Hey,
I'm having an issue right now. I am looking at buying some factory take off rims from an FJ cruiser (no rubber) from a guy in New Mexico. I am in canada & don't really have all that much ambition to go & pick them up.

If I use paypal ( for about 300 bucks ) what insurance to I have that I will get the product & he will get his money. From what I read, paypal is good for transfering the money, but I havent found any type of insurances that the product will be delivered before he gets his money.

I have never purchased anything over the internet except tires from tirerack.com.
am I being paranoid, or what. Please, could you let me know what my options are.

Thanks,

Matt

 

You really don't have any insurance when using PayPal. They claim that you do, but the reality is that you do not. Unfortunately, there is always risk involved in internet sales for either the buyer or the seller. If you pay before he ships, the risk is yours. If he ships before you pay, the risk is his. The only sure way to alleviate that risk is to meet in person and exchange money for goods, but that isn't always convenient.

If you can't get a decent comfort level about the guy's credibility from talking to him, or if you sense that he might take your money and run, then you're better off looking elsewhere for your rims.

With that being said, even though there are certainly scams out there I think that the majority of people out there are honest and will send you the product as soon as they receive the payment. I've bought a lot of stuff using PayPal and I've never been burned, but I'm also very selective about who I do business with.

 

So, what you are saying is that you give your money, in cash form to Joe Schmo, & after he gets your cash, he is then obligated to ship....

sounds fishy to me....there must be some sort of recourse if the package doesn't show up....please tell me this isn't the way ebay works?

 

So, what you are saying is that you give your money, in cash form to Joe Schmo, & after he gets your cash, he is then obligated to ship....

sounds fishy to me....there must be some sort of recourse if the package doesn't show up....please tell me this isn't the way ebay works?

 

That is why it is best to use Paypal. You have a way of proving that you paid him , if in fact he does not ship or something is fishy. Are you buying off of Ebay? If so, then you are protected. If not, I would be very careful if you are just buying off of an individual.

 

Yup. that's how it works. I have made many purchases on e-bay and on boards like these. 99% of the time all goes well. I did get screwed on a new turbo for my truck by some scumbag named Larry Doran in Chillicothe, Il. He took me for $700 cash and I never got anything in return. He even tried to get more money out of me by saying the bank wouldn't take my cashiers check but I was on to him by then. EBay paid me $200 back because he screwed a whole bunch of people all at one time and he had a 100% positive rating up to that point.
Anyways, if you don't feel good about the transaction then don't do it but no matter who you buy from, new or used, they want your money in hand before they ship anything....

 

If it's a bigger purchase, I pay with a credit card through Paypal. Then I have a kind of double layer of protection. If I can't get satisfaction with Paypal, I can always file a fraud claim with my card co.

 

Ya use your credit card that way if it falls apart you get all of your money back from the cc. Paypal gets stuck with the problem. I have been through this and I got all my money back. Paypal emailed me and was upset I did not go through them. Go through Paypal and they will not give you all your money back.
Oh ya your cc will give you a better rate on the exchange.

 

I have bought a lot of things off of ebay recently using paypal and had only one problem with a guy who didnt ship the tools I bought from him after I paid for them. If you are looking at these on ebay it usually says something about how much paypal protects you sometimes its like $200 and sometimes its like $2000, depending on what the number is, that is the most $ paypal will give you back if it falls through. I had to file a paypal claim against the guy I dealt with and paypal refunded my money after the realized I was telling the truth and he wasnt. If it is on ebay and the guy has lots of positive feedback, like a couple hundred or even a few thousand you should be fine, because some people make a living selling stuff like that and they are usually pretty good about getting them to ya. I might be a little worried though if this guy hasnt got much of an ebay history or if it is not affiliated with any web site like ebay, then you could run into a joe blow and really get taken. hope this helps ya.

 

why don't you see if there is a member here that lives in the same area. maybe you could get them to go check the wheels out and the person selling them. could give you some peace of mind.

 

Wow, didn't expect such a wealth of knowledge in your replies. THANKS.


As for what is going to happen.... This guys says he has 134 transactions on paypal. He holds a premier accn't. This dude is in Albuquerque, NM. Is there any way that I can check to see how ledgit he is?

I searched his profile in EBAY & it came out with a score of 563 & 99.3% positive. I am not really sure what the score means...but when I googled his email address, it came up on a couple different toyota forums him buying & selling parts & pieces from TOYS.
Maybe I shouln't do this, but his email address is cbaca@gkatmar.com
does someone have a better way of searching?

 

When you are on Ebay, click on the 563 and it will take you to all of his feedback. He has at least 2 negative feedback on his account. Search for the negative feedback post and you will get a "feel" for what happened in those transactions. Might have been his fault our it might have been a retaliatory feedback left because he left negative feedback for someone else. I buy and sell a lot on Ebay. My score as of last check is 211 with one negative feedback. I got that negative feedback because some scumbag won my auction and never paid. I left him negative feedback so he turned around and did it to me.

Judging from the information that you have given us, I don't think that I, personally, would feel too bad about buying from him. 563 with maybe 2 to 3 negative feedback is a pretty reputable score. I have used paypal for almost every transaction that I have ever done on Ebay so far with no problems.
I would however use my credit card (that is the only way I EVER buy anything off of the internet) so you will have that protection. The protection offered by Ebay and Paypal is basically useless. Paypal is not a financial institution and does not fall under FDIC so they can make the rules up as they go. All Paypal is, is a way to transfer monies from one individual to another. I never leave a balance with Paypal after someone pays me for an auction. They can freeze you account anytime they please with very little recourse.

In the end, you have to feel comfortable with the transaction. Good luck.


Britt

 

In other words, 99.3% of the 563 people who left him feedback were completely satisfied with their business transaction. In my mind, that's a pretty safe purchase and if the price is right then I'd feel comfortable buying from him.

Like Britt said, the few people who were not satisfied may have left negative feedback as retaliation or they may have had a bad experience due to their own stupidity.

I've bought and sold a lot of stuff through Ebay and I pretty much used PayPal every time. Each person I buy from is evaluated on a case by case basis, but generally speaking if they are 99% or higher and have been around a while then I feel comfortable buying from them.

 

thank you all for your imput.

If I were to use paypal, can I use my credit card to pay for it....then, as some were saying, I would have the credit card company back me up if something went sour?..

 

Yes use your cc to purchase through Pay pal, and as I said you get a better exchange rate.