TradeMe: Authenticated bidders with no feedback...am I unreasonably paranoid?

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#248954 17-Apr-2019 10:42

So selling a reasonably high value item on TradeMe - bids currently at around $2k.

Lead bidder is authenticated (for whatever that is worth) but only joined in January and has never traded before and thus has no feedback.

They have already asked the usual questions "What is your Buy Now" etc.

I am of a mind to just remove their bid and blacklist them in favour of the bidders that have a tangible history on the site - if it was a $100 auction I probably wouldn't bother, but my spidey-senses are tingling.

Am I just being a foil-hatter here?

WWYD?

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#2219732 17-Apr-2019 10:42

Hmmmm. Here we go.

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#2219737 17-Apr-2019 10:42

In before Peter Reader!

Damn - too late.

tehgerbil

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#2219742 17-Apr-2019 10:49

Leave it - We all started there at some point. Heck the first thing I bought was a $150 bottle of perfume for the wife, so been in their shoes!

Do the usual - transfer the cash. Don't allow anything beyond cash or bank transfer and transfer the cash OUT of that account so they can't reverse it afterwards.

surfisup1000

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#2219743 17-Apr-2019 10:51

Were you planning on sending this through a courier?

I would not ship anything worth that much on trademe.

I'd ask for cash on pickup. I don't know if trademe or anyone in NZ offers escrow services (google it).

shrub

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#2219746 17-Apr-2019 10:55

Based on my last 5 sales the buyers are just not leaving feedback anymore. Trademe should change to completed sales instead?

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#2219747 17-Apr-2019 10:56

surfisup1000:

Were you planning on sending this through a courier?

I would not ship anything worth that much on trademe.

I'd ask for cash on pickup. I don't know if trademe or anyone in NZ offers escrow services (google it).

I have offered both! Signature only for the courier and they do offer $2k cover for damage/loss

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PeterReader

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#2219748 17-Apr-2019 10:57

Item:

In before Peter Reader!

Damn - too late.

You were 38.3358250235802358203582309903 seconds too late. Perhaps next time actually try and beat me.

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#2219751 17-Apr-2019 10:59

PeterReader:

Item:

In before Peter Reader!

Damn - too late.

You were 38.3358250235802358203582309903 seconds too late. Perhaps next time actually try and beat me.

Touché!

😁

clevedon

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#2220057 17-Apr-2019 16:39

Item:

So selling a reasonably high value item on TradeMe - bids currently at around $2k.

Lead bidder is authenticated (for whatever that is worth) but only joined in January and has never traded before and thus has no feedback.

They have already asked the usual questions "What is your Buy Now" etc.

I am of a mind to just remove their bid and blacklist them in favour of the bidders that have a tangible history on the site - if it was a $100 auction I probably wouldn't bother, but my spidey-senses are tingling.

Am I just being a foil-hatter here?

WWYD?

No, I'd just delete their bid for a trade of that value.

Just not worth the hassle if it turns to custard, let them build a history with other traders first is my policy.

surfisup1000

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#2220065 17-Apr-2019 17:15

Item:
surfisup1000:

Were you planning on sending this through a courier?

I would not ship anything worth that much on trademe.

I'd ask for cash on pickup. I don't know if trademe or anyone in NZ offers escrow services (google it).

I have offered both! Signature only for the courier and they do offer $2k cover for damage/loss

2k cover seems good, but terms and conditions of the cover are more important when making an actual claim.

I made a claim with nz post once and it was initially rejected due to a fairly ocscure out clause in the fine print.

Just check those terms and make sure the goods are not on an exclusion list and that the address is a valid delivery address... there are some addresses that might be excluded in the fine print (that was my issue, nz post couldn’t decide if the address was a valid address and excluded my claim on that basis)

Even though it was their fault they lost the goods.if it was an invalid address they should have returned to me... but I ended up proving to them the address was valid and my claim was approved many months later.

Couriers might be less rigid in their conditions but check anyway.

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#2220080 17-Apr-2019 18:16

If it was me, I would delete the bid and explain why in a message. The bidder might be disappointed but a reasonable person ought to understand. Just explain you are uncomfortable due to value of item and lack of feedback. If you miss a sale then so be it.

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#2220084 17-Apr-2019 18:25

If it wasn't until this week, I would have said it probably wasn't a problem. However I just had someone purchase something, where they had only one previous trade, and they have not completed the trade. After follow up emails, and even after involving trademe, they have gone silent. So will end up with a commission refund. However I have to now throw away the product I was selling, as I can't store it any longer, and had to waste 2 weeks chasing them up, and trademe also gives them another week to complete it, so 3 weeks wasted.

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#2220191 17-Apr-2019 20:13

Are they able to pickup and pay cash for the item? Far lower risk for you that way.

If they pay by bank deposit, Hold onto the money for 2 business days before shipping the item. As there is a bug with ANZ, in that you can create an automatic payment to someone. And it will still pay them the money, even if you dont have enough money in your own account. 1 day later, ANZ will reverse the payment due to insufficient funds. But if you have already spent or transferred the money. Your account will just end up in unarranged overdraft.

If you hold onto the money initially, it gives time for any automatic reversal to happen. Before you ship the goods.

Authencited means that they have topped up their Trademe account balance by $10. Does that buyer have Address Verified status?

Maybe email Trademe with your concerns, And ask them if they can call the buyer to verify their phone number? Or pass on a message.

What is the item? As a mate had problems with scam buyers when he sold a laptop on Trademe.