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heyloo

macrumors 6502
Nov 2, 2006
268
1
NY
Tagging to this thread for advice.

For domestic sales, is it advisable to use UPS over USPS? I plan on actually going to the post office/UPS Store to ship the item, just to make sure, but USPS just is cheaper to ship and faster.

Say the same situation happens for domestic sales (knocks on wood) and the buyer claims he didn't receive the item in the box. If I sent via USPS Priority (or Express) with signature confirmation, would Paypal still side with the buyer? I know a lot of factors go into the claim process but I just want to justify paying much more for UPS that also, mind you, that Ground is much slower than Priority Mail in many cases...

Thanks!
 

jekyoo

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
343
1
Chicago
This is why I sell all my valuables via craigslist. No middle man at all and I don't get screwed. As long as you meet at a secure location, you're good. I even invested in a counterfeit pen. So far, I haven't had no issues with craigslist at all.
 

rosemary1

macrumors regular
Aug 9, 2011
226
4
Even though my auction for my 3GS said no international shipping, someone in Brazil bid/won. I cancelled the transaction and today sold it via Craigslist.
 

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,497
1,322
Sunny Florida
This is why I sell all my valuables via craigslist. No middle man at all and I don't get screwed. As long as you meet at a secure location, you're good. I even invested in a counterfeit pen. So far, I haven't had no issues with craigslist at all.

Sorry, but the chances of meeting a loon far outweigh the cost of a used iPhone. Too many Craiglist horror stories, like this past week the guys who got killed responding to a Craiglist job offer.

I don't think so.
 

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
I sold my old HP Envy laptop for $900 to a guy in Taiwan. Even marked the item as "gift" on the customs form per his request. No issues, heh.

Bad luck is bad luck! I don't think it's fair to assume that international buyers are riskier than domestic ones.
 

rosemary1

macrumors regular
Aug 9, 2011
226
4
Sorry, but the chances of meeting a loon far outweigh the cost of a used iPhone. Too many Craiglist horror stories, like this past week the guys who got killed responding to a Craiglist job offer.

I don't think so.

The story you're referring to happened in a back woods area. That should have been the first red flag for any job posting. That's why you have to be smart and only meet in public places.
 

Hey Jude

macrumors 6502a
May 9, 2008
708
168
Florida
The story you're referring to happened in a back woods area. That should have been the first red flag for any job posting. That's why you have to be smart and only meet in public places.

I met a seller in a safe, commercial area and the transaction soured over price/condition of item vis-a-vis his description. The seller was steamed, but luckily I brought along the well muscled husband of a co-worker (would have brought my LEO brother, but I was at work), so a confrontation was averted.

I agree with zboater: a transaction can go badly when face-to-face in ways that online transactions cannot. I would gladly take a $400 loss any day of the week versus compromising my personal safety.
 

French

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2011
198
0
I had my first experience with selling an iPhone via Craigslist and it went perfectly. I was feeling pretty confident overall about Craiglist til I saw Hey Jude's post. I'm a woman so my safety was a big concern, which is why I would only agree to meet at a Verizon store. And a very busy one at that. It was a win-win as he was able to check on the spot that it was a clean ESN and the transaction went just fine. I did advertise it a little lower than what I probably could have gotten for it but I did that to sell it quickly and figured I'd have more serious offers to choose from. I was right.

I've sold other phones on eBay but never out of the country and all transactions have been perfect. However I haven't sold one in over a year and they were never iPhones, which tend to get top dollar.

OP: So sorry for your situation. Because of my past positive experiences I probably would have done what you did, but I will admit that I chose to sell my iPhone 4 on Craigslist because of some horror stories I've read right here.

I hope it works out in your favor.

Question: Can the OP file a theft report with the police if the recipient is claiming they received an empty box? Combined with the weight of the shipment, assuming they can get that, it seems somehow they should be able to get their money.
 

ericrwalker

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2008
2,812
4
Albany, NY
You got the guys address, I say buy a plane ticket go over there and kick his ass. Yeah it's going to cost you money, but it should bring you satisfaction. You might even get the chance to steal your phone back, maybe even some other cool gadgets.
 

spin360

macrumors member
Feb 23, 2009
78
0
Tagging to this thread for advice.

