[apple007]

After switching to AT&T and then upgrading to iPhone, I ended up with two brand new Sony Ericsson W810i cell phones to sell.

I placed a few ads on Craigslist last week and sold phone #1 within about two hours for full asking price ($215). Now, a week later, all I've gotten are about 75 emails from scammers wanting me to ship phone #2 to Africa or Europe. (I guess my quick sale was a fluke and not the online norm.)

Are there any other (relatively) hassle-free places to sell electronics online? I'm not a member of eBay, etc.; this is my first venture into online sales. (I'm in South Florida.) Thanks.

[chucker]

facebook Marketplace, maybe?

[ghoti]

You could try eBay. For all its problems, it does protect you from getting spammed like crazy and if you use PayPal, it's pretty safe. It really depends on how much you want for the phones vs. what they go for on eBay right now. Watch a few auctions to see what they end up at, but ignore all the "Buy Now" offers. I haven't had any bad experiences with eBay. When there were problems, threatening people with bad feedback or PayPal's conflict resolution always did the trick.

[psmith2.0]

CraigsList is the worst for stuff like this. It's so unfiltered and "wide-open"...all I got were bullshitters and scammers contacting me when I was trying to sell my 5G iPod a month or so ago.

eBay or something a bit more restricted and with some checks in place would be the way to go...the world is full of people looking to get over on others. Places like CraigsList make it so easy for them to do their thing.

[apple007]

Thanks. I guess I got lucky last week with the quick sale. People here seemed to give Craigslist high marks for sales like this, especially in a major city where there's a lot of action.

I don't belong to eBay and don't have a PayPal account. I was hoping someone knew of some other bulletin board or classified ad-type sites on which I might be able to sell my other W810i and move on. Thanks again.

[torifile]

It's funny. I've had great experiences selling on craigslist. Just ignore the scammers. I'm not a fan of ebay since they charge so damned much but it's really the only other option. Depending on the item, using amazon's marketplace has been very good to me too but they charge more than ebay.

[apple007]

I thought Craigslist was awesome when I sold phone #1 for full price, in cash, in about two hours last week. But I've been in a serious slump since then, with only scammers contacting me.

The problem is, it's tough to separate the scammers since most people seem to open the dialogue with, "Hi ... Is this item still available?" Then, after answering and saying 'yes,' I get some B.S. email back asking me to ship it to Africa.

I guess this is why eBay can be worth the price/hassle for the serious online sellers. For me, this is a one-time deal, so signing up for eBay and PayPal and all that doesn't seem worth it.

[ghoti]

EBay is not only for "serious sellers". Setting up an account is easy and free, the same with PayPal. You have to give them a credit card or back account number if you want to get money out again (rather than use it to pay for something else through PayPal), but that's also not a big problem (and you can trust PayPal with that information).

Once you have an eBay account, you will find all kinds of junk that you can sell instead of throwing it away Even if these things aren't hugely valuable, it's still a good motivation to get rid of things, rather than have them take up space needlessly.

[apple007]

I might have to try the eBay thing. In the last week on Craigslist, I've heard from one legitimate buyer (sale #1), a couple low-ball tire-kickers, and about 90 people who want me to ship the phone to Europe or Africa after an assuredly-fraudulent PayPal payment. (The experience hasn't give me much confidence in humanity.)

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by torifile It's funny. I've had great experiences selling on craigslist. Just ignore the scammers...

But all I got was scammers!

[ghoti]

I have something on eBay now, and I've gotten two spam messages from some company in China that wants me to buy some crap wholesale. I've reported them, but I guess they can open up new accounts faster than eBay can close them. It's really annoying how a bunch of spamming assholes can ruin everything: email, craigslist, eBay (well it's still not too bad), online review sites, etc.

[apple007]

I finally got around to listing the Sony Ericsson W810i on eBay today. We'll see how that goes.

My current Craigslist tally is one legitimate buyer on Day #1 (sale #1), two tire-kickers with low-ball offers, and just under 100 scammers asking me to ship the phone to Europe or Africa.

I thought I had it made when I sold phone #1 for full price on Day 1, but then every email I've received since then has been a scammer. Hard to believe there are so many scumbags in the world, or that so many people are gullible enough to keep such scumbags in business.

[apple007]

I'm two days into a 5-day eBay listing for the w810i cell phone. The listing has 40 hits but no bids. Is that common (do people usually bid at the last minute)?

eBay seems to be almost as full of scammers as Craigslist. I've received about 8-10 private messages already from people asking me if I'll accept $600 for the phone and then ship it to Africa.

[Windowsrookie]

http://anandtech.com has good for sale forums.

[apple007]

Question for the eBay sellers here: Thankfully, I have bids on my w810i on eBay. How do I know the money is safely mine and it's safe to ship the phone to the buyer?

I have my eBay listing set up to accept PayPal and that seems to be the S.O.P. on eBay, but all the scammers who keep offering to pay me $600 to ship it to Africa also offer to pay via PayPal, so how do I know a payment is legit vs. fraudulent? Do I need to wait a certain number of days, or could PayPal come after me for the money 45 days from now if it turned out to be a fraudulent payment?

