Any protection for sellers on eBay?
 

I recently received a strong offer on eBay for a fairly expensive vintage card from a buyer with some (but not a lot) of feedback who has been an eBay member for about a year. The feedback is positive but it's mostly for buying $1-$10 modern cards. He or she has no feedback from any vintage card transactions and nothing in the price range of the card I am selling.

Would you accept the offer? What can go wrong here? And what can a seller do, if anything, to prevent any problems?

David R

Money order/cashier's check
 

Request to be paid by money order or cashier's check. Ship card once said payment is deposited.

Tim's suggestion is exactly how I have handled making offers and buying auctions early on Ebay. It harkens back to the old days of Ebay, before Paypal when all transactions were check or moneyorder based.

As to your questions about the protections you have as a seller, Once you end the auction, with the intention of selling outside Ebay's auction or BIN system, you loose any and all Ebay protections as a seller. It's as simple as that, Ebay no longer considers it an Ebay transaction and you will be on your own.

As Tim said, request that the user mail you a Moneyorder. When you deposit or cash the moneyorder, make sure to find out from your bank how long it will take for a moneyorder to completely clear into your account. Even moneyorders can bounce after they appear to initially clear into your account, that's why I suggest waiting for the entire "clear time" just as you would a personal check (7-10 days). Wait and hold the card(s) for this period of time, ensuring the funds clear. Then ship the cards with delivery and signature confirmation.

That should be sufficient to ensure a safe transaction on your end.

You can not proceed with the deal through eBay and request only a check/money order. That is against eBay's terms. You must offer the buyer some form of electronic payment.

If you do the deal outside of eBay, then that is different. In that case, I would request a postal money order. You can take that to your local post office and cash it immediately.

I don't see the problem with accepting a PayPal payment and just sending it with signature confirmation fully insured. That is all you need to be protected as a seller.

Using paypal outside of Ebay is an option, you then have some protections and recourse through Paypal if the transaction goes bad. As David said, make sure you send with signature confirmation and completely insured.

money orders
 

If you receive a Postal money order, don't ship your item until you have the PO verify the money order. We have been coming across a lot of fake PO money orders, usually associated with a Craigslist scam or an off ebay transaction.

https://www.usps.com/shop/accepting-money-orders.htm

This link will give you some tips on the fake money orders. They are pretty good fakes to the untrained eye, but the big tip off is usually the foil strip on the front.

Rick

Would placing the item in escrow be a good idea?