Question for eBay veterans

[mschub]

I received an unsolicited offer for my entire eBay portfolio (as well as a bunch of extra cards) last night. The buyer (~130 eBay feedback, all positive) and I came up with a number we both liked, and I'm about to send him a PayPal invoice. My question is: is there anything I should be doing to protect myself in case the deal goes south? I've never sold anything this substantial before (~$1200), and I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I'm planning to send an invoice that lays out what exactly I'll be shipping (~225 cards), then end all of the eBay listings simultaneously once I receive payment. I'll ship Priority Mail, with signature confirmation and insurance. Anything else I should do to cover myself? Thanks for any advice.

[t2554]

Sounds good to me. Sending an invoice and shipping with signature confirmation and insurance are the right things to do. Paypal has the same buyer protections as ebay so if there's a problem they will side with the buyer, but like I said that's the same thing ebay would do, you're just avoiding the ebay fees.

[RichMag]

Sounds good to me. Sending an invoice and shipping with signature confirmation and insurance are the right things to do. Paypal has the same buyer protections as ebay so if there's a problem they will side with the buyer, but like I said that's the same thing ebay would do, you're just avoiding the ebay fees.

Signature confirmation is a must as stated above. I always use that on anything over $100. In your case of $1200+, the extra couple bucks it costs is well worth it.

[mschub]

Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

[benshobbies]

Might want to purchase ebay's insurance policy too. I think its called SHIP COVER or something like that. Would help if things went bad.

[tonedef2oo8]

Bad idea, he claims he didnt get all the cards and you are out those cards.

[Nm0369]

Bad idea, he claims he didnt get all the cards and you are out those cards.

Wait what? Insure for the full amount, and you're covered...period.

[mcdo0423]

Wait what? Insure for the full amount, and you're covered...period.

That's correct. I was also told by my USPS worker that anything insured over a certain amount automatically includes signature confirmation. So with your $1200 sale, if you insure it for $1200, it should come with signature confirmation. If they get the package it would be near impossible for them to claim they didn't. And if it doesn't get to them, you are covered with your insurance.

[aggie4ever]

Personally, I would ship by FedEx ground. It will probably be the same cost (or cheaper) than shipping through the post office, and the tracking is far superior. Anything insured for over $500 FedEx won't deliver without getting a signature from someone at the address, which makes it a lot better than UPS (UPS will usually leave packages at my door, even when they are marked signature required). Also from personal experience, I think signature confirmation is virtually worthless. I understand paypal requires a signature for anything over $250, but I have had lots of packages with the signature confirmation sticker left in my box without me having to sign for it, or a lot of times they leave it at my apartment office instead of having me go to the post office to sign for it, even when insured for over $250. Good for me, since I don't have to make a trip to the post office, but I'm sure it would make the paypal protection on all of those packages invalid... in the past 5 years I have had well over 100 packages I should have had to pick up at the post office, and I think I've only had to actually go to the post office two or three times.

[hhmag70]

Personally, I would ship by FedEx ground. It will probably be the same cost (or cheaper) than shipping through the post office, and the tracking is far superior. Anything insured for over $500 FedEx won't deliver without getting a signature from someone at the address, which makes it a lot better than UPS (UPS will usually leave packages at my door, even when they are marked signature required). Also from personal experience, I think signature confirmation is virtually worthless. I understand paypal requires a signature for anything over $250, but I have had lots of packages with the signature confirmation sticker left in my box without me having to sign for it, or a lot of times they leave it at my apartment office instead of having me go to the post office to sign for it, even when insured for over $250. Good for me, since I don't have to make a trip to the post office, but I'm sure it would make the paypal protection on all of those packages invalid... in the past 5 years I have had well over 100 packages I should have had to pick up at the post office, and I think I've only had to actually go to the post office two or three times.


Really bad advice. FedEx has limits as to the amount they will payout on a claim for collectables.

[frozenntimesports]

Really bad advice. FedEx has limits as to the amount they will payout on a claim for collectables.

And what are those limits? I've had $5000 insurance on FedEx papers routinely, so unless it is different for collectibles, $1200 should be no issue.

[thescout]

wow where is this stupid advice coming from?

selling off of ebay has no downside as far as protection, paypal is where the protection comes from, yes pp requires signature over 250 and yes you need to do that and as for fedex their insurance is by far the cheapest around (bgs uses it for a reason) AND the fact that they get the product there so quickly and efficiently alleviates a lot of the usps issues

I wouldn't feel AT ALL uneasy unless the buyer is just making you feel that way, in which case you should always walk away in my opinion because just because you did everything correct doesn't mean it won't be a headache.

good luck with the sale

[trixstar]

Bad idea, he claims he didnt get all the cards and you are out those cards.

