When you're making your auction, just state that you will only sell to buyers with positive feedback. I think there might even be a way to block people with not enough positive feedback from even bidding on the item. Not sure though. I sold my 16 gig 3GS jailbroken and unlocked on 4.0 for $335 a few weeks ago.
Selling 3gs on ebay...getting ripped off
- Thread starter i3igsmooth5769
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
butters149
macrumors 6502
Did paypal put a hold? Did you make sure the money was in your bank account before you shipped it?
Satanic Goat
macrumors regular
I got £360 quid for mine a few weeks ago. Listed as selling to UK only and that I would cancel bids with users with under 10 feedback first unless they emailed me. If you don't want the hassle, use one of them Phone recycling companies. We have Envirofone in the UK, less cash but no hassle. (in theory!)
I just sold my 3GS on eBay to someone in England. Everything went fine and the buyer paid quickly. About a week after I shipped the item, the seller contacted me and said there was an import tax due on the phone and the post office wouldn't let him have it until he paid the tax, which amounted to $100USD. Me being the nice person I am, gave him a $50 refund on the phone via PayPal because I felt bad about the situation.
The next day he contacts me and says that he received the phone and wants a full refund because the phone is in significantly worse condition than I described in the auction listing. In the auction I clearly stated that there were minor scuffs on two of the corners of the phone. He emailed me saying that there are major dents in the phone (Can someone explain to me how exactly one can dent the hard plastic casing on the back of a 3GS?).
Not only does he want a refund for the price of the phone, he wants me to pick up the charge for return shipping as well as reimburse him for the other half of the import tax that he had to pay. He is asking for $525 even though he only paid me $440 w/shipping ($390 when you figure in the $50 I already paid him to help out with the import tax). I told him that I wouldn't issue him a refund, because the phone is in the exact condition I described it to be. He opened up a "Significantly Not As Described" dispute with PayPal, and I'm still waiting to hear their decision on the matter.
I'm just worried that PayPal will decide in his favor and he will maliciously mess up the phone before he sends it back to me. I wish I would have just sold the phone to a friend of mine who wanted to buy it
The next day he contacts me and says that he received the phone and wants a full refund because the phone is in significantly worse condition than I described in the auction listing. In the auction I clearly stated that there were minor scuffs on two of the corners of the phone. He emailed me saying that there are major dents in the phone (Can someone explain to me how exactly one can dent the hard plastic casing on the back of a 3GS?).
Not only does he want a refund for the price of the phone, he wants me to pick up the charge for return shipping as well as reimburse him for the other half of the import tax that he had to pay. He is asking for $525 even though he only paid me $440 w/shipping ($390 when you figure in the $50 I already paid him to help out with the import tax). I told him that I wouldn't issue him a refund, because the phone is in the exact condition I described it to be. He opened up a "Significantly Not As Described" dispute with PayPal, and I'm still waiting to hear their decision on the matter.
I'm just worried that PayPal will decide in his favor and he will maliciously mess up the phone before he sends it back to me. I wish I would have just sold the phone to a friend of mine who wanted to buy it
I sold my iPhone 3G twice (almost three times) to the high bidder who turned out to be a Nigerian check fraud.
DO NOT send them your Paypal id.
DO NOT send your phone until the money is verifiably sitting at Paypal.
Ship the phone with signature required and insurance.
DO NOT accept bids from anyone with 0 history. Every one who tried to scam me had just signed up.
I would nto even use that.. any tiem someone says escrow of ship to nigeria express i'll send you more money.. flags should go up in your head.. it is a great phone but nto that great for someone to offer so much
. i sold mine for 395 on ebay.. two days after the keynotePaypal only puts a hold when YOUR feedback as a seller is 0. When I sold mine I was able to withdraw money immediately.
butters149
macrumors 6502
I'm just worried when the buyer opens up a "Significantly Not As Described" dispute with PayPal.
I just sold my 3GS on eBay to someone in England. Everything went fine and the buyer paid quickly. About a week after I shipped the item, the seller contacted me and said there was an import tax due on the phone and the post office wouldn't let him have it until he paid the tax, which amounted to $100USD. Me being the nice person I am, gave him a $50 refund on the phone via PayPal because I felt bad about the situation.
