPal and trackable parcels readily available nowadays, you can limit the risk quite a bit.

Cheers,

Andrew
from Germany
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