Sorry if this is newbie territory. This is my first venture into online sales. Thanks.

[Windowsrookie]

Make sure his address is verified. Don't ship to P.O. boxes.

[apple007]

Originally Posted by Windowsrookie Make sure his address is verified. Don't ship to P.O. boxes.

Okay, thanks.

As for the payment itself, is it "safe" after "x" number of days, or how does that work? I'm not sure how to tell the difference between as assuredly-fraudulent PayPal payment from some guy in Africa or a legit PayPal payment from someone in Illinois. (If the money hits my PayPal account and then I withdraw it or use it, is that it, or can PayPal come after me if it turns out my buyer used a stolen credit card or some crap like that?) Thanks.

[Windowsrookie]

I personally would only ship in the US. It's just safer. If you're shipping in the US and his address is verified with PayPal you should be fine. If it isn't verified, you're not as protected against fraud with PayPal. Make sure you insure that package. He could always pull the "I never got it and want a refund". At least if it's insured you can go after the shipping company.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by apple007 Okay, thanks. As for the payment itself, is it "safe" after "x" number of days, or how does that work? I'm not sure how to tell the difference between as assuredly-fraudulent PayPal payment from some guy in Africa or a legit PayPal payment from someone in Illinois. (If the money hits my PayPal account and then I withdraw it or use it, is that it, or can PayPal come after me if it turns out my buyer used a stolen credit card or some crap like that?) Thanks.

If the money's in your Paypal account, I think you're generally pretty safe. Initiate the withdrawal and then mail it out. Paypal *can* put a lock on the account you've got linked with it at any time so it's probably a good idea to use an account that doesn't have much money in it in case it happens. If the person is verified and you're sending to a confirmed address, I think you're on the safe side.

Anything can happen, but it rarely does. Just do it. All this worrying and hand-wringing isn't making your life any easier.

[Moogs]

Thing about Craig's List is you need to leave unchecked the "it's OK for other people to contact me about businesses and services" thing. That's what keeps the scammers away I suspect. Then hopefully you're just dealing with buyers more or less.

Craig's list is such a oddball thing though. Looks like it's straight out of 1994, and yet it persists, popular as ever.

[Banana]

Originally Posted by Moogs Craig's list is such a oddball thing though. Looks like it's straight out of 1994, and yet it persists, popular as ever.

The difference is you get a local Craiglist whereas eBay is practically global. The fact that you can expect stuff on sale to be within reasonable driving distance from your home alone is so worth it, I think that is why people can put with plain-Jane website design.

FWIW, I've sold some stuff (and didn't), but never got spammed AFAIK. I don't even see spams in posting... Now that I mention it, could it be a local thing; that is, one Craiglist is moderated better than other? Hmmm...

[tomoe]

I often get scammers when trying to sell stuff on Craigslist. However, every once in a while I'll entertain myself by replying to the person, insisting they meet me in the local park or at my office for the transaction, or I'll add some ridiculous stipulation they must meet in order for me to mail the product and allow them to perform alleged wire transfer (such as, they must box up their grandmother and mail her to me, or they must present a solution for the Israeli-Palestine conflict--you know, preposterous things). Then there are other times when I get irritated by someone, and instead I just ask them to send me their home address so I can forward the info to the FBI or CIA for extradition, just to fuck with them a little.

[apple007]

Originally Posted by torifile If the money's in your Paypal account, I think you're generally pretty safe. Initiate the withdrawal and then mail it out. Paypal *can* put a lock on the account you've got linked with it ... Anything can happen, but it rarely does. Just do it. All this worrying and hand-wringing isn't making your life any easier.

Thanks; I agree. Aside from shipping to the U.S. vs. Africa or Europe, I just wasn't sure what made one transaction safe and another unsafe. It's not like Africa has a total monopoly on scammers, so I wasn't sure what the difference was between some guy in Sudan depositing a fraudulent $600 in my PayPal account or some guy in Kansas depositing $200 and then, five weeks later, having that payment alleged to be fraudulent.

More than anything, I just want to get my $200 and be done with it. When everything is said and done, my iPhone should end up costing me about $40, so the hassle will have been worth it assuming I don't get scammed in the process. (I sold phone #1 on Craigslist in about 4 hours; didn't think I'd still be screwing around almost two weeks later.)

Originally Posted by Moogs Thing about Craig's List is you need to leave unchecked the "it's OK for other people to contact me about businesses and services" thing. That's what keeps the scammers away I suspect. Then hopefully you're just dealing with buyers more or less.

I always leave that box unchecked and while I haven't received a single spam message, I've received about 100 emails from people who are clearly scam artists ("I am consular officer in West Africa. I pay you $600 for your trouble to ship to me via Global Express Mail. blah blah blah ..."). Even on eBay, I've received about 10 such emails via PM. I suppose I should report the users but haven't done so.

This has been my first venture into online sales and, if this is the typical experience, I hope it's my last. Less than 1% of the contacts have been from legit buyers. Very frustrating and annoying.

[apple007]

In typical Murphy's Law fashion, I just got a cash offer for the phone I'm selling that would not only be an immediate, in-person sale but also $30 higher than my highest eBay bid.

