Best way to buy/ship expensive item online from UK without getting scammed?

[adammil1]

I found an item in the $2K price range on Ebay. I was the 2nd highest bidder. Seller messaged me after the auction with a photo of his email said the buyer backed out. I think the story seems ok. He's willing to relist on Ebay but says that we need to wait till Ebay offers another promotion as the standard fees are too high.

Does this add up, or does he have the option of offering me at my bid for the same promotional rate? I know Ebay's fees can really bite. Is there another way to do the transaction safely?

Does PayPal alone offer buyers protection if an empty box or not as described item shows up at my door?

Are there any other 3rd party payment services that would ensure that both sides play fairly, or should I just tell the seller to relist or I walk?

Thanks

Adam

 

[DDoug]

Plane ticket....

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

Ebay is pretty good about backing up the buyers, all you have to say is its "not as described" or "does not work", you don't even have to open the package. Does the seller have a good history? Look at feedback rating and join date. Do they sell a lot of high priced items and have positive feedback on those transactions? Or is it mainly knick knacks and they just came across something expensive? If he had a schill bidder bidding against you he would be motivated to complete a sale now. Second chance offers can be legit, but can also be suspect....

 

[adammil1]

Plane ticket....

Yea right plane tickets are $1500, car rental, hotel, PTO days will all cost more than rolling the dice on this one.

 

[adammil1]

Ebay is pretty good about backing up the buyers, all you have to say is its "not as described" or "does not work", you don't even have to open the package. Does the seller have a good history? Look at feedback rating and join date. Do they sell a lot of high priced items and have positive feedback on those transactions? Or is it mainly knick knacks and they just came across something expensive? If he had a schill bidder bidding against you he would be motivated to complete a sale. Second chance offers can be legit, but can also be suspect....

He's got about 1700 positives and one or 2 negatives. I am also wondering if he can't reoffer it to me at the same promotional fee rate and if this is/ isn't legit. I know Ebay's fees can be painful and have been getting worse so I don't 100% blame him.

Does PayPal back their buyers? Not long ago I seem to recall someone being very upset as a seller over PayPal taking a buyer's side. In my case as someone who's not out to screw the guy that I really like.

 

[Bill D]

I will add that if the item is 100 years old it is exempt from the VAT tax.
Bill D

 

[adammil1]

I will add that if the item is 100 years old it is exempt from the VAT tax.
Bill D

We don't need to pay VAT tax to get it into the USA and while it is a model steam locomotive the boiler paperwork clearly states 2009 as the build year. Anyone down by the south of England want to swing by and take a look it looks to be about 1/2hr north of Eastbourne in a rural town.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

He's got about 1700 positives and one or 2 negatives. I am also wondering if he can't reoffer it to me at the same promotional fee rate and if this is/ isn't legit. I know Ebay's fees can be painful and have been getting worse so I don't 100% blame him.

Does PayPal back their buyers? Not long ago I seem to recall someone being very upset as a seller over PayPal taking a buyer's side. In my case as someone who's not out to screw the guy that I really like.

I have no idea what rate sellers in the UK pay, I think that is a different arm of the company we call ebay. In the USA there is a minimal rate for listing, they make bulk of $ on sales, but its been a long time since I've listed in auction format too.

Paypal has spun-off from ebay, but is still widely used on ebay. I have never had to take a dispute to PP, ebay has always resolved it. My experience as a seller is that ebay favors the buyer, I have had several parts returned in unopened since I packed it boxes where seller said it was defective, it was industrial parts so I'm guessing they either found another one for less, or had realized that part was not their problem, I still got dinged and had to pay for the return shipping. As a buyer ebay has always sided with me, once I even got to keep the good parts which I did need.

Anyone have insight into importing a boiler (pressure vessel) to USA, the Aussies would probably seize it, like they did with the pneumatic cylinders I shipped, they claimed they were pressure vessels and importing used ones into Oz is verboten

 

[DDoug]

Yea right plane tickets are $1500, car rental, hotel, PTO days will all cost more than rolling the dice on this one.

Have the seller meet you at the airport lounge...pay with cash or gold, get back on plane, no car rental, no hotels (unless you are into that kind of thing) back in time for dinner....

 

[lucky7]

Who built the boiler and tested it is the bigger question for me. Unfortunately there is some dubiousness in the model engineering community despite being mostly a great bunch of people.

 

[Milacron]

While they can’t guarantee you won’t get a river rock in the box, I’ve used Parcel2go.com many times for UK shipment and always amazed at the speed of delivery.

 

[Terry Keeley]

With that feedback rating I wouldn't be worried about a scam but as dalgirl said Ebay will refund your money pretty quick if it's not right.

If he can't just sell it to you at your price could he re-list it with a buy it now at that price?

 

[modelmakerblue]

With that feedback rating I wouldn't be worried about a scam but as dalgirl said Ebay will refund your money pretty quick if it's not right.

If he can't just sell it to you at your price could he re-list it with a buy it now at that price?

The seller is worried about high fees?
Tony

 

[ignator]

Assuming it was a shill bid that exceeded you max. Look at all the bids from the auction and click on all automatic bids, if the same bidder that won the auction ran it up, I would offer the highest price of your bid, before a shill came into the auction.
Ebay does not let buyers off the hook so easy, that takes the seller agreeing to it.

 

[adammil1]

Hard to fault the Aussies.

Any pneumatic cylinder as would NOT hold "pressure" they can get more cheaply brand-new from China.

And you don''t even want to KNOW what their rules, tariffs, and taxes were like in the grow-local-everything protectionist age... at least up though 1970.

I am surprised customs is that smart that they would know what a pressure vessel is. I think I will just classify this one as a toy train for the paperwork.

This seller's got all the boiler paperwork though slightly out of date as the engine hasn't ran in 6yrs. The UK has a much better system for certification of model boilers, then the USA. Here it depends on state but most see boilers under 1sq ft of firebox or 12" dia barrel as hobby boilers and inspectors want no part of them. So neither of my 2 other boilers have any paperwork.

If I get it I I plan to take a boreoscope to the boiler and hydro it then we should be good.

Seller got back to me that he's on vacation this week so we'll deal with it next week. I think I am going to see if we can keep it on Ebay but fall back to PayPal who seems to have similar buyer's protections. Anyone ever done a deal like this with PayPal?

 

[Bill D]

We were on Amtrak from Chicago to California and meet a young couple heading to Seattle from just west of Chicago. They had bought two used Kayaks at a yard sale. They had to pay $5.00 each for oversized luggage fee. These were plastic maybe 12 feet long so not real heavy I suppose.
Bill D