Seller safety — eBay and beyond (other marketplaces)

[countessalmirena]

Several people on these boards have posted about how dangerous selling can be.

It’s not just the risks of online selling, but also the risks of face-to-face transactions in an increasingly violent environment where strangers can target you for violent burglary or home invasion, or use counterfeit money in cash on pickup, etc.

It’s worth reading this article: 

Seller beware: How putting up items for sale on Facebook marketplace and Gumtree could put you at risk

Ever sold something on Facebook marketplace or Gumtree? Without knowing it, you might've put yourself in danger. Here's how to stay safe when selling items online. Read the full story

PayID scams are another one of which to beware, but I’ll leave that can of worms to another post.

For now, the salient points are:

• don’t give away your phone number or address to strangers and of course don’t post these online;

• don’t photograph items for sale in such a way that you reveal your home or other possessions or family members;

• for pickup sales, don’t use your home — rather, select a public location and try to bring along a second person;

• if accepting cash, how confident are you that you can recognise genuine bills? If you can’t, then use PayPal or PayID (but you’d better be well up to speed on how PayID works so that you don’t fall victim to a PayID scam).

I’m opening the floor here for others to suggest more ways to protect oneself against these risks.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

Another scam to watch out for is the social media number plate scam.

Scammers trawl social media and 'for sale' posts for pics of cars that are the same as theirs.  They look for pics with number plates.

The scam works by making a copy of the victims number plate, even a paper copy, that is placed over their number plate.

The scam occurs when they then drive on toll roads or do servo drive aways, without the victim even knowing until they get a toll penalty notice in the mail or a knock on the door from police.

There have been several stories about this in the media.

https://www.facebook.com/ACurrentAffair9/videos/337712577719332/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

[sugar249]

Never had issues with local pickups.

But one that I know from a friend,  they had a arranged to do a pickup at there place and said they wouldnt be home till 2PM, so come after that.

They happened to arrive home an hour earlier to find a car parked in the drive,  about to start doing a little bit of self service, knowing that the resident would be out.

[sugar249]

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@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:

Another scam to watch out for is the social media number plate scam.

Scammers trawl social media and 'for sale' posts for pics of cars that are the same as theirs.  They look for pics with number plates.

The scam works by making a copy of the victims number plate, even a paper copy, that is placed over their number plate.

The scam occurs when they then drive on toll roads or do servo drive aways, without the victim even knowing until they get a toll penalty notice in the mail or a knock on the door from police.

There have been several stories about this in the media.

https://www.facebook.com/ACurrentAffair9/videos/337712577719332/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

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Had not quite the same but similar happen to us.

Picked up our daughter from school and walked over to the car, and she said thats not our car.  It was but it had different number plates on it.

Reported it to the police,  and the car they came from were exactly the same model and colour as ours.   And ours ended up being found on the same type of car dumped about a hundred K's away.

So they had carefully planned it so they would never get pulled for having a car that didnt match the plates.

[springyzone]

Your story reminds me of an experience we had.

One day, we realised that our front number plate was missing. Not the back one, just the front.

We had not noticed it earlier as the car is in the garage and we only see the back of it when we hop into the car, so we weren't sure when the plate had been taken.

Police said it is a common thing that happens, but it was very inconvenient.

[springyzone]

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@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:

I haven't sold many things on fb, I mainly use it when I want to give stuff away.

I give away things I have no further use for.

When I do give stuff away, I arrange to meet the person at a bus stop near my home.  I don't let them know where I live.

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I'm a bit wary of advertising things for totally free. I did it once before, a few years back, for free tan bark, and I have never had so many messages, it drove me mad for weeks, well after the ads had been taken down.

It did get rid of a massive pile of tan bark though. 

These days, I tend to advertise with a smallish price so that I am more likely to get people who genuinely need the item. Then if I want to, I can just say they can have it for free. With the cot, there were about 30 'looks' but only 2 queries. Had it been free, I may have had to field more messages.

I was just pleased to clear it out within hours.😁

[springyzone]

I've not had issues with local pick up either but your story highlights that it is best not to tell buyers when you will be home or when you will not be home. Just give a convenient time range.

One other thing I do is when I reply to a buyer, I use the term 'we' or 'us'.

In my case, it is genuine, but I think it is best to give the impression you're not alone.

Having said that, when I look back to the time we cleared out my parents' house, I never even gave it a thought to be alone there with buyers coming in to pick up things & actually had some lovely customers.

I've found the main hesitation seems to be on the part of customers. I was once selling something small and the man who came parked outside, sent a text (which he was lucky I saw as I am old and not soldered to my phone) and I had to go out onto the road with the item. Why people can't just ring a  doorbell is beyond me.

