How to securely sell on eBay

[HyHy]

I am listing one of my Piedfort Sovereign on eBay for sale and recently a guy messaged me expressing interest in buying it but asking me to hold it till Friday to complete the purchase. To me that wasn't a problem but looking at his eBay account it is created on the 30th of June and has no rating on previous purchase. Should I choose to sell it to him? If so what actions could I take to protect myself from scams (i.e report to eBay that there is nothing in the package etc.) which I remember someone in the forum has experienced it recently. Please advice me so thank you.

[breaktwister]

Don't sell to new accounts. Not an item of that value.

[Pete]

Another point to consider is that he / she might not have established a PayPal account and you may end up being paid through an e-cheque which can take about 2 weeks ( maybe not that long but certainly feels like it ) for you to receive your money. PayPal advises not to send goods until the funds are cleared but during this time you will never be sure that the buyer would not cancel. Personally I would stay clear of any new buyer. Have you considered listing on the Forum here ?

[Sovereign]

41 minutes ago, HyHy said:

I am listing one of my Piedfort Sovereign on eBay for sale and recently a guy messaged me expressing interest in buying it but asking me to hold it till Friday to complete the purchase. To me that wasn't a problem but looking at his eBay account it is created on the 30th of June and has no rating on previous purchase. Should I choose to sell it to him? If so what actions I can take to protect myself from scams (i.e report to eBay that there is nothing in the package etc.) which I remember someone in the forum has experienced in recently. Please advice me so thank you.

Don't risk it 

sell for somone 10 feedback or more! 

If he bought it .. cancel it ,, 

[sovereignsteve]

However, sometimes you will find genuine buyers/collectors who register on ebay for the first time for a specific reason. Having missed the original issue and wanting one on the secondary market for example.

Such people will generally be amenable to paying by bank transfer if you have a very good seller feedback record.

Try asking and see what they say.

Always video your packing when sending gold and try to include a shot of the weight as well. Preferably seal in a RM plastic envelope.

[augur]

From what I read from frustrated eBay sellers of high value camera equipment:

1.) don't sell to someone with less than 10 feedback, actually on a high value item (£1000+) I would raise that to 100 and check what purchases they made in the past: if they just bough 99p/c nonsense in the last two years then they were just collecting feedback to scam on high value items. 

2.) eBay and PayPal doesn't protect you as a seller very well; the main protection is offered to the seller so be sure who you want to sell to. So if they swap your piedfort for a damaged one and return it you will likely loose out!

In your particular case there are surely plenty of interested buyers. If you don't want to loose 10% to eBay and another 10% to PayPal you should consider @Pete's suggestion and sell e.g. here. Otherwise: see above 

[sixgun]

The issue as a seller is ebay will side with the buyer. 

The buyer may claim the package never arrived. The item was not as described or it was damaged.

They will recall the money somehow.

Most people on ebay are fine. Some people are crooks.

With no feedback you have no idea who or what this person is like. You may say you have got the money already but when ebay sides with the buyer you will find ebay will dip into your paypal account. You must demand and take every precaution in these cases.

Very good point from @sovereignsteve about videoing packing the item. You could sign over seals, on wrapping that was covered by sellotape. Then at the post office, you video the package - show the signatures as they were in the earlier video - show it handed over to the post office staff. i recall Backyard Bullion saying that goldsilver.be video all their packing - it makes sense when valuable items are involved. When someone complains on ebay and the buyer has paid, ebay almost treats you like a criminal.

It is best special delivery. It is expensive but you can show the item going into the Special delivery bag and handed over. i have only once had an item go missing - this was very recently when an item was sent to me by a forum member. It may still come but i doubt it. It was not special delivery and it is at times like this you wish you have paid the extra. This protects the sender and the receiver. If the buyer says the item never arrived what are you going to do? Items are often not signed for even though they should be. They can say i never got the package, that is not my signature. Are you sure it ever came to my address? We know packages don't always arrive at the correct address.

A bank transfer means giving out bank details -- paypal is pretty instant as is bank transfer with most UK banks. 

You are the seller - you make whatever demands you want. If the buyer does not like it then they go somewhere else. If they are genuine they will understand if they don't then they can sling their hook.

[KevjustKev]

 If the person is near enough to you, you can ask for pick up in person. Yet make sure this is not from your home and in public, best place for me has been my local pub.