Selling on Gumtree, Payment Scams

subywagon on 18/11/2019 - 22:15

I'm selling a plastic car grill on gumtree cheap. It's rare but not valuable. Someone wants to purchase it but they are interstate and would like me to courier it to them. The grill is only $10, but shipping is just over $50. They said they will deposit $70 all up to make sure it's all covered.

Is there a way they can scam me out of the shipping cost be recanting their payment?

I don't care about the cost of the grill and would give it away, but I don't want to be down for the shipping costs!

Thanks all

Financial

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Comments

  • CC123 on 18/11/2019 - 22:27
    +1

    I would say Beem It, Bank Transfer or PayID.
    Would avoid PayPal.

    I could be wrong so I would like to know what is recommended as well

    Also send it using some sort of registered post + signature on delivery

  • jelko on 18/11/2019 - 22:30
    -8

    PayPal is fine. Just make sure you see the money in your account before sending it. Also make sure you send it to the address listed in their PayPal account.

    • trex on 18/11/2019 - 23:07
      +1

      Paypal isn't really safe. Buyer can claim item was not delivered, not as described or faulty. As a seller, I would actually avoid Paypal.

      • jelko on 19/11/2019 - 09:16
        -3

        It's not an auction. You're not on eBay. There is no recourse for the buyer. The buyer can't get their money back

        • Ughhh on 19/11/2019 - 09:25
          +2

          The buyer can't get their money back

          Yes they can of funded by credit card- charge back, not even PayPal can do anything about it.

        • payton on 19/11/2019 - 10:43
          +1

          Must be born yesterday

  • Blue Cat on 18/11/2019 - 22:33

    Obvious would be to wait for the money to actually clear into your bank account, as in, you can cash it out at the ATM or transfer it to your savings account.

    Also, call your bank to see what is their policy on when the money sender declares that their funds have been transfered without their knowledge (which is usually 99% just part of the scam).

    I have a Macquarie Platinum account and I once had a chat with them about what will happen if the sender suddenly changes their mind and says their transfer has been made illegally. They said that once the money clears into my account, and the sender makes a claim to get the money back, it doesn't happen instantly. They will open an investigation case where I might need to submit proof to them (Macquarie) that the money was received legally. In your case, I would say "I had an advertisement, with a screenshot here and a link here, for a grill for $10, and here's the receipt for shipping from AusPost".
    Then they will ask the money sender to submit proof that his details were used illegally, like a police case number or other proof from a government body or a bank.
    Atleast, that's what they told me, so now I always use my Macquarie Platinum account for dodgy bank transfer dealings on Scamtr- I mean, Gumtree.

    • trex on 18/11/2019 - 23:09

      Interesting point. The buyer could claim that he/she transferred the funds to the wrong account by intentionally using a wrong account name. Banks may be obligated to reverse the transaction and refund the payment.

      • Blue Cat on 19/11/2019 - 09:20

        Have you tried it yourself? I remember most of the banks' apps reminding how "account's name" is just for reference only and that transfers only happen based on the account number and BSB.
        I had sent some money to friends and given them names like "Farty McFartFace" and never had any problems.

        • trex on 19/11/2019 - 09:53

          Yeah, account names are no longer matched for the payment to go through. It’s one way for a buyer to contact their bank later claiming that they paid to wrong account and request for the payment to be reversed. Haven’t tried this myself so can’t confirm.

    • tryagain on 18/11/2019 - 23:41

      that the money was received legally

      If they claim their account was hacked, then I guess any payment would be considered illegal, ie stolen funds?

      • Blue Cat on 19/11/2019 - 09:12

        I guess Macquarie would require a statement from sender's bank that their account was accessed from an unusual place or an unusual device? Would be nice to know how it would actually work.

  • brendanm on 18/11/2019 - 22:38

    Try sendle for the courier.

  • bobbified on 18/11/2019 - 22:40
    +1

    There's lots of scammers on gumtree and there's no shortage of bad experiences, but there's also lots of legitimate buyers on there too.

