how to know if someone is safe to buy from

[kelmommy]

I know there is the reputation mark on everyone's name, but is there anyway else to know if someone is safe and can be trusted in a sale. I'm just going to be making a BIG purchase and I want to make sure everything is okay. I'm new to this board, so I don't know many people yet. Thanks.

[kayinpa]

Hi,

1) See if they have been around the boards for a while (this is not always the case....like me...I show up for a couple of months...then dont come back for a few, then show up again LOL)

You can always ask if they have an ebay ID and then look for it under the ebay community to check their reputation.

Also if they accept paypal and are verified is a good sign too and you usually have recourse with verfied paypal.

HTH

K

[Chels~]

I know there is the reputation mark on everyone's name, but is there anyway else to know if someone is safe and can be trusted in a sale. I'm just going to be making a BIG purchase and I want to make sure everything is okay. I'm new to this board, so I don't know many people yet. Thanks.

If it is a big purchase, I would ask them if they have any feedback anywhere that you could view.

[phathui5]

Where's the reputation info here?

[EndsWell]

Also, are they very forthcoming with answering your questions and providing details? Will they provide a picture of what you are buying? How about telling you exactly when they will ship it and how. Also, get their home address and phone number so you can contact her/him if the email suddenly stops working.

I have had very good experience purchasing through boards. Only once did I get burned, and yes, I was pretty upset about that one time. Having a dialogue about the items before shipping them out makes it much better, in my opinion.

Adriana

[momof3gifts]

Where's the reputation info here?

also, its too bad that we can't use our other posts from past years and the other board to be able to post for sales.

[Liz Mc in SC]

Use Paypal to pay for your items, and request that they be shipped w/ delivery confirmation. Better yet, use UPS and get the tracking number. It may cost more, but you'd have peace of mind, plus UPS includes insurance up to 50-$100? you'd need to check the exact amount covered.

[sandellie4]

I always pay for UPS if I'm making a purchase that is costing an amount of money that I would be upset to lose. I've never not received something, but sometimes people don't give accurate descriptions so I do like to ask numerous questions. I've definitely learned to ask if there is writing in the book/item. I hate when I forget to ask that and there's writing already on some of the pages or there are highlighted sections. Other things don't bother me as much so sometimes I ask and sometimes I don't. Sandy

[LKMN]

This is difficult because someone like me no longer spends a lot of time on message boards as my children are older. However, I have over 500 items that I would like to sell but without the 50 posts I can only watch the WTB side and try and make a match.

There is always a risk - but others have given you good advice about how to minimize that risk when purchasing.

[Ericaand4kids]

also, its too bad that we can't use our other posts from past years and the other board to be able to post for sales.
Yep I used to post a lot back when, but we are putting the kids back in school and with having my fourth baby in January I've barely posted on the new boards! Yet I want to sell all my old stuff :glare:, I used to be Ericaand3kids!

[SandraC]

I am new here too. It is disappointing to find I cannot list my few items now, when most everyone is ready to purchase their supplies. It would probably take a long time for me to reach 50 posts.

Sandra

[SandraC]

I am new here too. It is disappointing to find I cannot list my few items now, when most everyone is ready to purchase their supplies. It would probably take a long time for me to reach 50 posts.

Sandra

[fosterisacoolcat]

Some forums use iTrader and if someone does have feedback from iTrader, it could be linked here.

[hsmom]

I recommend that if you have a large order get insurance. Delivery conformation is not even worth the money you spend on it. There is no way to track the package between point a and b. I just had package I shipped out of Rightstart math stuff, well it never made it to point b and the post office tells me there is nothing they can do, and recommends that next time I buy insurance.

[hsmom]

I am new here too. It is disappointing to find I cannot list my few items now, when most everyone is ready to purchase their supplies. It would probably take a long time for me to reach 50 posts.

Sandra

No, it doesn't take too long. No one ever said they have to be long posts. Now remember that it only has to be 50 posts, not 50 threads you have to start.

So, take a morning off and join in on all the conversations you can and you will be amazed on how fast those posts rack up.;)

[hswarden]

The 50 posts does require some effort. However, for the first time this summer I've started listing some of the things I'm finished with, and today I thought about that requirement as I took someone's money from paypal. Although I sold it through another board, I knew she could look up my posts there and know that I'm not a fly-by-night scammer; I've been hanging around that list---not a major contributor, but in and out--for a long time; my posts show that I am what I represent. That makes me feel better about taking people's money before getting the product into their hands.

