Black Market Rules / Caveat Emptor (buyer beware)

[JohnRoberts]

You must be an Established Member (50 posts / member for 30 days) to post Classifieds here OR be a Supporting Member.

The message buyer beware is so old it was written in Latin.

GroupDIY forum members are a good group, but there are a few easy things you can check before executing a private transaction with another member. By hovering over their avatar you can see their number of messages and membership join date. Perhaps check for feedback about transactions completed with other forum members. Even this is not foolproof but probably good practice.

 

[audiomsg]

Damn, seems there's crooked people everywhere. The LL Audio thread is looking very much like a scam

 

[Dylan W]

I had a new member, 0 posts, contact me about an item I placed a WTB ad for.

He gave me a sob story about having been ripped off in the past with Paypal's "goods and services" and insisted on using Paypal's "friends and family." As soon as I made it clear I was not willing to complete the transaction without buyer protection, he disappeared.

Seems obvious to be careful, but this is a small community and it's easy to be trusting. Just be careful out there, folks

 

[kswan]

I had a new member, 0 posts, contact me about an item I placed a WTB ad for.

Same here, last week.

 

[iampoor1]

Pay with normal paypal...never pay with friends and family. That will solve the majority of issues. If you pay with friends and family...sorry that's just asking for trouble.

 

[TillM]

Sorry, but even that option is not save, ecspecialy for sellers.
Here in Germany it's a very popular scammer trick.
They pay with "normal" PayPal and then get there money back with PayPal, cause they open a case und after that, the seller loses his money and never get the package back.

 

[okgb]

I've gotten taken a few times even here. A couple of red flags are when people say they are moving [ they may actually be and disappear soon after ] or even a member who hasn't been around for a long time and suddenly reappears selling stuff.
With the constant paypal / ebay extortion and rule tweaks I'll NEVER sell another thing on ebay though! So I don't disagree with a minimum post count for " members " to enter the black market.

 

[iampoor1]

Sorry, but even that option is not save, ecspecialy for sellers.
Here in Germany it's a very popular scammer trick.
They pay with "normal" PayPal and then get there money back with PayPal, cause they open a case und after that, the seller loses his money and never get the package back.

And that exact same scam works on eBay and reverb. That's the risk that the seller assumes when selling. As a buyer I expect the seller to take on the risk of selling and not the buyer to assume all risk by paying with friends and family. If a seller insists on ONKY paying with friends and family that's a huge red flag.

 

[mobyd]

Western Union is a no recourse payment system as well - equivalent to sending dollar bills in the post.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I belong to a cigar collecting / trading forum. There are guys I trade hundreds of dollars worth of material with, no concerns. New guys showing up are a different story. We usually ask new guys that want to make trades to "ship your end first" and if they are legit, they most often do. Those with less than honorable intentions usually scurry for the bushes. I'd be very hesitant to trading with someone I'd never heard of, who approached me in PM. Just my $00.02.....

 

[duantro]

Sorry, but even that option is not save, ecspecialy for sellers.
Here in Germany it's a very popular scammer trick.
They pay with "normal" PayPal and then get there money back with PayPal, cause they open a case und after that, the seller loses his money and never get the package back.

I believe the buyers have to file a claim and you get 30 days, as a seller, to reply before they refund them. At least that’s how It’s been for me.

 

[manulaudic]

Even with trusted people it can be difficult. sometimes personal reasons come in the way. doing a private transaction online is always risky. i've been waiting for a refund fro, a member here for almost a year, on an article that never reached me.

 

[justinheronmusic]

I was selling transformers on the black market a few weeks back and someone offered to buy one; he was a new member, no post, no comments and his message contained 2 phone numbers that didn't check out - no website. After he told me that Paypal had locked him out and that he needed to call customer service about it - which he also stated that paypal had such terrible customer service (simply not true in my experience), I was done with the situation. I was scammed a few times when I was younger and I am not in a hurry to go through that again.
Even if this guy was legit, it made me crazy uncomfortable that I couldn't find more info on him even though it appeared that he had all his cards on the table. Used his full name as his handle, provided phone numbers, had an email address.

The bottom line is that I will only buy from and sell to active members of this community.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

venditor cave is the flipside of caveat emptor...

 

[Banzai]

Pay with normal paypal...never pay with friends and family. That will solve the majority of issues. If you pay with friends and family...sorry that's just asking for trouble.

Have always paid with friends & family to reliable sellers. After Paypal's fees rule change, it's also the only way to get your entire payment back if you need a refund.

There's pros and cons to both methods.

 

[JohnRoberts]

venditor cave is the flipside of caveat emptor...

may latin is a little rusty, wouldn't seller beware be caveat venditor?

JR

 

[Winston OBoogie]

Yes, caveat venditor.
Which, to be a stickler about it, is pronounced "Kah-way-aht Wen-ditor.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I thought the roman empire fell....?

I studied two years of Latin in HS. Many romance language words have latin roots.

JR

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Yes, caveat venditor.
Which, to be a stickler about it, is pronounced "Kah-way-aht Wen-ditor.

Correct. As the pronounciation for "veni vedi vici" is Wenny Weddy Wicky.
Actually, I never had Latin. I'm bragging because I heard it just the other day on the radio.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

I thought the roman empire fell....?

I studied two years of Latin in HS. Many romance language words have latin roots.

JR

Some say being a native speaker of a romance language helps understanding Latin. I'm not sure. There's no french word that directly use the root emptus. There are words based on it but it's far from obvious, like redemption.. And I don't know any french world that is based on caveat, neither in Spanish nor Italian.