The next day he contacts me and says that he received the phone and wants a full refund because the phone is in significantly worse condition than I described in the auction listing. In the auction I clearly stated that there were minor scuffs on two of the corners of the phone. He emailed me saying that there are major dents in the phone (Can someone explain to me how exactly one can dent the hard plastic casing on the back of a 3GS?).
Not only does he want a refund for the price of the phone, he wants me to pick up the charge for return shipping as well as reimburse him for the other half of the import tax that he had to pay. He is asking for $525 even though he only paid me $440 w/shipping ($390 when you figure in the $50 I already paid him to help out with the import tax). I told him that I wouldn't issue him a refund, because the phone is in the exact condition I described it to be. He opened up a "Significantly Not As Described" dispute with PayPal, and I'm still waiting to hear their decision on the matter.
I'm just worried that PayPal will decide in his favor and he will maliciously mess up the phone before he sends it back to me. I wish I would have just sold the phone to a friend of mine who wanted to buy it
That's why I never sell to international buyers. Just not worth for crap like this.
NovemberBlue
macrumors newbie
I sold my unlocked 8GB 3G for $150 (should have held out for more) a couple weeks ago on eBay to a guy in Puerto Rico. He had around 70 positive feedback ratings and paid immediately via PayPal. As long as you're using PayPal, I don't really think you need a separate escrow service. That's essentially what PayPal does, at least for items over a certain $ amount or if you, the seller, has under a certain feedback rating. Mine was 9, FWIW.
When he bought the 3G, he paid immediately and PayPal held the money in escrow, essentially, until he received the phone and made sure it was in good shape. I shipped it through USPS, it was tracked and when I saw that it had been delivered, I sent him a message to ask him if everything was good. He said it was in perfect cosmetic condition and working great. That same day, the money was released to me and I put it in my bank account. Made around $120 after fees.
I was a little worried about the PR thing, but since it's practically a state, I decided to go ahead with the sale. I'm glad I did and everything worked out just fine.
Also, to the folks who are freaking out about meeting people from Craigslist - just meet in a very public location during business hours and you'll be fine. I've sold concert tickets, furniture, an iPhone 4 Bumper and a few other things this way and I'm a young woman. Zero problems and no creeps. If you think that this person is going to murder you in public in broad daylight, you have much bigger problems than needing the money from selling your phone.
When he bought the 3G, he paid immediately and PayPal held the money in escrow, essentially, until he received the phone and made sure it was in good shape. I shipped it through USPS, it was tracked and when I saw that it had been delivered, I sent him a message to ask him if everything was good. He said it was in perfect cosmetic condition and working great. That same day, the money was released to me and I put it in my bank account. Made around $120 after fees.
I was a little worried about the PR thing, but since it's practically a state, I decided to go ahead with the sale. I'm glad I did and everything worked out just fine.
Also, to the folks who are freaking out about meeting people from Craigslist - just meet in a very public location during business hours and you'll be fine. I've sold concert tickets, furniture, an iPhone 4 Bumper
and a few other things this way and I'm a young woman. Zero problems and no creeps. If you think that this person is going to murder you in public in broad daylight, you have much bigger problems than needing the money from selling your phone.NovemberBlue
macrumors newbie
Regarding PayPal holds - I looked it up because I was curious what their policy was. Here it is in case anyone was curious:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/securitycenter/sell/SaferPayments-outside
When do payment holds apply?
Payment holds may be applied to some or all transactions in your account. Here are some common reasons for holding payments:
* You have limited history or selling activity with eBay and PayPal
* You have an eBay feedback score of less than 100 or received fewer than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months, and do not have a record of good performance
* If you have low Detailed Seller Ratings or other indication of below standard performance on eBay
* You have a high rate of customer disputes, claims or chargebacks
* You're selling in a high risk category or industry such as, but not limited to, tickets, travel, gift certificates, computers, consumer electronics, or cell phones
* Your payment activity is inconsistent. For example, you have a spike in selling activity or you started selling in a new category without an established history in that category
* The account information you have provided is incomplete or inaccurate
If your payments are held, PayPal will provide you with notice specifying the terms. The terms may require that the amounts received into your account are held for a certain period of time. PayPal will re-evaluate your account periodically and contact you when we stop applying payment holds.
If your payments are held, the funds will be shown as "pending" in your PayPal balance.
When does PayPal release the payment?
Payments will be held in a pending balance for a certain time period. For example, if you receive a $100 payment (after fees), the $100 will be held in a pending balance for the specified amount of time. After the hold is released, the money will be available for withdrawal.
