crashbanggg Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 It's looking as if I have found the bike I want, though to prevent being scammed again, I want to be a bit more thorough on the information I gather. The bike is going to have to be posted so all contact will have to be over the phone/ email so what sort of questions/ information should I be asking before I be sending him the monies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isitafox Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Make sure you get his/her full name address and home telephone number and check these by ringing the number and check the surname address with the bt phonebook to be sure. Try and pay by Paypal purchase if they'll do it, even if it means paying a bit extra to cover fees at least you'll have buyer protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashbanggg Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 I asked to pay via PayPal and got this reply - 'thats great! i dont have a paypal account im afraid but i do realise your worries about this kind of thing. i prefer a bank transaction personally , cuts out the middle men as it were im happy to mail loads of pics to you sometime tommorrow but i can assure you it is 100% mint! i hope my lack of paypal is not a huge problem mate , if it is i can make an account i suppose altho i would prefer not to. Anyway its a deal matey , £325 inc postage. ' Now im assuming to safest way would be for him to make a PayPal account, but would that make me come across as a bit of an arse if I got him to make one? And if he is willing to set one up, how long does it take(Really cant remember how long it took me) before I tell him it only takes 5 mins when in actual fact it takes days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew62 Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 It's up to you. If you want the protection you should stick with Paypal as you'll have none with the bank transfer. What you could do as a gesture of good will (as you'll not want to be sending the money as a 'gift' as again you'll have no protection' is offer to pay the additional 3% (or whatever it is) so that it doesn't come at a loss to him sending the money via the protected method. As long as you ask nicely (and it appears that he's quite reasonable) then it's not too much to ask of the seller. Granted i can see why he'd prefer a bank transfer and from his wording it would seem he's a decent guy, but there's just too many stories around of people being scammed and if he's asking for money then i'm sure he'll understand why the buyer would want some form of protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashbanggg Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Im going to give him a ring at some point to help suss out whether or not he sounds genuine, but what questions can I ask? I already know the bikes in mint condition so cant really talk about that particularly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Make sure you get his/her full name address and home telephone number That. Discussing things via email is a good thing because it leaves a "paper trail" but personally I'd always talk such matters through over the phone. I don't buy used bike parts but any 2nd hand car stuff I purchase is discussed over the phone with the seller. If he doesn't supply a phone number, I ignore the ad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franksx2005 Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) Where is the ad out of interest? Has the site got a feedback page? If you got him to create a paypal it's not the end of the world for him, he can use it for other transactions and save him this hassle on the future. Edited September 3, 2011 by Franksx2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsieurMonkey Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Get him to make a paypal account, round it up to 350 for his troubles? Covers the 3% plus a bit extra. That's what I'd do anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamus Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) ask for photo's of it being packaged, before during and after, its hard to do if you haven't got the bike or haven't taken any steps to post it But agree that PayPal is the safest bet by far! Having said that I bank transferred £750 to a Pinkbike user after only a short period of exchanges, did speak to the lads dad by accident when I rang the house phone number so got the story corroberated kinda. That was the best bargain I've ever done if I'm honest! guess it depends how much trust and evidence you need Edited September 3, 2011 by shamus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 I asked to pay via PayPal and got this reply - 'thats great! i dont have a paypal account im afraid but i do realise your worries about this kind of thing. i prefer a bank transaction personally , cuts out the middle men as it were im happy to mail loads of pics to you sometime tommorrow but i can assure you it is 100% mint! i hope my lack of paypal is not a huge problem mate , if it is i can make an account i suppose altho i would prefer not to. Anyway its a deal matey , £325 inc postage. ' Now im assuming to safest way would be for him to make a PayPal account, but would that make me come across as a bit of an arse if I got him to make one? And if he is willing to set one up, how long does it take(Really cant remember how long it took me) before I tell him it only takes 5 mins when in actual fact it takes days... In fairness, I always go down the bank transfer route as having to f**k around with Paypal is always hassle, and unless the other person covers the fees you end up losing out (on top of usually losing out on whatever you're selling anyway). I generally need whatever money I'm getting from someone to be usable fairly quickly, so having to dick around with Paypal puts me right off. All I'm getting at is that him wanting to do it via bank transfer isn't necessarily a sign of him being sketchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashbanggg Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 He's just made a PayPal account so that's taken away a lot of the hassle/ worry, he also comes across as a sound guy so I don't think Bank transfer would have been to much of a worry. He's taking a load of pictures for me later so that should hopefully mean he has the actual bike It's from the site 'Preloved', which doesn't appear to have a feedback thing. I guess when he emails me the pictures I can Google the email address and see if anything comes up (Facebook, Company, Twitter, Pornhub etc...) Whoooo new bike time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashbanggg Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Also, how long does it take until his PayPal account can be used so I can send him the money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamus Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 think its instant I set one up and that day won a ebay auction and paid that day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashbanggg Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Thanks for all the help, the money has been sent so I should hopefully have a brand spanking new (ish) Zoot on my way in the not-too-distant future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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