For domestic sales, is it advisable to use UPS over USPS? I plan on actually going to the post office/UPS Store to ship the item, just to make sure, but USPS just is cheaper to ship and faster.

Say the same situation happens for domestic sales (knocks on wood) and the buyer claims he didn't receive the item in the box. If I sent via USPS Priority (or Express) with signature confirmation, would Paypal still side with the buyer? I know a lot of factors go into the claim process but I just want to justify paying much more for UPS that also, mind you, that Ground is much slower than Priority Mail in many cases...

Thanks!

I don't see any difference in going with either carrier in that situation. I always send USPS Priority with delivery confirmation and insurance if necessary. Never had that sort of problem though (knock on wood). As a previous poster mentioned, as long as the weight of the package matches up (on your receipt from USPS), you should be okay.
 

FreakinEurekan

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,552
2,610
Okay, so I recently sold my old iPhone on eBay to some dude in Russia... I put insurance on the package just in case. (signature confirmation was not an available option for overseas)... I'm scared that I'm going to be out of pretty much 400 bucks. I've heard that eBay ALWAYS sides with the buyer.

Ebay/PayPal almost always gives the buyer benefit of the doubt.

If you properly insured the package, you should be able to make an insurance claim. After all, that's what insurance is for. I would suggest you pursue this avenue and not waste your time on eBay/PayPal appeals.

Good luck!
 

bobright

macrumors 601
Jun 29, 2010
4,813
33
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

OP- so what has happened any update?
 

vonWachtstain

macrumors regular
Nov 20, 2011
166
1
You got the guys address, I say buy a plane ticket go over there and kick his ass. Yeah it's going to cost you money, but it should bring you satisfaction. You might even get the chance to steal your phone back, maybe even some other cool gadgets.

I know you are just joking but if you are not: its likely address he gave OP isn't his real address. When I pretend I believe Nigerians and give them fake PayPal address I always get "real paypal confirmation assuring me 100% that buyer is confirmed." The address is always some shopping center. One of the examples I got this past Thursday. I am not removing scammers email address maybe some of you will want to bait him



Hello XXXXXX@gmail.com,

You have an instant payment of $520.00 USD from Ann Duran (ann.duran0101@gmail.com)
You are required to ship out the item and get back to us with the tracking number.


Payment Sent (Unique Transaction ID #8674588674337639X)

Original Transaction

Date Type Status Details Amount
Nov 17, 2011 XXXXXX@gmail.com Pending - $520.00 USD

Related Transactions

Date Type Status Details Amount
Nov 17, 2011 Charge Form Credit Card Complete Details -$520.00 USD


Funding Type: Credit Card

Funding Source:$3,000.00 USD - Visa Card XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-1014

This transaction will appear on your bill as "PAYPAL".

You can report a transaction problem in the Resolution Center within 45 days of this payment.Have a problem with this transaction?

Merchant:
XXXXXX@gmail.com,
Note to seller
You have to provide to us the shipment tracking number so that your funds can reflect in your account as soon as possible.
Shipping address - confirmed
Name: Rotimi Johnson
Address:Block 95 Flat 5 Jakande Estate.
Isolo
Lagos,
Nigeria
23401

Shipping details
USPS Post Office
REGISTERED MAIL

Description Unit price Qty Amount
Goods
Fee Amount

Total
$520.00 USD
$00.00 USD


1
$520.00 USD
$00.00 USD

$520.00USD





















Issues with this transaction?
You have 2 days from the date of the transaction to open a dispute in the Security Center

IMPORTANT NOTE: This PayPal® payment has been deducted from the buyer's account and has been "APPROVED" but will not be credited to your account until the shipment reference/tracking number is sent to us for verification so as to secure both the buyer and the seller.Below are the necessary information requested before your account will be credited.Send tracking number to us or email us through this mail and our Customer security service center will attend to you. As soon as you send us the shipment's tracking number to us for security purposes and the safety of the buyer and the seller,the money will be credited to your Account.

**PLEASE NOTE**
Once item has been shipped and the tracking number sent to us,
You will receive a "CONFIRMATION EMAIL" from PayPal® Team informing you that the Fund has been credited to your Account.Thanks for using PayPal .
You are require to ship out the item and get back to us with the tracking number or custom form number.


