Ebay Payment methods

AndyGwis

Hey Guys,

I won the bid for a nice piece of audio equipment yesterday on ebay. Seller seemed to be on the up and up and first, but then I wasn't able to get ahold of him on the phone number he originally gave me, he kept insisting I pay through wire transfer, etc.

So, now pretty sure I am being scammed, but I got the item at such a good price that I'm willing to at least see it through if a "safe" payment method can be worked out.

Any ideas / insight? I know that Paypal and credit card seem to be the only two "safe" ways for buyers to purchase items and have some recourse / refund if the item doesn't show.

The item is in Miami, Florida, so I'm trying to see if pickup for cash (maybe from a friendly, local polkie) might be a good solution for the seller.

I'm obviously not going to send the guy a bank transfer, money order, cashier check, or personal check given some of the inconsistencies so far. His ebay account does not have any recent feedback (also shady) but does have good feedback from 2+ years ago.

Thoughts?

AndyGwis

Oh, and if local polkie pickup does end up being a good option, I could mail that person a Cashier's check made out to the seller and include a couple hundred bucks to the Polkie to cover shipping cost to me and the time/hassle involved in such an endeavor.

nspindel

I buy nothing that I can't pay with paypal. Just too many scams out there. And I only sell to people with a paypal account. If you don't have an account you can't bid on my auctions. If you can't find someone to pick it up local for you, then back away. There will be more good deals, ebay's not going away any time soon.

WilliamM2

Wire transfers are not allowed on Ebay, I'd report him, and back away from it.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html


Accepted Payments Policy

Our Accepted Payments policy helps ensure that buyers and sellers on eBay are offered safe, convenient payment options.
For most categories, sellers need to offer one or more of the following electronic payment choices:

PayPal

ProPay

Moneybookers

Paymate

Credit card or debit card processed through the seller's Internet merchant account

Sellers may also offer to accept payment upon pickup.

Payment methods not allowed on eBay:

For most categories, sellers can't ask buyers to:

Send cash through the mail

Send cash or money orders through instant, point-to-point cash transfer services (that are not banks) such as Western Union or MoneyGram

Mail checks or money orders (except for items in categories specifically permitted below)

Pay through bank-to-bank transfers (except for items in categories specifically permitted below)

Pay by "topping off" a seller's prepaid credit or debit card

Pay using online or other payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy

AndyGwis

Sounds prudent. If seller changes his mind on Paypal and/or accepts credit card, I'll probably give it a shot.

If seller agrees to meet up with a local person for the deal, that would probably be a very good option as well.

I'll walk away from any other suggested options that are bound to come up.