The money may be released sooner if:
1. We can confirm that the item was delivered**
2. Your buyer leaves positive feedback (Applies only to eBay items)
To get access to this money more quickly, please process this order right away and communicate with your customers early and often.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/securitycenter/sell/SaferPayments-outside
When do payment holds apply?
Payment holds may be applied to some or all transactions in your account. Here are some common reasons for holding payments:
* You have limited history or selling activity with eBay and PayPal
* You have an eBay feedback score of less than 100 or received fewer than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months, and do not have a record of good performance
* If you have low Detailed Seller Ratings or other indication of below standard performance on eBay
* You have a high rate of customer disputes, claims or chargebacks
* You're selling in a high risk category or industry such as, but not limited to, tickets, travel, gift certificates, computers, consumer electronics, or cell phones
* Your payment activity is inconsistent. For example, you have a spike in selling activity or you started selling in a new category without an established history in that category
* The account information you have provided is incomplete or inaccurate
If your payments are held, PayPal will provide you with notice specifying the terms. The terms may require that the amounts received into your account are held for a certain period of time. PayPal will re-evaluate your account periodically and contact you when we stop applying payment holds.
If your payments are held, the funds will be shown as "pending" in your PayPal balance.
When does PayPal release the payment?
Payments will be held in a pending balance for a certain time period. For example, if you receive a $100 payment (after fees), the $100 will be held in a pending balance for the specified amount of time. After the hold is released, the money will be available for withdrawal.
The money may be released sooner if:
1. We can confirm that the item was delivered**
2. Your buyer leaves positive feedback (Applies only to eBay items)
To get access to this money more quickly, please process this order right away and communicate with your customers early and often.
Paypal had a hold on the money until I got positive feedback on the item. The buyer paid immediately so the money was technically in my account.
cocky jeremy
Suspended
As soon as the money clears, take it out of Paypal. That way if they do try something.. who cares. You've got the money. The worst thing you'd have to do is open a new Paypal account.
HitchHykr
macrumors 6502a
I sold my unlocked 8GB 3G for $150 (should have held out for more) a couple weeks ago on eBay to a guy in Puerto Rico. He had around 70 positive feedback ratings and paid immediately via PayPal. As long as you're using PayPal, I don't really think you need a separate escrow service. That's essentially what PayPal does, at least for items over a certain $ amount or if you, the seller, has under a certain feedback rating. Mine was 9, FWIW.
When he bought the 3G, he paid immediately and PayPal held the money in escrow, essentially, until he received the phone and made sure it was in good shape. I shipped it through USPS, it was tracked and when I saw that it had been delivered, I sent him a message to ask him if everything was good. He said it was in perfect cosmetic condition and working great. That same day, the money was released to me and I put it in my bank account. Made around $120 after fees.
I was a little worried about the PR thing, but since it's practically a state, I decided to go ahead with the sale. I'm glad I did and everything worked out just fine.
Also, to the folks who are freaking out about meeting people from Craigslist - just meet in a very public location during business hours and you'll be fine. I've sold concert tickets, furniture, an iPhone 4 Bumper
How YOU doin'?
I agree about craigslist. I've sold/bought a bunch of stuff from it, you avoid fees, shipping hassles and a bunch of scams.
JayLenochiniMac
macrumors G5
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)
How many positive feedbacks did this guy have?
jecebn said:I just sold my 3GS on eBay to someone in England. Everything went fine and the buyer paid quickly. About a week after I shipped the item, the seller contacted me and said there was an import tax due on the phone and the post office wouldn't let him have it until he paid the tax, which amounted to $100USD. Me being the nice person I am, gave him a $50 refund on the phone via PayPal because I felt bad about the situation.
The next day he contacts me and says that he received the phone and wants a full refund because the phone is in significantly worse condition than I described in the auction listing. In the auction I clearly stated that there were minor scuffs on two of the corners of the phone. He emailed me saying that there are major dents in the phone (Can someone explain to me how exactly one can dent the hard plastic casing on the back of a 3GS?).
Not only does he want a refund for the price of the phone, he wants me to pick up the charge for return shipping as well as reimburse him for the other half of the import tax that he had to pay. He is asking for $525 even though he only paid me $440 w/shipping ($390 when you figure in the $50 I already paid him to help out with the import tax). I told him that I wouldn't issue him a refund, because the phone is in the exact condition I described it to be. He opened up a "Significantly Not As Described" dispute with PayPal, and I'm still waiting to hear their decision on the matter.