I think that the 50 post requirement is good, because you can tell, from 50 posts, what kind of person you are buying from. Do they just say, "Here's my 37th post, only 13 to go!" or do they make an effort to contribute something to the homeschooling community? I'm not that impressed by people who appear to be asking for recipes or decorating ideas just to hit 50 so they can sell their old books. Perhaps my blood sugar is getting low. I'd better go eat dinner.

[PameliaSue]

In June I made a purchase on the boards from someone with quite a few posts >300 though only one green rep block.

The paypal account was verified. I am so thankful for that.

The curriculum was a mess, part of it took more than a month to get posted after I paid... Then when it finally came wasn't complete, was chewed, written on all over.... I was able to file a claim through paypal and got a partial refund.

I had another member from this board who had purchased from the same person contact me and she was having problems with her transaction too. She did a google search of the seller's name and came up with WARNING posts on vegsource.... What a mess. I don't necessarily think the seller is a 'bad person', just really unorganized and has a different standard of acceptable than I do. At first she refused to refund me but I persisted and she finally relented.

The other member was able to get things worked out also.

IMO it would have been easier to go through ebay. The transactions I have done here on the boards since then have all been fine. Though now I have a list of questions that I ask and I will not purchase from someone without a verified paypal account.

The questions I ask are:

1.) How many children have you used the curriculum with?
2.) What is the specific condition and is it possible to email me a pic?
3.) Can I add .75 to the price to pay for tracking?
4.) Is your paypal VERIFIED?

Obviously I don't need a pic for a $6 book but the higher end stuff......

[Mrs Mungo]

The questions I ask are:

1.) How many children have you used the curriculum with?
2.) What is the specific condition and is it possible to email me a pic?
3.) Can I add .75 to the price to pay for tracking?
4.) Is your paypal VERIFIED?

Obviously I don't need a pic for a $6 book but the higher end stuff......

Personally, I think these are reasonable and wise questions to ask.

And I think sellers should take time to really look at the condition and use of the books. Even though I've used my Horizons K teacher's book for 3 kids it looks new. On the other hand, the Latin Primer book that is often handled by my children is more bent and frayed. I don't think anyone would be overly burdened by slapping a pic up on photobucket and linking it in their selling post.

[keroro]

I think the vast majority of people on this forum are honest people. If someone is planning to purposely defraud people they probably wouldn't choose to do it using used homeschool material on a homeschooling forum. I know this stuff isn't cheap, oh how I do know, but in the grand scheme of things there are lots of other things infinitely more expensive. Probably the vast majority of bad transactions come from misunderstandings and the fact that not everyone has the same set of criteria when it comes to grading the condition of used books. Mint, great, and good can mean so many things to different people. Furthermore, not everyone has the same standards when it comes to shipping things in a timely manner either. Which is why I would add one more question to PameiaSue's great list of questions:

How soon will these items ship after you receive payment?

[Mom2GirlsTX]

I had a bad experience on these boards, well actually the older ones before we had reps and things. I too found out this person had a bad reputation by doing a google search and finding that they had scammed several people on Vegsource. I had paid via paypal so I filed a claim and got my money back. I think asking questions as PameliaSue stated is really wise indeed!

[PameliaSue]

Here is how you can check.

When sending a payment through paypal you are only able to check to see if the recipient is verified once you have entered their email address and the amount of money to be sent. I will just go step by step and then I should make sense.:)

So you log into paypal
Click on Send Money
Enter the recipients email address, the amount of cash and what it's for.
Click on Continue. The next page is a Review.
On the Review page directly underneath the recipient's email address it will say Verified Member OR Verified Premier MemberIf you don't see VERIFIED directly under the email address than the recipient is NOT verified.
You can back out of the Send Money section by clicking on the My Account tab on the top, left of the page.

There may be another way to check but I only know of this way.
HTH

[SW in IL]

For large purchases, do they accept PayPal? Are they verified? Do they have an eBay account where you can check their feedback?

Ask if the seller is willing to send you pictures of the item(s). Ask if Delivery Confirmation is included? Probably even request that the seller send it with Delivery Confirmation and Insurance.

I'm always willing to do the above and have provided the above information to buyers of $5 books. If a person is spending over about $50, I tell them that I pay for insurance (and I do refund the money if they pay for it themselves on purchases of that amount). I also will tell them that I'm verified with PayPal and tell them my eBay User ID without waiting for them to ask (again on larger purchases) because I know that's what I'd want to know if I was the buyer but I might not feel comfortable asking.

I put in my ads that I send everything via Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation and once I mail the item, I email the buyer with the Delivery Confirmation number. I also state in my ads that pictures will be provided upon request. I hope that this puts people's minds at ease.

