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Need a bit of help…
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Started by BlackOut21,

35 posts in this topic

BlackOut21

BlackOut21

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Posted

So, I have a book valued around $4k listed on EBay. I was going to hold onto it but had to pay some additional expenses related to my moms estate this weekend, so I figured it would be best to let it go. I received an offer on eBay but the buyer has zero feedback, however it says they’ve been on eBay since 2019. 

Is it best to accept the offer and take a chance on the buyer. Or is it better to forget the offer and find another buyer? I haven’t run into any serious issues on eBay besides the occasional non payer, but $4k is a lot to risk imo.

I only have 8hrs to decide also. 🤦🏾‍♂️ 

My gut tells me to pass. 

Thanks in advance. 

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Jesse-Lee

Jesse-Lee

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First, I agree with everyone here and I'd probably pass.

However - you say they have zero feedback, but did you also check to see if they've ever left feedback for others? Just something to consider, maybe they've been unlucky in receiving feedback... I usually check that on any offer I receive, because I want to make sure I'm not dealing with a potential serial pain in the butt.

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Galen130

Galen130

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On 11/27/2023 at 10:27 AM, BlackOut21 said:

So, I have a book valued around $4k listed on EBay. I was going to hold onto it but had to pay some additional expenses related to my moms estate this weekend, so I figured it would be best to let it go. I received an offer on eBay but the buyer has zero feedback, however it says they’ve been on eBay since 2019. 

Is it best to accept the offer and take a chance on the buyer. Or is it better to forget the offer and find another buyer? I haven’t run into any serious issues on eBay besides the occasional non payer, but $4k is a lot to risk imo.

I only have 8hrs to decide also. 🤦🏾‍♂️ 

My gut tells me to pass. 

Thanks in advance. 

Have you thought about trying to sell your item here on the boards?  Most of your worries and anxiety about a scammer trying to con you would be alleviated here. :)

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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On 11/27/2023 at 12:43 PM, Galen130 said:
On 11/27/2023 at 12:27 PM, BlackOut21 said:

So, I have a book valued around $4k listed on EBay. I was going to hold onto it but had to pay some additional expenses related to my moms estate this weekend, so I figured it would be best to let it go. I received an offer on eBay but the buyer has zero feedback, however it says they’ve been on eBay since 2019. 

Is it best to accept the offer and take a chance on the buyer. Or is it better to forget the offer and find another buyer? I haven’t run into any serious issues on eBay besides the occasional non payer, but $4k is a lot to risk imo.

I only have 8hrs to decide also. 🤦🏾‍♂️ 

My gut tells me to pass. 

Thanks in advance. 

Have you thought about trying to sell your item here on the boards?  Most of your worries and anxiety about a scammer trying to con you would be alleviated here. :)

To build on this, if you have a $4K book, and eBay is going to take what? 15% or more?

Someone may buy that book at 15% off FMV here, because they're getting a deal and if it's a key or a desirable book a dealer may take it off your hands for 20% off and you'd have a solid transaction. 

So you have options. Throwing the book into the great wide open doesn't seem to be the best one. You might net a little less selling it in a hurry but that's way better than losing the whole shebang.

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EastEnd1

EastEnd1

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On 11/27/2023 at 12:27 PM, BlackOut21 said:

So, I have a book valued around $4k listed on EBay. I was going to hold onto it but had to pay some additional expenses related to my moms estate this weekend, so I figured it would be best to let it go. I received an offer on eBay but the buyer has zero feedback, however it says they’ve been on eBay since 2019. 

Is it best to accept the offer and take a chance on the buyer. Or is it better to forget the offer and find another buyer? I haven’t run into any serious issues on eBay besides the occasional non payer, but $4k is a lot to risk imo.

I only have 8hrs to decide also. 🤦🏾‍♂️ 

My gut tells me to pass. 

Thanks in advance. 

 

If it were me, I would definitely pass... and I have in situations like this.

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Black Bat

Black Bat

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Here's what I do with offers on big dollar books.  You can set your listing preferences to require immediate payment when a buyer purchases via buy it now.  If the offer is serious, tell the buyer you will re-list the item as a buy it now at the offered price.  If the buyer agrees, when revising your listing, select the require immediate payment for buy it now purchases.  Let the buyer know the listing is ready.  If the buyers chooses to buy, the payment will process immediately.   Hope this helps, good luck!

Edited by Black Bat
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stormflora

stormflora

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Based on how eBay is designed, as long as you provide a tracking number, it's hard for the buyer to open up a dispute and argue non-receipt to get their money back. They could attempt a chargeback against PayPal/eBay, but that would just to a slew of issues that would probably be weighed in your favour as an innocent seller.

Nonetheless, you are right to feel hesitant to selling to someone without any feedback, and there is no harm done in declining. However, consider this scenario: If a seller puts up an expensive key comic for auction and it closes at, say, tens of thousands of dollars, but the winning bid was just some random joe that also has zero feedback but does indeed pay for it, what would the seller do in this situation?

eBay typically gives the seller a really hard time to cancelling these kinds of transactions, as there is no justifiable reason to do so as long as they are a paying customer.

