Don't get burned

doctorcilantro
doctorcilantro Posts: 2,028
edited April 2010 in The Clubhouse
Not sure if this really needs comments, but just thought I'd mention it.

I'm selling something online where I have a lot of feedback. Someone emails me about it with 0 feedback. They inquire about the warranty and I dig around and turn up a receipt from the guy I bought it from, after emailing the seller, and this guy can use the receipt to honor 2 months more warranty, then buy 1 or 2 year extended warranty. I didn't mind doing all this, and was pretty impressed by the manufacturer as I had never even considered they had such a progressive policy: anyone with a valid receipt or proof of purchase has the warranty honored.

He won't however, use Paypal, and asked about cashier's check COD which I have never done, nor really desire to do. Heard about Fedex users getting burned.

I lowered my price to accommodate the fact that he will probably need a warranty extension and a calibration DVD. For not much more he could buy a new unit, well about $200 more total shipped, which isn't peanuts.

We spoke on the phone and he is very friendly but I cordially stood my ground on a more reliable payment method pointing to LOTS of my feedback on a few audio/auction sites. Not sure why he is so reluctant to just send a check, and he made the point that he didn't want his wife to be pissed if he got burned etc. He's seen my feedback....

anyway, ever since getting burned on some tubes last year, I don't really trust people that even sound sane on the phone; hate to say it but get burned will do it to you.

On the other hand, I had someone mail me a $900 check for an amp and he was still inquiring about the age and psu on the amp after sending the check.

DC
For Sale 2019:
Tortuga Audio LDR passive preamp
Decware EL34 amp
Allnic H-1201 phono
Zu Union Cubes
iFi iDSD DAC, .5m UBS, iFI Gemini cable, Oyaide Tunami XLR 1.3M, Oyaide Tunami Speaker wire 1.5M, Beyerdynamic DT1990 headphones, PS Audio P3 power center

Post edited by doctorcilantro on
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Comments

  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited March 2010
    don't trust him.. get your money first, then think about shipping the item.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • bruss
    bruss Posts: 1,039
    edited March 2010
    stand your ground. do what you feel comfortable with. If he doesnt like it tell him to pound sand
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  • petrym
    petrym Posts: 1,912
    edited March 2010
    ^ -- Ed Zachary - There are lots of phony money orders and cashier's checks out there, and this guy avoiding PP (while PP has it's own issues) is a red flag to me.
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  • doctorcilantro
    doctorcilantro Posts: 2,028
    edited March 2010
    Yeah, I mentioned we could try to find some other method but not sure what that would be.

    I mentioned to him that a check is probably not any safer than just wiring me the money; I said this when he sounded like if I get it out to him asap it would be better. So my point was if he wired me the money, I would be able to ship instantly and send him tracking. A check leave a little paper trail but as far as I know, your bank isn't able to do anything like your Credit Card company can.
    For Sale 2019:
    Tortuga Audio LDR passive preamp
    Decware EL34 amp
    Allnic H-1201 phono
    Zu Union Cubes
    iFi iDSD DAC, .5m UBS, iFI Gemini cable, Oyaide Tunami XLR 1.3M, Oyaide Tunami Speaker wire 1.5M, Beyerdynamic DT1990 headphones, PS Audio P3 power center

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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited March 2010
    seems like you have tried to accomidate this guy up and down, left and right.. and he's holding out for some odd reason.

    I suggest you give him one more chance to get you the funds in the way you choose... then if he still hems and haws.. tell him the deal if off and look for another buyer.

    good luck.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,470
    edited March 2010
    You could try an escrow service like Escrow.com. I've used them in the past, worked perfectly.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • mikedup2003
    mikedup2003 Posts: 42
    edited March 2010
    When selling things online I only accept two forms of payment. Paypal and Postal money order. Like the old saying goes "fool me once......
    Polk monitor 70's- front
    Polk cs2- center
    Polk monitor 30's- surround
    SVS PB-13 ULTRA- SUB :D
    Pioneer ELITE vsx-21- AV reciever
    Pannisonic G10 50" - Display
    PS3- Does everything :)
    Monoprice for all my wires
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,164
    edited March 2010
    doctorcilantro wrote: »
    Yeah, I mentioned we could try to find some other method but not sure what that would be.

    I mentioned to him that a check is probably not any safer than just wiring me the money; I said this when he sounded like if I get it out to him asap it would be better. So my point was if he wired me the money, I would be able to ship instantly and send him tracking. A check leave a little paper trail but as far as I know, your bank isn't able to do anything like your Credit Card company can.

