Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Off Topic: What's the best and safest way to buy

Hi: What would be the safest way to buy and sell gear from
private(non dealer)people?. Let's say I want to buy a $2000
amp from Joe Blow from another province or country, whereby checking out the gear in person is out of the question.Once the deal is made, should I send a deposit first, then the balance, or send the whole 2K and hope I get my amp...or what! Now what if I were to sell an amp,make the deal and ask buyer to pay c.o.d.! The buyer could always cancel his chequing account while the amp is in transit, so that form of payment won't work!.I guess you need a "third party",to be safe...what about Paypal...which I think is safe, but how
to be positive that I get my amp(buyer)and the seller sends the amp,(let's assume seller is a crook).Is there a protocol for buying and selling audio gear?...I mean, who makes the first move, as far as payment(full or part)..the buyer or seller? Thanks, Huck

There are online escrow services specifically set up for situations like this. You, the legitimate buyer, don't want to be screwed by a non-existent product, just like a legitimate seller doesn't want to deliver something without payment. The solution is to use escrow. Here's a page that lists a few of these services:

http://www.e-powersellers.com/resources/escrow.htm

Thanks, that's something that I was looking for! Anyone using something like this or similar in Canada? Thanks, Huck

While this sounds like a good service to utilize, I would caution you to dig deeper to see the use of such a service across country borders.

This is a US based company, and there may be different laws governing Canada and foreign countries - such as the US. I am not knowledgable enough to definitively answer this question, and there in fact may be no issues. But you should know this going in.

Here are some Canadian services:

http://ca.dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Financial_Services/Online_Escrow_Services/

I don't want to sound overly basic, but I had one bad experience with a "non-dealer" purchase that had severe damage when I received it. I spoke of it here quite extensivly. It finally was resolved. But I waited for the company to "reverse" the charges as they said they would. They kept saying "don't worry, we'll make it right" I gave them a few weeks, no refund - or new product. I then called my Visa (Bank of America) They instantly, I mean like 5 minutes I went on line, I was 100% refunded. Then they conducted their investigation. The shipper was only going to get paid from Visa AFTER everything was right. I had my refund (because of the credit card only) and I had their damaged goods. It was all resolved, but having a BIG financial company, and not lil ol me give my money back instantly, put the burdun of proof on the shipper sure made it easier. It all very much worked out in the end. Always use a credit card "just in case" I am so glad I did not pay cash, or money order.

yeah never pay money order. i always use a credit card so i have the charge back option. even on my paypal account i have it pull from my visa check card instead of direct from my bank account. i had a bad ebay transaction i paid with paypal never received. ebay did not do crap paypal did not do crap. called my bank and visa charged it back to paypal i never heard about it again.

to be honest man, i wouldn’t buy something the way you are saying, i had herd of toooo many people getting ripped off, even using the escrow services... especially international. One of my buddies, told me about a guy he herd about at the local audio shop, bought a pair of speakers on ebay or something, the speakers retailed for 10k$ us, he got them for 2000$ and sent the money, money order I think… and never got his speakers, and there was nothing he could do about it….. on the other had, I read an article in a magazine where a guy bought a runco projector, a CRT one, and the projector was shipped in a card board box.. the projector weighted over 100lbs, and by the time the box arrived at the destination, the box was torn to hell, and a corner of the projector was hanging out… so even if you do get your item, no telling what condition it will “really” be in… personally, I would never buy anything that expensive from a non retailer… the only “safe” thing I would think, would to send the money from a credit card, because if you don't receive the item, or there is any fraud involved, you can make that claim with your CC company and you get your money back, and they will pursue the issue if they see fit. I would think that is the safest way… hope this helps bro.

Hi: How does one go about using their credit card when the seller does not have a c/c/machine?? I have given my c/c/ number over the phone to a legitimate business, but never to a private(non dealer person). Interested only! Thanks, huck

Maybe both buyer and seller sign up for paypal and then buyer pays using a credit card.