In your case, since you created a standard non-auction listing with a best offer, you don't subject yourself to this sort of risk, as you do have the final say in accepting the offer. If you are not in a dire rush to sell, go ahead and let the listing run on for another month or two to see if someone else bites. But if your estate expenses are immediate and you have no other source of cash, you might not even have a choice.

This all depends on your own circumstances. Do you need the money now?

On 11/27/2023 at 2:24 PM, Black Bat said:

Here's what I do with offers on big dollar books.  You can set your listing preferences to require immediate payment when a buyer purchases via buy it now.  If the offer is serious, tell the buyer you will re-list the item as a buy it now at the offered price.  If the buyer agrees, when revising your listing, select the require immediate payment for buy it now purchases.  Let the buyer know the listing is ready.  If the buyers chooses to buy, the payment will process immediately.   Hope this helps, good luck!

This isn't even the issue. The issue is more about whether the buyer might try some foul move like claiming they did not receive it/got the wrong item/chargeback after the comic is shipped. eBay disputes can get messy in these situations as it becomes a "he said, she said" scenario. And eBay is historically known to be biased towards the buyer, not the seller.

Edited by stormflora
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Lightning55

Lightning55

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On 11/27/2023 at 2:24 PM, Black Bat said:

Here's what I do with offers on big dollar books.  You can set your listing preferences to require immediate payment when a buyer purchases via buy it now.  If the offer is serious, tell the buyer you will re-list the item as a buy it now at the offered price.  If the buyer agrees, when revising your listing, select the require immediate payment for buy it now purchases.  Let the buyer know the listing is ready.  If the buyers chooses to buy, the payment will process immediately.   Hope this helps, good luck!

We don't know that the offer is NOT set up for immediate payment as is. Lately, eBay won't let you offer without a payment method ready to trigger at acceptance. 

But that is only the fist hurdle, as mentioned by others. Could be a stolen credit card. 

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Paul © ® ⚽️💙™

Paul © ® ⚽️💙™

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On 11/27/2023 at 5:27 PM, BlackOut21 said:

So, I have a book valued around $4k listed on EBay. I was going to hold onto it but had to pay some additional expenses related to my moms estate this weekend, so I figured it would be best to let it go. I received an offer on eBay but the buyer has zero feedback, however it says they’ve been on eBay since 2019. 

Is it best to accept the offer and take a chance on the buyer. Or is it better to forget the offer and find another buyer? I haven’t run into any serious issues on eBay besides the occasional non payer, but $4k is a lot to risk imo.

I only have 8hrs to decide also. 🤦🏾‍♂️ 

My gut tells me to pass. 

Thanks in advance. 

Most of the advice so far has been solid. Trust your instinct.

Just for context and to give the other side of the coin...I sold a book on ebay recently for the same value. Admittedly the buyer had a fb rating of a coupla hundred or so.

He agreed to meet my price but wanted the book shipped to Malaysia. My gut said no so I refused. He then arranged for the book to be shipped to an address in Texas instead. When I sent him the invoice he recoiled at the amount of tax ebay wanted to charge him, and changed his mind. I eventually after much thought, agreed to ship the book to Malaysia after taking all reasonable precautions.

Bottom line: It all went well but I was worried and nervous about it. I took a risk and the buyer was a good egg.

But in my eyes....it was a gamble.

Go with your gut.

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stormflora

stormflora

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On 11/27/2023 at 3:33 PM, Paul (GG) © ® ™⚽️💙 said:

Most of the advice so far has been solid. Trust your instinct.

Just for context and to give the other side of the coin...I sold a book on ebay recently for the same value. Admittedly the buyer had a fb rating of a coupla hundred or so.

He agreed to meet my price but wanted the book shipped to Malaysia. My gut said no so I refused. He then arranged for the book to be shipped to an address in Texas instead. When I sent him the invoice he recoiled at the amount of tax ebay wanted to charge him, and changed his mind. I eventually after much thought, agreed to ship the book to Malaysia after taking all reasonable precautions.

Bottom line: It all went well but I was worried and nervous about it. I took a risk and the buyer was a good egg.

But in my eyes....it was a gamble.

Go with your gut.

The Texas address may have been a forwarding company. It's one of the only means of being able to buy stuff from America-only sellers.

On 11/27/2023 at 3:23 PM, Lightning55 said:

We don't know that the offer is NOT set up for immediate payment as is. Lately, eBay won't let you offer without a payment method ready to trigger at acceptance. 

But that is only the fist hurdle, as mentioned by others. Could be a stolen credit card. 

This is definitely a possibility. Chargebacks are still possible for American credit cards (for whatever the hell reason, while that practice is not permitted in Canada), which means the seller could have their comic effectively stolen.

Again, unless utterly desperate, just wait another month or two.

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