    There are escrow services but they cost extra, but seem to be effective and reliable.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • huggies
    huggies Posts: 149
    edited March 2010
    Question for the escrow guys.... How much does it typically cost to use an escrow service for something like this? Is it a percentage of the sell price?
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  • Polkersince85
    Polkersince85 Posts: 2,883
    edited March 2010
    Here's a little warning about getting him to wire the money. If it is a bank transfer, you would have to give him your account and bank routing number. If he is a crook, he could do a lot with that information. And not good stuff. Postal Money order or cash is the way to go.
    >
    >
    >This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.<
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  • doctorcilantro
    doctorcilantro Posts: 2,028
    edited April 2010
    I have called my bank about wiring money into my account, which I did with one Audiogoner once. I'm pretty sure the bank (USAA) said it was safe to give out the info.

    However, I now have a scanned copy of cashier's check in my inbox and I will of course cash it into my account; a nice feature is that using USAA and iPhone app, the check clears instantly as cash to my account.
    For Sale 2019:
    Tortuga Audio LDR passive preamp
    Decware EL34 amp
    Allnic H-1201 phono
    Zu Union Cubes
    iFi iDSD DAC, .5m UBS, iFI Gemini cable, Oyaide Tunami XLR 1.3M, Oyaide Tunami Speaker wire 1.5M, Beyerdynamic DT1990 headphones, PS Audio P3 power center

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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,164
    edited April 2010
    huggies wrote: »
    Question for the escrow guys.... How much does it typically cost to use an escrow service for something like this? Is it a percentage of the sell price?

    Did you bother to go the site F1 posted? If you did you'd see. I provided a link. Not trying to be an a**, but with the internet it's really simple to find this info out.

    https://www.escrow.com/support/calculator.asp

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • doctorcilantro
    doctorcilantro Posts: 2,028
    edited April 2010
    Here's something a tad strange. Yesterday, when we spoke he said he only had a few feedbacks on eBay, and he has none on Audiogon (where I sold the item). Out of sheer curiosity I plugged his VERY unique Audiogon user ID into eBay search and the same name has about 256+ 100% feedback, BUT it's as of 2003. Nothing more since then. Maybe he declared bankruptcy or something?

    Weird, I might even have shipped if I could have confirmed that was his eBay account via emailing.

    DC
    For Sale 2019:
    Tortuga Audio LDR passive preamp
    Decware EL34 amp
    Allnic H-1201 phono
    Zu Union Cubes
    iFi iDSD DAC, .5m UBS, iFI Gemini cable, Oyaide Tunami XLR 1.3M, Oyaide Tunami Speaker wire 1.5M, Beyerdynamic DT1990 headphones, PS Audio P3 power center

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  • doctorcilantro
    doctorcilantro Posts: 2,028
    edited April 2010
    I think F1's post jumped up there after he posted; not sure but I remember seeing the escrow question prior to F1's post.

    I get notifications but not for every post it seems, so sometimes I am jumped into deeper into thew thread automatically. For example, I'm just now noticing a lot of posts I haven't seen. I think what happens is if 5 people post in relatively quick succession, the email notification is sent for the most recent which means you can miss some of the others when you are defaulted to a location further into the thread.

    Anyway, thanks for all the help all.
    For Sale 2019:
    Tortuga Audio LDR passive preamp
    Decware EL34 amp
    Allnic H-1201 phono
    Zu Union Cubes
    iFi iDSD DAC, .5m UBS, iFI Gemini cable, Oyaide Tunami XLR 1.3M, Oyaide Tunami Speaker wire 1.5M, Beyerdynamic DT1990 headphones, PS Audio P3 power center

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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited April 2010
    doctorcilantro wrote: »
    I think F1's post jumped up there after he posted; not sure but I remember seeing the escrow question prior to F1's post.

    I get notifications but not for every post it seems, so sometimes I am jumped into deeper into thew thread automatically. For example, I'm just now noticing a lot of posts I haven't seen. I think what happens is if 5 people post in relatively quick succession, the email notification is sent for the most recent which means you can miss some of the others when you are defaulted to a location further into the thread.

    Anyway, thanks for all the help all.

    Supposedly if you are sent an email notification of a reply to a thread you are subscribed to, that is the last notification you will get from that thread until you visit the forum and read the post. That is what is written in all the email notifications I get from this forum but I've found it not to be the case. I, too, have missed posts by just clicking on the link in an email notification. Not sure if it is a glitch or what.
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  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited April 2010
    I still get burned....

    however I will gladly pay you next Tuesday !
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