HTH,
Sue

[661daphaney]

I do not know how to use this forum yet but I hope to figure it out. I just posted a wanted to buy and someone has answered. I paid them through paypal and I will see how it goes.

My 2 cents is see if the large order can be split up. Pay for something and once you receive that something then you should know if the person is trustworthy. This is just a thought if it is a really large purchase.

Thanks for sharing,
Abigail

[hitech]

I always ask for a delivery confirmation number, and I always require one for people that buy from me.
Suzanne

[Smoopey]

also, its too bad that we can't use our other posts from past years and the other board to be able to post for sales.

:iagree:

[Smoopey]

IMO it would have been easier to go through ebay. The transactions I have done here on the boards since then have all been fine. Though now I have a list of questions that I ask and I will not purchase from someone without a verified paypal account.

The questions I ask are:

1.) How many children have you used the curriculum with?
2.) What is the specific condition and is it possible to email me a pic?
3.) Can I add .75 to the price to pay for tracking?
4.) Is your paypal VERIFIED?



I would love to hear your advise to someone like me who homeschooled my only daughter years ago. She's in college now & I am just starting to clean out the empty nest. We did the Well-Trained Mind for just 1 year -- and I have a couple of resources that are essentially brand new (we never really used them, I hate to admit).

So I hate to throw these excellent resources away & I would really like to pass them on to someone in this program who would appreciate them. I bought them brand new and they are in brand new condition (I only broke the seal on them to look at them. We did not write in the book & only did 1 or 2 lessons from each).

Should I investigate selling them on ebay? I've never sold anything on there or anywhere else. Is it difficult? How does one get their paypal account "verified"?

Anyway, the two big items I have that would be a shame to do nothing with are "The Latin Road to English Grammar, Vol 1" and the Power-Glide Spanish course. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Stacey in Austin, TX

P.S. the reason I've come back to this forum is because I remember buying some of our matierals from it back in ... I think it was 2001. Goodness -- time flies! I tried to log in, but apparently my old accounted isn't still a part of this system.

[mom4him]

I just mailed off a couple of books that I had sold and asked the postal clerk. He said that mail confirmation can tell you if a package has been delivered or not but that is all. If you get insurance it will pay the price you had it insured for. I went ahead and put insurance on it.

[cimhog]

I am new to this board and new to the home schooling community.

A couple of days ago, I posted a WTB post. The next day, someone PMed me saying she had the books I wanted. I was very excited... However, that person's name reminds me of my another purchase somewhere else which turned out to be a fraud.

Then, I checked the person's profile: just registered, only has 1 post, and that post was a reply to someone's WTB, doesn't take paypal. So I decided not buying from her. Too risky.

I quickly went through the WTB posts and found a couple of similar cases - someone just registered, saying she has the book.

They looked very suspicious to me.

[Hebrews3:13]

I have actually had a number of bad experiences or less than stellar you could say.

I have gotten several things that were written in. What is up with that? Some of them blatant. Does no one check this? I tend to feel like I have little recourse here or it is going to be a big pain, so I am not very good at pursuing it. (Hate to admit it).

Then I recently purchased a set which to me was portrayed as latest edition (ALWAYS ASK which edition) and it is clearly old. It is in OK shape, but I really did not want the older edition. I am not even sure what to do, as it was a decent chunk of money for this set.

Last year I got a MFW set and it was used through day 20 something, things were missing. Ugh. I was not happy. I bought another book, no one said anything about pages coming out of the binding!

I really like to deal here. I hate messing with ebay, but I am beginning to question my decision. :confused:

Laurie

[Pammy]

I am still awaiting a refund of $160 from a seller here that got banned, and claims her dh is unemployed, etc. I would have loved to know that before I sent paypal over 6 weeks ago.

[Time4tea]

I belong to another forum that has what we call a feedback section. You start a thread with the usersname only and describe how the purchase went as a buyer and as a seller. So sellers can state there experience with a buyer as well!

Not perfect but seems to work really.

ETA: Another option would be to post to the sale post that you are purchasing from that seller. Then if someone wants to know how the sale went they could pm the buyer or seller, whatever the case would be to get feedback.

~Tea~

[jplain]

I am still awaiting a refund of $160 from a seller here that got banned, and claims her dh is unemployed, etc. I would have loved to know that before I sent paypal over 6 weeks ago.

Bummer! That's one good reason to use credit card funded PayPal for large purchases. Rather than mess around with filing a PayPal claim, which won't get you anything if the seller has drained their account, you can request a chargeback by calling your credit card company.