I know it's probably borderline unethical, but is it possible to cancel an eBay listing? If so, is there a penalty ($) for doing so other than possibly some negative feedback? (This is my first eBay listing and quite possibly my last.)

Thanks.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by apple007 In typical Murphy's Law fashion, I just got a cash offer for the phone I'm selling that would not only be an immediate, in-person sale but also $30 higher than my highest eBay bid. I know it's probably borderline unethical, but is it possible to cancel an eBay listing? If so, is there a penalty ($) for doing so other than possibly some negative feedback? (This is my first eBay listing and quite possibly my last.) Thanks.

No monetary penalty, but it's a prick thing to do. You come here complaining of all the scammers on eBay but they don't break it, people who pull what you're suggesting do.

[apple007]

Originally Posted by torifile No monetary penalty, but it's a prick thing to do. You come here complaining of all the scammers on eBay but they don't break it, people who pull what you're suggesting do.

Huh? I agree it might be a "prick" thing to do, but I don't understand the rest of your statement. I listed it on eBay in good faith and then got a much better offer in terms of payment, payment method and speed of payment.

My complaints were about 100-plus scammers asking me to ship the phone to Africa. I don't see the correlation between those people and me trying to protect my interests with a better sale. (Right now, I have no way of knowing if the eBay buyer is even legit, and if he/she is legit, there's apparently nothing stopping him/her from claiming, 45 days from now, that the PayPal payment was fraudulent and me ending up with a $200 bill from PayPal.)

[torifile]

Originally Posted by apple007 Huh? I agree it might be a "prick" thing to do, but I don't understand the rest of your statement. I listed it on eBay in good faith and then got a much better offer in terms of payment, payment method and speed of payment. My complaints were about 100-plus scammers asking me to ship the phone to Africa. I don't see the correlation between those people and me trying to protect my interests with a better sale. (Right now, I have no way of knowing if the eBay buyer is even legit, and if he/she is legit, there's apparently nothing stopping him/her from claiming, 45 days from now, that the PayPal payment was fraudulent and me ending up with a $200 bill from PayPal.)

You got 100+ scammers on eBay? I thought you were concerned with your buyer not living up to the terms of the agreement you enter into when you list and he bids. If you really want to sell it to that local person, tell them it's on eBay and have them bid on it and just end it when they are the high bidder.

You're not legit either, if you're willing to pull your auction from the high bidder. What a hypocrite.

Don't be a greedy prick who ruins the trust of online purchases. It's only a few dollars.

[apple007]

Originally Posted by torifile You got 100+ scammers on eBay?

I got over 100 scammers on Craigslist and I'm up to 15 scammers on eBay in 3-plus days. My eBay bidders have one or no prior eBay experience/feedback, so it's a tough call if they're legit.

I thought you were concerned with your buyer not living up to the terms of the agreement you enter into when you list and he bids. If you really want to sell it to that local person, tell them it's on eBay and have them bid on it and just end it when they are the high bidder.

I suppose I could do that, but it sounds like a lot of effort for not much purpose. Why not just cancel the auction with an apology to my bidders?

You're not legit either, if you're willing to pull your auction from the high bidder. What a hypocrite. Don't be a greedy prick who ruins the trust of online purchases. It's only a few dollars.

Oh, please. That's just nonsense. For one thing, I have NO WAY OF KNOWING if the buyer is even legit. For another, as you warned me less than 36 hours ago, the buyer could tell PayPal at any time that the purchase was fraudulent, and then I'd be out $200-plus dollars plus the phone plus the eBay/PayPal charges.

This isn't just about pulling an eBay auction over $30. If over 99% of the people who have contacted me in the last two weeks haven't been scammers, I might be more concerned with "ruining the trust of online purchases." But now, it all seems like an unnecessary crapshoot. (BTW, "just a few dollars" is the difference between the local sale and the eBay sale, but it's not that simple. It's actually a $230 difference: Cash-in-hand today vs. a PayPal eBay sale that could get charged back to me at any time.)

[torifile]

Oh, please. That's just nonsense. For one thing, I have NO WAY OF KNOWING if the buyer is even legit. For another, as you warned me less than 36 hours ago, the buyer could tell PayPal at any time that the purchase was fraudulent, and then I'd be out $200-plus dollars plus the phone plus the eBay/PayPal charges.

Wah wah. The rest of us do it and seem to be fine. What a weasley way to make some extra money. Remind me never to do business with you.

That little "extra hassle" is what differentiates you from legit people on the web. Nice work. You've become one of those scammers. Hurray for you!

[Taskiss]

Originally Posted by torifile You got 100+ scammers on eBay? I thought you were concerned with your buyer not living up to the terms of the agreement you enter into when you list and he bids. If you really want to sell it to that local person, tell them it's on eBay and have them bid on it and just end it when they are the high bidder. You're not legit either, if you're willing to pull your auction from the high bidder. What a hypocrite. Don't be a greedy prick who ruins the trust of online purchases. It's only a few dollars.

What part of putting something up for "auction" do you feel suggests that selling to the highest bidder is unethical?