He's not out the money if hes selling the cards the cards are gone anyway. Just use paypal invoice, make sure you have a DC and make sure he signs for them. Paypal has seller protection as well. I learned this the hard way when I was generous and did a payment plan for someone on ebay and after the second payment his "bank" tried to take back the payment saying it wasnt authorized. Well I had already mailed the card. Since the DC confirmed it was delivered paypal covered me and I was fine. Worst case scenario is paypal will take back the money while they do their investigation then once its finished they credit your account back.

[hhmag70]

This quote taken from FedEx website;

Shipments (packages or freight) containing all or part of the following items are limited to a maximum declared value of US$1,000:

Artwork, including any work created or developed by the application of skill, taste or creative talent for sale, display or collection. This includes, but is not limited to, items (and their parts) such as paintings, drawings, vases, tapestries, limited-edition prints, fine art, statuary, sculpture and collector's items.
Film, photographic images (including photographic negatives), photographic chromes and photographic slides.
Any commodity that by its inherent nature is particularly susceptible to damage or the market value of which is particularly variable or difficult to ascertain.
Antiques, or any commodity that exhibits the style or fashion of a past era and whose history, age or rarity contributes to its value. These items include, but are not limited to, furniture, tableware and glassware.
Glassware, including, but not limited to, signs, mirrors, ceramics, porcelains, china, crystal, glass, framed glass, and any other commodity with similarly fragile qualities.
Plasma screens.
Jewelry, including, but not limited to, costume jewelry, watches and their parts, mount gems or stones (precious or semiprecious), industrial diamonds, and jewelry made of precious metal.
Furs, including, but not limited to, fur clothing, fur-trimmed clothing and fur pelts.
Precious metals, including, but not limited to, gold and silver bullion or dust, precipitates, or platinum (except as an integral part of electronic machinery).
Stocks, bonds, cash letters or cash equivalents, including, but not limited to, food stamps, postage stamps (not collectible), traveler's checks, lottery tickets, money orders, gift cards and gift certificates, prepaid calling cards (excluding those that require a code for activation), bond coupons, and bearer bonds.
Collector's items such as coins, stamps, sports cards, souvenirs and memorabilia.
Guitars and other musical instruments that are more than 20 years old, and customized or personalized musical instruments.
Scale models (including, but not limited to, architectural models and dollhouses) and prototypes.


FedEx Express Terms and Conditions and FedEx Ground Tariff (http://www.fedex.com/us/service-guide/terms/express-ground/index.html)

[hhmag70]

wow where is this stupid advice coming from?

as for fedex their insurance is by far the cheapest around (bgs uses it for a reason)

I would be willing to bet that BGS uses a private insurance to cover all the shipments. Feel free to check into that.

[jlzinck]

I would be worried about a chargeback or an unauthorized claim myself.

Someone out of the blue says "Hey I'll buy all you stuff on ebay"

Doesn't pass the smell test for me.

Good Luck

[mschub]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I appreciate it.

I would be worried about a chargeback or an unauthorized claim myself.

Someone out of the blue says "Hey I'll buy all you stuff on ebay"

Doesn't pass the smell test for me.

Good Luck

This was my worry as well. I was very skeptical at first, but having now exchanged about twenty emails with the guy, I can say at the very least that he does an excellent impression of "a nice guy sending emails."

I wouldn't feel AT ALL uneasy unless the buyer is just making you feel that way, in which case you should always walk away in my opinion because just because you did everything correct doesn't mean it won't be a headache.

This is a great point. I tried to force myself to stop a few times along the way and re-evaluate all of our communications up to that point, just to make sure I wasn't getting carried away by the excitement of a $1200 sale. I hope that I've done that successfully, and I'm about as comfortable with this guy as it's possible to be with a buyer that you've only ever exchanged emails with, but I'll definitely be leaving that $1200 in my PayPal account until I know that he's happy. Fingers crossed!

[ninjacookies]

I'd personally also video tape you packing all the agreed upon cards into the box as well as videotaping the package while getting dropped off to the courier (showing it's the same package). You just never know if they'll pull a move stating that not every card promised was inside.

[rudyjustinfarrell]

I have worked on sales off Ebay, for anything high dollar I also talked to the person on the phone. It helped set my mind at ease to "think" I was dealing with someone responsible. Good luck.

[foreverLFC]

for a fee i will fly the package myself to the person buying and pick up cash and deliver it to you! of course the fee is around half of what you're getting...