Police Lobby is another great location. Bank is a good too and better if the bank was the buyer so you could walk up to the tellers to get the money.
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My first Swappa Experience
- Thread starter mbhforum
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I'd rather go to a police station.
My local PD has an online sales designated area so people can meet and exchange goods and money safely.
If someone plans to pull a scam or rob you 99% chances are he won't try to do that in the middle of the police with plenty of officers around
Never even crossed my mind to meet there but it’s super smart and will definitely cut the scammers to 1%
Yes, if they say no or never respond after you mention the police station then you know you saved yourself from any possible trouble
Agreed; people just suck. I hope you are able to defeat this obvious scam attempt.
It's true that Swappa isn't the real problem; PayPal is. They seem to ALWAYS side with the buyer.
I once listed an iPhone on Craigslist (local meetup, cash only). Within 10 minutes of placing the ad, I got a complicated "offer" detailing how pickup would be local, but payment (for $50 over my asking price) would be by PayPal (Scam ALERT). I didn't even reply, but I felt like telling the guy what I though of scammers.
I do continue to be impressed with Swappa's customer service which responds immediately. They sided with me, but let's see if this now falls in Paypal's lap. Here is what Swappa told the buyer:
the issue here is not with the seller not labeling this as a GSM device. You purchased an unlocked device rather than purchasing from the Sprint category. Up until recently (iPhone 6S or newer) unlocked devices have been exclusively for GSM networks and not CDMA. With the iPhone 6S and the Nexus 6 manufacturers started to include CDMA bands more often but even still only about 10% or less of unlocked devices support CDMA networks.
It is the buyers responsibility to make sure the device they are purchasing works with their network. Since the seller had this listed correctly you will need to relist the device and sell it to recoup your funds if it won't work for your carrier of choice. Let us know if you need help relisting this for sale.
the issue here is not with the seller not labeling this as a GSM device. You purchased an unlocked device rather than purchasing from the Sprint category. Up until recently (iPhone 6S or newer) unlocked devices have been exclusively for GSM networks and not CDMA. With the iPhone 6S and the Nexus 6 manufacturers started to include CDMA bands more often but even still only about 10% or less of unlocked devices support CDMA networks.
It is the buyers responsibility to make sure the device they are purchasing works with their network. Since the seller had this listed correctly you will need to relist the device and sell it to recoup your funds if it won't work for your carrier of choice. Let us know if you need help relisting this for sale.
I have used Swappa many times with good experience. Some content in this thread has me curious though. What is covered on seller protection?
On another note, I sold my iPhone 7 256gb to Gazelle when I upgraded to the 8 Plus. First they downgraded my offer stating there were scratches. I had protection on the phone from when I purchased, and thoroughly inspected before I shipped. I requested a reinspection. They downgraded it again stating it was a 32gb model. This time I called, they said they would reinspect again to confirm. 5 times over a month we went back and forth with this until a manager ended up giving me the full promised value. The end result satisfied me, but the time and aggravation has me skeptical to send anything to Gazelle again, a little too disorganized.
On another note, I sold my iPhone 7 256gb to Gazelle when I upgraded to the 8 Plus. First they downgraded my offer stating there were scratches. I had protection on the phone from when I purchased, and thoroughly inspected before I shipped. I requested a reinspection. They downgraded it again stating it was a 32gb model. This time I called, they said they would reinspect again to confirm. 5 times over a month we went back and forth with this until a manager ended up giving me the full promised value. The end result satisfied me, but the time and aggravation has me skeptical to send anything to Gazelle again, a little too disorganized.
Yes, if they say no or never respond after you mention the police station then you know you saved yourself from any possible trouble
I've done that a few times, and not with phones, just other items. They say sure, and never show up or won't show to that location. But with a phone, I usually meet at the wireless providers location and they can check the phone to make sure it's good to go.