    If your item is rare as you say, there's a good chance that the buyer is legitimate. But, the item is yours and whether you're comfortable or not is totally up to you.

  • FireRunner on 18/11/2019 - 23:07
    -3

    Ask for payment via PayPal F&F's to avoid seller chargeback

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 19/11/2019 - 01:23
    +3

    I would simply ask them this:

    'Dear (Mr Buyer),

    Are you happy to pay me $70 via whatever method you choose, wait until I have that $70 in cash in my hand, then wait for the goods to arrive?'

    If they reject that kind offer, then reject 'their custom'.

    Note that in this situation it is you doing them the favour; because methinks that in the 30 minutes to an hour it will take you to organise this postage thing, you could have easilly earned more than $10, doing something else! Don't wast more than 20 minutes on this, and certainly don't risk being 'jagged' $50 or more via any 'postage costs' scam… however unlikely that may be.

  • elgrande on 19/11/2019 - 04:25

    Bank deposit only. No paypal, they have 180 days to claim their money back.

  • tomsco on 19/11/2019 - 07:37
    +4

    Recently I sent something via post on gumtree and the buyer arranged a prepaid shipping label.

    Not sure how easy they are to arrange, but that may be an option.

  • orangetrain on 19/11/2019 - 08:56
    +3

    First come, first serve. Anything else is a lot of work for $10. Wtf is with all above comments allowing hassle and potential headache over $10?

    • Austin 316 on 19/11/2019 - 09:21
      +1

      My thoughts too. Why risk $50 and spend this much time on research for $10.

      • subywagon on 19/11/2019 - 11:15

        Yep, my thoughts too. That's why the only real research I've conducted is making a simple post on here. Too risky and too much hassle I think.

  • Seraphin7 on 19/11/2019 - 09:14

    Just tell them it's $10, but they must arrange their own shipping.

  • blonky on 19/11/2019 - 10:11

    Paypal doesn't do protection for gumtree sales - but maybe create a new paypal and withdraw the funds before sending the item (may be a few days waiting period for new accounts)

    Otherwise what I do is have a separate unused bank account to receive payments - as soon as I receive a payment I will transfer it into a different account right away so it can't be reversed

    • Ughhh on 19/11/2019 - 10:45
      +1

      Paypal doesn't do protection for gumtree sales -

      Not the main issue, problem is the how the payment was funded. If by credit card, buyer could initiate charge back and PayPal will just pass the debt to you.

      • blonky on 19/11/2019 - 10:59

        Then your new paypal account will go into negative and you will abandone it

        • Ughhh on 19/11/2019 - 11:04

          Except they have your name and bank details.

  • vivviv10 on 19/11/2019 - 10:53

    OP is safe as now way a scammer is going to pay $70 for a $10 item . They are after bigger biscuits .

    • subywagon on 19/11/2019 - 11:16

      The item is probably worth a bit more. It's from an older car that is hard to get parts for, but not really valuable.

      • tryagain on 19/11/2019 - 11:33

        Get them to deposit the cash (not a cheque, make sure the funds are clear) at a branch of your bank. It will be available straight away without any recourse from them as far as I can tell.

        • subywagon on 19/11/2019 - 11:41

          I thought I'd heard of people having money pulled from their account even after it's cleared? That's what I'm mostly worried about.

          • tryagain on 19/11/2019 - 11:52
            +1

            @subywagon: I don't see how, I have heard of people depositing checks that then bounce, but it wouldn't then show up as cleared. Once the cash has been deposited it should then be instantly available, I can't see any way of them then being able to reclaim it.

    • ssquid on 19/11/2019 - 14:04

      That's the scam, they offer an amount too good to be true then claim it all back and end up not paying a cent.

      • ribbonsofnight on 19/11/2019 - 19:56

        You could definitely be unlucky and find a thief who wants this particular item but there's no way someone who's an experienced scammer is busily conning people out of $10 items and $50 shipping regularly. They'll be busy stealing $500+ items that they can easily sell.

  • subywagon on 20/11/2019 - 09:27
    +1

    Well I told them I'll happily send the item if they can organise shipping themselves and I never heard back.

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