ebay virgin with question

Tipperarymike

Hi guys,

Just been using ebay for the last week or so and have bought some comics on there for my brothers, so far so good but then they were pretty handy on the pocket so I didnt mind too much taking a chance. Thing is, I just bought a vintage car on there for my brother in law, and the seller wants payment in full before the car is collected. I have sent them a bank draft this evening, but wondering a bit about how wise that was now. Just looking for some reassurance or ideas what I can do if things go south. I was talking to them on the phone over the weekend and again today and they did seem pretty genuine to be honest. They were first time ebayers, if thats a word. I have checked them out on www.192.com and the address and occupants tally with what they told me on the phone.

Any help or thoughts would be great, and sorry if this question or something like it has been done to death before on here

Karoma

Where they residents of the same country..?
(Ballpark even) How much was the purchase for?

Tipperarymike

for the prompt reply Karoma. The sellers were in England, Chesire to be exact and the car cost 1020 sterling. Hope that helps

A Dub in Glasgo

Who is collecting the car? Why can't to give the cash when the car is collected? Surely it is no different to a private sell for a car in autotrader, would you post them the money before collecting the car if you bought it privately through a classifieds listing?

Who is going to check the quality of the car? Is it roadworthy?

Tipperarymike

I didnt really want to do it like that but my brother in law is away and I was just doing it on his behalf. He will be collecting the car himself. The car is in pretty decent condition for a vintage. He wanted a car which needed some but not a lot of renovation, and it seems to fit the bill. Anyway I guess I could still cancel the draft in the next week or so if it gets a bit sus. To be fair the girl I bought it from was selling it for genuine reasons. I think she didnt want the cash as she just didnt want to risk getting arsed about for the next three weeks while she would be waiting for it to be collected. Either that or I am just clutching at straws while the horse has bolted

A Dub in Glasgo

It is probably totally above board especially with their details tallying with 192.com. The sellers are probably just as concerned about the buyer messing them about.

This is the perfect sceneric for using an escrow service. I have used these guys before for an escrow

http://www.auctionpix.co.uk/

Tipperarymike

for the counselling on this one. Really appreciate you taking the time to read on this one. The 192 thing assured me a little as did the fact that they didnt want to be messed around but at the same time did not seem pushy on it. Goes to show that the internet can be helpful about snooping around on peoples information. So now that you seem happier on that score so do I. My brother in law is not internet savvy and as he was away on holidays during the bidding I kind of got rail roaded on doing the deal for him, hence going against my more cautious instincts with these things.

Shad0r

I'm sure that I dont fully understand your situation but that said from what you've said there's no way I would have sent them that money. Sorry man, I know thats not what you want to hear but a sellers history on ebay is the only really accurate info you have on them...or to put it another way, scammers wont have any history because obviously it would be full of bad reviews and nobody (with eyesight at least) would buy from them.

Either way given that they have no history with eBay I dont think that they are really in a position to be demanding anything up front. A deposit maybe, but the full amount? I dont think that that is really very reasonable.

Tipperarymike

with you S, I explained all that reasoning to my brother in law, but the guy was just not having it. He got a bit manic about the car, personally I think it was because he bought a similar one but with more work needing to be done for a rip off price in Dublin the week before, so I think he was trying to compensate on that one. At the end of the day, as they say, its his dime but I cant help but feel guilty for not talking him out of doing what they wanted to. I can see why they wanted the full amount, only thing I am hoping for is that the draft takes a good few days to clear. He cant collect the car till the 13th at the earliest. He is still on holidays in the States, so I am left holding the baby. I did feel reassured with the 192 details matching the ebay details so who knows. but its hard to have faith in the human race and its honesty anymore. I wanted to send half in a draft and cash on collection but he was afraid to start laying down conditions in case they didnt go for it. Plus the sellers wanted to set up a paypal account to do the transaction but he is a builder and he doesnt understand such ideas , you know the way those fkers just love dealing in cash. Thanks for the help

Genghis

Mike,

I think the general advice is not send a bank draft as it is effectively money and it is outside e-bay "territory" - so you can't hope for them to resolve any dispute or take any action against the seller. This is more compounded by the fact that you are both in seperate countries. Paypal, being owned by Ebay is more secure.

However:

- You would probably have trouble spending €2k on one transaction with Paypal (even if you are already registered with them, they set a $1,000 limit after which you effectively have to re-register to spend more; all this verification takes time).
- Bank Drafts, especially international drafts, take a long time to clear - longer than cheques. Assuming 3 days in post, another day or two before the girl lodges it, it will probably then take 3 days to clear UK, another 3 days to clear Ireland, plus both your bank and the English bank are likely to add additional time to ensure the draft is not fraudulent. As a result, funds may not actually transfer for up to 3 weeks from the date you posted the draft.
- You are acting on your brothers instructions, presumably it is his loss if things don't work out.
- As a large transaction, if there is fraud involved, it will be easier to bring charges than say, if you were done out of the price of a CD - though it will still be awkward and possibly expensive to so so.

From what you are saying, it does seem genuine enough. In fairness, from her point of view, you could easily have sent a fraudulent draft - though this is somewhat mitigated by your self-imposed delay in picking the item up. So there is a trust deficiency on both sides.

If you need more "comfort" that she is genuine, why not call her and ask her if the draft has arrived. Then ask her if she would consider posting to you (by registered post) the registration / documentation for the car. You have, after all, now paid for the car.

If she wants to wait til the funds clear (its likely she won't even be aware that funds take time to clear), explain to her that she will still possess the actual vehicle for a few more weeks, by which time the money will have cleared.

I expect it will be difficult for her to do anything with a vintage car with no documentation as regards selling it, etc. She also does not have reasonable grounds for not sending the draft to you.

Finally, I would consider clearing up with her when ownership actually passes to you. If she thinks it is already yours, and that she is just 'minding it' until you pick it up, what happens if it is damaged / stolen in the meantime? One of you should agree to insure it until it is picked up. Come to think of it, that is a good excuse for getting the documentation from her - "Now that I've paid for the car I want to insure it".

Good Luck!

Tipperarymike

the advice guys. Some pretty valid points made there. Genghis I was going to do exactly as you said, but the other day when the girl I bought the car from got the draft she phoned me pretty much straight away to say she had lodged that draft and that it would take until tomorrow, Wednesday, to clear but from what you said it will take longer than that to actually fully clear. Anyway when I talked to her on Thursday, I asked her in a roundabout way about the supporting documentation of the car. At that point I was going to ask her to send it to me, as you said it would give me some say over the car, anyway off her own bat she said she would send me the ownership documents signed over to me later this week , but that postal thing will probably mess that up.

I especially love that idea of the insurance issue, very clever and so prudent an idea that they will probably agree straight off as it takes some element of worry from them about the pick up and I didnt even have to insult them