I'm just worried that PayPal will decide in his favor and he will maliciously mess up the phone before he sends it back to me. I wish I would have just sold the phone to a friend of mine who wanted to buy it
How many positive feedbacks did this guy have?
butters149
macrumors 6502
i just sold my 3GS for $270 cash through craigslist, i had the buyer meet me at a police station lol
He has 100 positive feedbacks.
I have nearly 400 and my account is older (not to mention this is the first claim anyone has ever filed against me), so I'm hoping that will figure into PayPal's decision
JayLenochiniMac
macrumors G5
Wow, 100 positive feedbacks and he didn't know about the import tax?
I would have told him he's responsible for paying taxes on it. Someone who refuses to pay taxes is a sure sign of trouble ahead. He'd be less likely to dispute it (because he'd already be out $100) or you'd get the package back as a result of refused shipment.
Next time, exclude all countries outside of the U.S. Foreign buyers with lots of positive feedbacks will still attempt to bid on your item (as eBay still allows them to do so) in hope that you'll agree to sell to them if they happen to be the highest bidder. Then you can decide whether or not to accept the bid, but clarify in your conversation with them that they're responsible for all and any taxes imposed on the item.
Anyway, keep us posted on the outcome.
Thanks for your advice. This was my first and last time selling anything overseas. I'm just hoping PayPal will view this as a he said/she said type thing and dismiss the claim.
Do any of you eBay pros have any tips on successfully putting up a phone on eBay? Is there some filter we can use to block people with bad ratings out of the bidding?
Also, what is the recommended price to start a phone at for bidding? Sometimes I see people starting them at low prices for them to be bid up, and sometimes I see them starting at high prices! Is there some strategy for this?
And, what is this Nigerian check fraud?
Also, what is the recommended price to start a phone at for bidding? Sometimes I see people starting them at low prices for them to be bid up, and sometimes I see them starting at high prices! Is there some strategy for this?
And, what is this Nigerian check fraud?
Yea, they charge an insane percentage rate - I couldn't believe it when I looked at my eBay invoice the other day. I sold my 3GS for a little over 400, eBay charged me a $35 final value fee (on top of the $2 it cost me to list the item) and then PayPal took out an additional $18
butters149
macrumors 6502
craigslist is the way to go, i just sold 2 of my iphone 4s to the same guy for an easy $1320, i shoulda put a higher price, checked all money via black light pen.
I would go through Craigslist if you can. But if you want to sell on Ebay here are some tips.
DO NOT ship internationally. US only.
Make sure you get tracking and direct signature confirmation for package.
Avoid new Ebay accounts and state that they must have positive feedback.
Only ship to a verified Paypal address.
Withdraw funds asap from your Paypal account.
DO NOT ship internationally. US only.
Make sure you get tracking and direct signature confirmation for package.
Avoid new Ebay accounts and state that they must have positive feedback.
Only ship to a verified Paypal address.
Withdraw funds asap from your Paypal account.
JayLenochiniMac
macrumors G5
Yes, you can set buyer criteria however you like (you do this during the set-up). You can exclude countries outside of the U.S. However, eBay will still let them bid while informing them that they may not get the item because they don't meet your requirements. This still works to your advantage because the bidding war will become more intense than otherwise with more people bidding driving up the price and you can choose to, say, sell to an international buyer in a safe country with lots of positive feedbacks if they happen to be the highest bidder.
I'd start at 99 cents with a reserve price and do a 3 day auction. Any shorter and you won't get enough exposure in terms of potential buyers/watchers and it doesn't need to be longer because it is still a high demand item. Look at what the particular model/capacity is selling for and set your reserve price slightly below that (or however low you're comfortable selling for). Jailbreaking and unlocking will get you more $$$ and may even eat enough of the eBay/paypal fees to make it advantageous compared to craigslist (as international buyers will bid on it driving up the price).
Personally, I leave it open to sell to all countries when I start the auction and exclude all countries outside of the U.S. only on the last day (you can change your criteria anytime during the auction). That way, I get more watchers over time and foreign buyers with a good number of positive feedbacks will still bid on it and I can decide at the end whether to sell to the highest (foreign) bidder. Domestic buyers will try to outbid them though and this drives up the final/second chance offer price.