Learn More
PayPal
 

ansabakhan

macrumors 65816
Mar 3, 2010
1,210
0
I put insurance on the package just in case


to OP this can not be true as any thing over $100 insured needs signature confirmation. what is the tracking number on your item
 

AttilaTheHun

macrumors 65816
Feb 18, 2010
1,229
201
USA
In a previous job when I ran an online store, I had a customer file a charge back with me saying he never received the product, the box was empty. I called UPS and asked to see what the weight they scanned in was... they gave me a weight that was a lot more than an empty box and I knew I was covered.....

Long story short, call the shipper, ask what weight the package was scanned in at. Im pretty sure they have to record that somewhere along the lines...

you forget you are dealing with russia,
it can be stolen in any stage
even the the last driver, and thats after the weight, and your buyer is out of the iphone,
you will never know,
just forget about it, it cost you $400 lesson to find out that 90% of the people are bad,
 

serega

macrumors regular
Nov 19, 2007
187
6
Seattle
You got the guys address, I say buy a plane ticket go over there and kick his ass. Yeah it's going to cost you money, but it should bring you satisfaction. You might even get the chance to steal your phone back, maybe even some other cool gadgets.

LOL What's life if you have a chance to get your phone back
 

treyjustice

macrumors 65816
Jun 14, 2009
1,252
141
TX
Unfortunately, I think I'm probably going to have to learn a lesson. I should have never given anyone benefit of the doubt. Never shipping overseas again.
I advise anyone who sells their phone on eBay (like our 4S's next year) ship only in the US with delivery confirmation and insurance so you are TOTALLY covered..


But I really think apple should implement a way to track and shut down phones that have been compromised by disabling the IMEI through iTunes..
I mean, It's not like it's NOT possible..[COLOR="]

Yeah but then you could call and turn off even if it wasn't a stolen phone...
 

wordoflife

macrumors 604
Jul 6, 2009
7,564
37
Last year I shipped an iPhone to FL, with signature confirmation, insurance. I also took a video of the entire process (me packing into box and dropping it off at post office)

Buyer claimed nothing was in box.

eBay sided with me as I had videos, signature and insurance.

Videos of what, exactly?
 

bobright

macrumors 601
Jun 29, 2010
4,813
33
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

wordoflife said:
Last year I shipped an iPhone to FL, with signature confirmation, insurance. I also took a video of the entire process (me packing into box and dropping it off at post office)

Buyer claimed nothing was in box.

eBay sided with me as I had videos, signature and insurance.

Videos of what, exactly?

He says in his post READ.....
 

HKUSP.40

macrumors regular
Nov 2, 2011
203
0
Shouldn't the weight of the box be documented somewhere on your receipt. That should show some proof that there wasn't just "NOTHING" in the box as he claims right?
 

doodads

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2007
312
22
East BF, TN
Question: Can the OP file a theft report with the police if the recipient is claiming they received an empty box? Combined with the weight of the shipment, assuming they can get that, it seems somehow they should be able to get their money.

He probably can, but it won't do any good because the "thief" lives in Russia. And I can assure you that Russian police would have absolutely no interest in this matter.
 

Megalobyte

macrumors 6502a
Dec 30, 2007
690
119
Florida
This is why I sell all my valuables via craigslist. No middle man at all and I don't get screwed. As long as you meet at a secure location, you're good. I even invested in a counterfeit pen. So far, I haven't had no issues with craigslist at all.

How did you discover your pen was fake? :D
 

gdjsnyder

macrumors 6502a
Apr 19, 2010
670
235
Swoyersville, PA
A few months back I sold my iPad 2 on eBay when I purchased a 3G version. I had forgotten to check the box to ship only in countries I ship to and a guy from Russia won the auction. He e-mailed me and I told him of the mistake, and how I had heard negative stories about shipping to Russia. He had over 400 positive feedback, so I didn't cancel the transaction. He sent me a very long e-mail of everything I needed to do though. Basically you have to secure the package as tightly as possible in a box. Bubble wrap and bubbles in the box to make sure even if the box was slightly punctured nothing could be removed. Then you tape the entire outside of the box so that if the tape would be broken you would know the box was tampered with. And on the customs claim form you don't put the name of the item (in my case iPad) you put a general term, such as "mobile communication". He received the package in a week and I was left positive feedback.

I'm glad he had helped me through the transaction and everything worked out. I would avoid shipping overseas, I think in my case I got extremely lucky.
 
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