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PayPal will only side with the buyer if the seller doesn't have the things in check that protects them. I had a Valentine 1 Radar detector I sold to a guy on eBay. They received the radar (signature confirmation), and then 30 days later, they tried to say it didn't work. All they would say to PayPal "It doesn't work". I asked them to try and plug it into another car with the cigarette adapter. Because it worked in my car fine as I removed it and shipped it. They would never respond other than It doesn't work. PayPal saw this, and noticed he wasn't working with me. I told them I would accept a return. The guy never would ship it back. So then, PayPal sided with the seller, as I never got it returned, and I got my money and the guy lost out. It was obvious he was trying to scam me, but lost.
As long as you have these things in check:
1. Proof it was working. I had video.
2. Proof of signature.
3. Proof of tracking.
4. Insurance on package.
5. Pictures of it being packed.
As long as these things are all good, you will be protected as a seller.
so Swappa has a policy that says the item just has to be as described. it should be the buyers problem. you shouldn't have to refund it.
I haven't tried Swappa yet. Does Swappa use PayPal for completing transactions?
You never know with PayPal, but they absolutely should side with you. It's definitely the buyers fault that the device does not work on their intended network. Now if you incorrectly listed the phone, that would be a different story.
The buyer just needs to suck it up and re-list the device on Swappa to recoup their money.
Don't know about Swappa, but on eBay there are jokers who "win" the sale and then don't pay. The net result is a relisting at perhaps a lower price. This happened to me in August when I listed my IP7. After cancelling that sale and going through the eBay "get out of sale procedure", I relisted the phone and sold it for about $20 less. I think the eBay commission is about 10%.
I just did a craigslisting for an iP5S, meeting my buyer at Starbucks. On ALL craigslist sales, I insist on buyers to first contact me with their telephone number.
I sold a Nexus 5 couple of years ago. Transaction went smooth. After about three weeks later customer had buyer remorse and wanted to get his money back. I then explain to him that there was no refund. I then reach out to Swappa and they were able to talk to the customer and couple of days later he remove his request for a refund. No way Paypal wouldve help me in this situation....It just sucks that Swappa does not have another option beside having us use Paypal.
ebay is a nightmare. Unless you are selling items that are valued under $100, you will get scammed at some point, it is inevitable. Paypal always sides with the buyer.
Yes, I found Swappa to be pretty good and fairly easy Basically you get a balance of higher prices like that of Craiglist but the ease of sale like that of eBay.
I have found out in last few transactions that as a seller people will automatically ask for a lower price. I think its the games people play on the site.
I agree with the OP, their support staff is top notch.
I prefer Swappa to Ebay a thousand fold and never use Ebay anymore, That place is Scammer central. Never had an issue on Swappa yet and would continue using them as needed. I also like local Craigslist, never had any issues with that either. These days tho phones are so well rounded with high tech options that it is easy and much less costly or annoying to get a good device and stick with it for the lifetime of that unit. The improvements I see year after year don't neccessarily justify making that expensive purchase. YMMV as always.
Dont budge . Someone picks it up usually if you price it properly. I have reduced my price ONCE over years and that was because it meant i would have to pay lower fee to Swappa.
Agreed, I didn't move because my phone was the lowest price for that make/model. I sold it for the listed price shortly after that
Yes, but that seems a general problem with CL people.
They always say they will meet you and more than half the time they never show up when you setup a meet.
Lots of flakes and wasted time with CL sales.
Does the buyer really have 60 days to file a dispute? That seems very excessive. Who knows what condition the phone will be returned in after a couple of months. 30 days sounds ok but, 60?
It’s actually 6 months for PayPal I believe. But the further out you go the less chance they have of PayPal siding with them.
Totally agree. Never had so many problems selling my 6+ and 5c as I did with EBay. Between buying and not paying, returning for unreasonable problems etc. finally sold my 6+ on EBay (took 3 weeks and a reduction because so many hit the mkt on delivery of the X). Now trying Swappa for my kids 5c. Only seeing low ball bids. I’m glad I went with IUP for my X. I’m done with reselling.