[paper-jack]

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@springyzone wrote:...................................... Why people can't just ring a  doorbell is beyond me.

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People including postmen and couriers who never ring the doorbell, just drop the parcel and run. In some cases not even taking to the front door - especially if for a unit/townhouse. I've lost count of the times I've noticed a parcel in a driveway or on the pavement in front of the letterbox - when I knock on the door the occupant is surprised and thankful I noticed and took the time to let them know. (If the occupants are out, I try to leave in a safe place and put a note in their letterbox). Especially bad when its raining and the parcel is in a cardboard box.

While I'm having a rant, another thing I encounter frequently is a courier leaving a sometimes heavy delivery in front of my screen door which opens outwards. Fortunately I can go out, move the parcel and open the door.  

On the other hand annoying hawkers are only too quick to ring the doorbell. When the "Do Not Knock" sign is pointed out the smart rses always say "I didn't knock, I rang the bell" (my DNK sign courtesy of a family member after many visits by 2 guys in white shirts, dark trousers carrying a book)

[*sons_n_daughters*]

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@springyzone wrote:

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@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:

I haven't sold many things on fb, I mainly use it when I want to give stuff away.

I give away things I have no further use for.

When I do give stuff away, I arrange to meet the person at a bus stop near my home.  I don't let them know where I live.

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I'm a bit wary of advertising things for totally free. I did it once before, a few years back, for free tan bark, and I have never had so many messages, it drove me mad for weeks, well after the ads had been taken down.

It did get rid of a massive pile of tan bark though. 

These days, I tend to advertise with a smallish price so that I am more likely to get people who genuinely need the item. Then if I want to, I can just say they can have it for free. With the cot, there were about 30 'looks' but only 2 queries. Had it been free, I may have had to field more messages.

I was just pleased to clear it out within hours.😁

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Never advertise anything for free, even if you are happy to give it away free. The tyre kickers come out in force. OK, so I want to offload my old lounge, it will be on the footpath at this address. Or you just put it out the front with a sign, free lounge. Put it up for free, and it will still be there in a week. Put it up for $20 and some scumbag will have knocked it off within the hour thinking they have ripped you off! Even quicker if you've chained it to the telegraph pole.

Edit: What gets me is, "free queen sized bed, great condition blah blah blah, no holds, pick up only". Then someone pipes up "can you hold it for me until I get my next dole, and when can you deliver it?". Not only do they want it free, they also want you to deliver it! No. Just no. 

[sandypebbles]

On the other hand annoying hawkers are only too quick to ring the doorbell. When the "Do Not Knock" sign is pointed out the smart rses always say "I didn't knock, I rang the bell" (my DNK sign courtesy of a family member after many visits by 2 guys in white shirts, dark trousers carrying a book)

I bet they needed a good lay down after using all their energy to think up that gem

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[springyzone]

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@paper-jack wrote:

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@springyzone wrote:...................................... Why people can't just ring a  doorbell is beyond me.

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People including postmen and couriers who never ring the doorbell, just drop the parcel and run. In some cases not even taking to the front door - especially if for a unit/townhouse. I've lost count of the times I've noticed a parcel in a driveway or on the pavement in front of the letterbox - when I knock on the door the occupant is surprised and thankful I noticed and took the time to let them know. (If the occupants are out, I try to leave in a safe place and put a note in their letterbox). Especially bad when its raining and the parcel is in a cardboard box.

While I'm having a rant, another thing I encounter frequently is a courier leaving a sometimes heavy delivery in front of my screen door which opens outwards. Fortunately I can go out, move the parcel and open the door.  

You're a kind neighbour!

My pet hate is couriers who don't ring the doorbell. I don't expect them to stick around, they can take off, but at least a doorbell ring lets us know a parcel has probably arrived.

Our doorbell is easily seen, easily pushed (the grandkids delight in pushing it multiple times, non stop till we get there) & in my opinion, there is no excuse for any courier to just dump the parcel.

Admittedly, the parcels are at least left at our door and we are in a reasonably quiet location, but I was extremely annoyed a while back to find an expensive item-expensive to me, anyway as it was several hundred $$$) left out there without a ring.  How long it had been there, I don't know, but we had been home and we always hear the doorbell as it chimes in the centre of the house, you can't miss it.

I find Auspost excellent, they always ring. 

Some couriers do, some don't.

We don't get many salesmen or religious preachers any more (& I think the politicians have all moved to phone messages) but what works for me is a security door. We actually have 2 of them so when I open the front door, I can see who is there and if it is a stranger, I just speak to them through the door. It unnerves them as they can't see me.  It's very easy when you are just a disembodied voice to say, sorry, not interested. They soon take off.