Non-eBay Long-Distance Buying: Secure...

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Author Message   Chucke99 Username: Chucke99 Registered: 2-2007 Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 10:46 am:    If you find a guitar you want to buy on a site other than eBay (which has, for better or worse, a "secure" way of doing a transaction long distance) how do you recommend setting up the transaction to ensure that both parties are protected? I guess it could be for people who buy and sell between ICW members (though there is a higher level of trust here because most of the buyers/sellers are regulars with past dealings with other ICW members) but what about, for example, buying something off of the GearPage, or even CraigsList, if you're not going to go in person to check out and pick up the guitar? Are there online escrow services someone could use? I guess I'm just looking for any best practices out there, just in case I find myself needing to set something up. -Chuck   Lofapco Username: Lofapco Registered: 7-2007 Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 1:39 pm:    I have seen a fair amount of people on Craigslist that still use Paypal.   Peterdryan Username: Peterdryan Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 5:20 pm:    Chuck - There are online escrow services and a lot of them are scams. eBay recommends one escrow service (Escrow.com). I've never actually used it myself but, when I bought the Destroyer off The Gear Page, I checked it out and it looked pretty straight forward. There is no way I'd touch anything on CraigsList unless the other person agreed to use an escrow service (or I could drive there and pick it up in person). - Pete   Chucke99 Username: Chucke99 Registered: 2-2007 Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 7:01 pm:    Did you buy the currently listed Destroyer off The Gear Page, or another? Thanks for the link to Escrow.com. That looks legitimate. Is PayPal a form of escrow service? I should know, probably, because I use them all the time, but for non-eBay auctions/purchases, do they extend the same buyer/seller protections? -Chuck   Peterdryan Username: Peterdryan Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 9:09 pm:    Chuck - Not the current Destroyer...although I am on the waiting list if the first guy blows it. I bought a 75 off a guy on TGP oh, I don't know, 3-4 months ago? I don't really remember. No, PayPal is not an escrow service. I use PayPal but haven't really dug into it. The blurb I always see is that they provide up to $2000 of coverage *if* you pay using your verified bank account and not with a credit card. With an escrow service like Escrow.com, both buyer and seller have to register for accounts. The buyer sends the payment to the escrow service which notifies the seller to go ahead and ship the item to the buyer. Once the buyer receives the item, they inspect it, and either keep it or "do something". If the buyer decides the item is OK and keeps it, they notify the escrow service to go ahead and release payment to the seller. The part I'm not sure about is what happens if the buyer decides the item isn't as descibed or was damaged in shipping. I *think* they complain to the escrow service, return the item to the seller, and the seller notifies the escrow service to return payment to the buyer once the seller receives the returned item. In any event, all of this requires fees of one flavor or another and they can run about $100+ USD if I remember correctly. One of the things you have to do up front is to decide who is going to pay for the fees: the buyer or the seller. Yeah, I'm paranoid, too. It's really six of one and a half dozen of the other. If someone tries to screw you, you're going to have to go through a ton of paperwork and heartache regardless of who you file the claim through, be it PayPal, an escrow service, your bank, or the credit card company. Just cross your fingers and pray you get a decent person. - Pete

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