Purchaser asking to send first?

[juggalotus574]

i've had a few ppl wanting to purchase some daemons from me but wanting me to send first b4 before paying for them b/c of higher feedback. i haven't been on here alot in the last year or so but this doesn't sound right to me. has this become a common practice? when paying thru paypal, you can get your $$ back should something go afowl. Can someone clear this up for me?

[porkuslime]

It is a common convention of the site. It is NOT a rule, and if you are not comfortable with doing so, by no means should you do so.

A lot of people equate purchasing with trading.. essentially trading green paper for metal or plastic..

It also should be mentioned that Bartertown is NOT a "pay as you go" store, like other sites.. it is a community based on reputation, and trustworthyness.

Having said that, *I* would generally trust anyone with a rating of 50+ or more.. if I was in your shoes.. (and I was, once)

-Porkuslime

[starslayer]

Paypal wont protect them if you take all the $$$ out of the account. There is nothing to get back. You will limit the number of people who want to deal with you- but its your choice. Some people have been here years & have hundreds of trades. Who has more to lose? Look at it from their side. If you cant trust someone like that- why should they trust you?

[MagickalMemories]

if I was in your shoes.. (and I was, once)

-Porkuslime

Can you remember that far ago?

Lessee....

As of right now, the OP is at a 24...
Jim's at a 912 ( )

Do the math...

That was 888 points ago.

There we go again. You and that 888 number.
References for the Reference God!


As for the OP... Jim and SS have said it best.
It's common practice based on the PROVEN trustworthiness of the individuals involved (not saying you aren't trustworthy, just tha someone with a higher rating has proven it more) and the inability for paypal to to anything effective, aside from transfer money between people and charge the recipient for the task.


Eric

[juggalotus574]

i even asked a guy if he could send me part up front and he told me no. i've gotten a couple more PM's that are like "you send b4 i pay you". i guess i've been out of the loop for a bit, but i've been ripped off twice on trades, and i'm trying to cover my @$$. something to keep in mind for the future i suppose....

[Imaginos]

Well, if the person pays by credit card through paypal, they can do a chargeback. Paypal even describes the process, how it works, and how the CC company takes the money back from paypal and then they go after the seller (if the chargeback goes through). Paypal doesn't have a way to keep the money from the buyer in that case, and it is why I've been using my CC to fund paypal instead of my bank account. I just pay off whatever every month.

Like others have said, though, it all depends on what you are comfortable with. I had someone who had a too-good-to-be-true deal - did a lot of discussion - and I asked him to ship first because he had 0 references. His response was to throw a fit about how could he build a reputation if nobody trusted him. But no way was I willing to ship simultaneously because he had NO rep at all.

[MagickalMemories]

"Part up front" has been used before, too.
"The_Trader" got a number of people with that, as I remember.

Remember, though.
It's not personal about YOU and is not any indication that the individual thinks YOU will scam him. It's something they do to protect themselves against the POSSIBILITY that yuo're "one of those."

Many people who believed that the BUYER should pay first sent money to "The_Trader" and, now, feel differently.


Eric

@Creeper... Tried it. Doesn't work.
You're sending the money to payPal for a service, which is to send the money to the recipient. payPal did their job, so no refund. I've only ever heard of that being successful for ONE person and, I think, they might've been out of the US, where the laws are different (IIRC).

[Imaginos]

@MM - I was reading up on the paypal website earlier today. On an RPG website, I bought some Necromunda figures for a great deal recently, and the guy still hadn't shipped and wasn't responding to me. I filed a dispute earlier today and saw they have a whole deal explaining a charge back to the seller. The thing is, paypal can't refuse the charge back. They are acting as the intermediary. The charge back is the credit card company's protection for their customer.

However, rather than just taking what I'm saying at gospel, I encourage anyone to take a look at the resolution center or dispute center in paypal. They have a chart explaining things, and I'd rather people got their info direct from them rather than just me.

[Ironhide]

Awaiting the masses who hate paypal to chime in.

[MagickalMemories]

LOL

Well, I don't hate PayPal, but I can tell you that my first hand experience was different than that.
There are many others who will agree.

I bought from someone here, via their feebay auction (didn't know they were a BTown member at the time), and they never sent the product.
I tried everything.... emails, PayPal disputes, you name it.
When I called my credit card company, my request was denied for the very reason I refer to above.

Eventually, the seller refunded my money. They'd gone out of town without notifying me.

Eric

[getupandgo]

Can we get this stickied? I just had a seller get VERY snippy with me accusing me of trying to "pull a fast one", and then swearing at me for asking him (politely I might add) to ship before payment.

[s_o_r_r_o_w]

I'm primarily a purchaser, and IMO, cash transactions should be managed exactly as trades. Cash is in fact "more portable", so the risk of being scammed is, I think, marginally higher in circumstances where one party is sending cash, since it is hard to convert Space Marines into blow....

I pay first to those above me, and second to those below me, in terms of raw rating. Very occasionally, I will put down a deposit to reassure a seller with a lower rating.

In these sorts of transactions, particularly for those of $50 and above, I request the full address and contact info of my trading partner, as well as work contact info. I provide the same. I think that this is a good practice and would go a long way to avoiding some of the identity chasing that goes on in bad trades. Obviously, a scammer could lie. But I also tend to Google them before sending my hard earned denarii.

[starslayer]

Can we get this stickied? I just had a seller get VERY snippy with me accusing me of trying to "pull a fast one", and then swearing at me for asking him (politely I might add) to ship before payment.

I find it hilarious when a member want me to pay first- siting trust. If you cant someone with a 300+ rating who has been on Btown for years- how can I trust someone who joined a month ago with a rating of 4?!! LMAO!
You have to put in your time, build trust & "pay your dues" here. Some new members dont want to.

[MagickalMemories]

Can we get this stickied? I just had a seller get VERY snippy with me accusing me of trying to "pull a fast one", and then swearing at me for asking him (politely I might add) to ship before payment.

Well, you probably WERE trying to scam him.
It's not like you have anything vested in the site.
LOL

Eric

[starslayer]

He does keep his "Location" a secret......