that's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, especially for such an expensive item.
And their response to you would make me feel there's something shady about the deal as well.
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Just "won" this on Ebay....How do I keep this transaction safe?
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that's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, especially for such an expensive item.
And their response to you would make me feel there's something shady about the deal as well.
Glad you decided against completing the transaction, sounds to me like the MBP was either stolen or imaginary.
looks like a screaming machine. prob some poor college kid had it stolen from his dorm.
last time i sold a laptop the guy that bought it paid with a credit card. because of this and the fact it was over a certain amount of money the cash was deposited but "withheld". which means he had the money now you have the money but you cant touch it. so then the money will not be released until either 30 days has passed (even if they recieve the item a day later) or they leave positive feedback. Also any time during this period they can open a dispute.
its great for the buyer, but blows serious chunks for the seller. my buyer left no feedback and it took a stupid amount of time for the cash to be "released" to me.
so if you can use your moms or dads credit card and pay them or whatever. to protect youself. because givin what I had to go through just to get my money released I would say its the safest way.
last time i sold a laptop the guy that bought it paid with a credit card. because of this and the fact it was over a certain amount of money the cash was deposited but "withheld". which means he had the money now you have the money but you cant touch it. so then the money will not be released until either 30 days has passed (even if they recieve the item a day later) or they leave positive feedback. Also any time during this period they can open a dispute.
its great for the buyer, but blows serious chunks for the seller. my buyer left no feedback and it took a stupid amount of time for the cash to be "released" to me.
so if you can use your moms or dads credit card and pay them or whatever. to protect youself. because givin what I had to go through just to get my money released I would say its the safest way.
Don't mean to dispute that you can't talk to a live person on PayPal, but you can. I had an issue with a seller and after numerous emails back and forth, I called them. I had to wait a long time, but finally spoke to someone. A few days later, my problem was solved and I received a full refund.
No, I said you did the right thing. I didn't say you were being unreasonable at all.
I was just saying a seller might find it odd for a buyer to ask all these questions after the auction is over. OTOH in my case I normally provide all details, including detailed photos. In your case it was different, there were no photos or anything besides a generic listing. But like I said- I think you did the right thing, and that you are better off safe than sorry here.
Sorry for the confusion-
same thing happened to me. I sold a sony ericsson W580i when i bought my iPhone, and since it was over $80 or something (there is a minimum amount), they withheld my funds for a week! I had to email the buyer and tell them to leave positive feedback. I guess it is normal nowadays. I have 100% feedback (positive) with over 50 transactions, proably 15-20 being the seller.
