recommend steps to safe transaction canada to london england

zmame
Contributor
Contributor

I'm looking to sell a expensive item to someone in london, england. The price of the item is $4000 CAN plus shipping and handling. What steps should i take to make sure the transaction is safe for both parties?

 

I have herd of scams of people offering to pay what the item is worth than putting in a claim to get their money back after the item is recived.

 

what steps should i take to make sure we both are covered and im not out the money down the road?

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11 REPLIES 11

DPCreations
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Delivery with tracking and signature confirmation BY THE ADDRESSEE is easy.

After that there are serious risks and depend on the trust, honesty, and integrity of each party.  That's the difficult and unpredicatable part.

You do not have protection for not as described.

So, make sure you really know the buyer; phone calls can be important here.

What are you selling and how does the buyer know you are honest?

How do you know the buyer won't find a way to dispute and win?

I suspect you are selling a high risk item which makes it n invitation to a scam.

 

What are you selling?

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zmame
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I collect classic computers i have a extreamly rare computer in my collection that i posted on atari age forms for trade/sale.

 

It's a Atari ATW 800 computer if it matters, not a item most people would know is worth a lot of money at first glance.

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DPCreations
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This would be EXTREMELY risky.  It seems like it would be quite easy for the buyer to dispute the value upon receipt.

How can one accurately determine the value without looking at the item?  Why would someone pay that much?  A buyer would only buy such an item if the buyer thought a profit could be made by re-selling at a higher price.

And then there are the UK customs and VAT fees where the buyer could refuse to pay and the item would be returned or destroyed.

 

My guess is that you will be making a huge profit on this.  Suggest you deliver it yourself and then enjoy a little vacation in England.  Make it a cash sale for your own security.

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zmame
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Not really making any money on the item actually just about even for what i paid for it. I guess ebay would be a option but they gouge you on fees.

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DPCreations
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I don't think it matters much where you sell it; the risk will still be there.

Best way to minimize the risk is sell it in person for cash.

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Whac-A-Mole
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there will always be risk in business,the worst is you lose the computer and shipping.

You can use a more reliable shipper like DHL,insure the item and hope the buyer does not file item not as described.

Not sure if a scammer wants to scam an ATARI computer,unless he has a market to move it.

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DPCreations
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@Whac-A-Mole

I was curious about the Atari collectible market so I did a little Google search and was surprised at the prices into the 10's of thouusands even for rare game cartridiges.  That makes me think there is a hugh risk for scams.  If a buyer can get a rare collectible free by using ingeneous disputes, the scammer can re-sell for a profit, even with a local cash sale.

Collectibles only have value when the buyer thinks there is a market to re-sell at a higher price.

So think this particular sale would be very high risk.  Based on OP comments, it was purchased for a high price already so the seller will be making very llittle profit.

Even for cash, getting rid of a collectble profitably can be a poblem when there are not a lot of buyers for the specific item.

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Whac-A-Mole
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@DPCreations wrote:

@Whac-A-Mole

I was curious about the Atari collectible market so I did a little Google search and was surprised at the prices into the 10's of thouusands even for rare game cartridiges.  That makes me think there is a hugh risk for scams.  If a buyer can get a rare collectible free by using ingeneous disputes, the scammer can re-sell for a profit, even with a local cash sale.

Collectibles only have value when the buyer thinks there is a market to re-sell at a higher price.

So think this particular sale would be very high risk.  Based on OP comments, it was purchased for a high price already so the seller will be making very llittle profit.

Even for cash, getting rid of a collectble profitably can be a poblem when there are not a lot of buyers for the specific item.


if so,then 90% of the items sold are at risk ,even a roll of toilet paper can be sold at a profit if your cost is zero.

The traditional items whic has high risk wouldbe something which can be sold quickly to raise cash,hence gold and now iphones.

if this is the mind set of the seller,then he is better off sitting on his Atari or grandma heirloom or sell it for cash or non credit card payment

two sayings-

no risk no reward.

dont sell anything you cant afford to lose

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DPCreations
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Frequent Advisor

15 years ago it was possible to sell collectibles on eBay and have low risk; I've done that back then.  Risks are higher now as more people are selling fakes and scams; buyers also have learned how to scam better than 15 years ago.  I've sold rare collectible playing cards, used, when 2 collectors bid up; it was very successful.  It would be different now.

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