Buying from private sellers - with or without buyer protection?

pix.fairydust

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Hello,

Ever since I almost got scammed (not this group!) I'm so careful when buying from people I haven't dealt with that I now would rather pay the extra for buyer protection and foot the difference myself.

Just wondering what other people do/ feel?
 
My experiences here on UU have all been excellent.
 
One seller (on here), cost me £35, because he didn't want to pay the charges, & returned my Paypal money, (which is what was asked for in his advert), without me knowing that it wouldn't get back into my bank account - so, no, I wouldn't buy without proper protection. :)
 
Everything I sell is regular Paypal, no friend and family. Yes Paypal takes 3% but it is worth it for the peace of mind for myself and the purchaser. I don't buy friends and family either, I will tell the seller to add on another 3% so he/she is not out the money, but I want protection.
 
I may jinx myself here but I have had very good experiences with purchasing gently used ukuleles from UU (Mya Moe Tenor, Mya Moe resonator), FMM (Pono Tenor, Mya Moe slide lap steel--which I am going to sell as I just don't play it :(), Ukulele Friend (Martin Custom Concert, which I returned as I discovered I like a longer neck -- it did sound amazing. Shawn was incredible to work with!), Craigslist (Vintage Martin soprano O, vintage Martin Tenor), and Reverb (Pono electric, which I may sell as I am not really playing that much but it is very cool). It helps to speak on the phone first and ask questions or at least ask questions by email.
 
I'm specifically thinking outside of UU...

I posted this on another thread about eBay:
Buyer beware. I once drove an hour to follow up on a 1920s Martin listed on Craigslist only to find that the neck had been snapped off and terribly glued back on. The bridge was also clumsily glued on. The guy photographed the ukulele at certain angles and in low light so the photos were "fuzzy" and hid all this. A month later I saw the same Martin (same exact photos) listed on eBay for more than the Craigslist price. Ask for clear photos at different angles. Ask for a sound sample too.

Regarding the character of a seller (or the buyer), one never knows for sure until the transaction is complete.
 
Because of so many troubles, I stopped buying second hand stuff years ago, and I have had even more troubles selling my used stuff to people.

I’m very, very careful whenever I buy stuff, and, though I’m usually satisfied with what I buy, I keep whatever it is and use it or get rid of it (gift or trash).
:eek:ld:
 
I posted this on another thread about eBay:
Buyer beware. I once drove an hour to follow up on a 1920s Martin listed on Craigslist only to find that the neck had been snapped off and terribly glued back on. The bridge was also clumsily glued on. The guy photographed the ukulele at certain angles and in low light so the photos were "fuzzy" and hid all this. A month later I saw the same Martin (same exact photos) listed on eBay for more than the Craigslist price. Ask for clear photos at different angles. Ask for a sound sample too.

Regarding the character of a seller (or the buyer), one never knows for sure until the transaction is complete.

It's this kind of thing, as well as what Down Up Dick said and my own troubles that makes me think I'm happy to foot the bill for extra protection... £30-40 versus potentially losing hundreds...
 
I've been lucky buying and selling online - never a problem. Doesn't PayPal include buyer protection with the transaction?

As for Friends and Family, that would be okay for actual friends and family. Otherwise, I'd rather play it straight, or F & F will be eliminated.

I once tried to use that, but the fee would have been applied to my account, so I didn't continue.Jerry

If there aren't enough good pictures, I ask for more. I also ask about problems, damage, and repairs. If they lie about the condition, I'm pretty safe.
 
If your final decision is that you're too hesitant to go forward with a private sale, that's ok, I don't blame you!

Right now I am also in a place where any new ukes I buy will be from a retailer like HMS. I've just had back to back bad experiences working with individuals. In one case, I was sent an instrument that was shipped improperly and that arrived with a soundboard crack, so we had to go back and forth about that. In another case, I had a builder make an instrument for me, and when it arrived, I had to take it to a luthier to have $150 worth of setup fret work done to make it playable without buzzing.

In both cases I got a good deal because I bought privately. In both cases, I would've happily paid another 10-15% to buy from a respectd retailer who would've caught these issues before shipping!

It's great others feel comfortable with private sales/transactions, more power to you. Not for me though, at least right now, and pix.fairydust, if you feel the same way, don't feel bad!
 
It’s not just the money or bad merchandise. It was also the hassle. People bought something from me, and then decided that they’d really have somethin’ else. Guys took my USED stuff home, examined every inch of it and brought it back to get their money back or a reduction in price. I was even told I cheated someone.

Nah! I’ll buy new and keep what I buy, gift it (yeah, right) or toss it. :eek:ld:
 
I've bought pre-owned ukes here and on eBay with PayPal, the only problem I had was when an Ovation uke arrived, it was infested with bugs. I contacted the seller and he immediately gave me a refund and paid for the shipping back.


8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video
 
If you use friends and family there is no protection - there in lies the risk...

I have never, nor would I ever use a friends and family PayPal transaction. Not just because of the protection but because to me it is fraudulent if the person you are dealing with is Not in fact a family member or a friend.
 
I have paid the difference between Friends & Family and Regular PayPal on three or four occasions. It's worth the 3% for the extra peace of mind.

I have had mixed results buying used. Maybe 3 out of the 12 purchases I have done, both here and other sites, have been less than ideal. Mostly for undisclosed flaws on the instrument I bought.
 
I’ve used both methods depending on the situation in both buyer and seller roles. Lucky to report that I’ve never had a problem. All buyers of my Ukes have always appreciated the care I’ve taken in packing for shipping and communicating tracking details as I’ve had when receiving Ukes I’ve purchased.
At the end of the day you have to determine where on the continuum of risk you feel comfortable.
 
For the most part the Ukulele world is populated by strait forward individuals that a pleasure to do transaction with. I do attempt to sell mostly Martins, I've used this site somewhat successfully. I didn't sell some of them but the market for vintage Martins has dried up. Currently I've talked to music stores and they want 25% which puts the squeeze on me. Craig's List is full of scammers on both ends of transactions so I won't list there any more. As for eBay, I'm in the herd thinning mode, I do buy a tuner, tool or other such items. I may sell there again when I get over my evilbay notions. Over all I'm glad there is online sales, it provides greater access to just about everything.
 
I have bought and sold many things including motor vehicles and ukuleles on eBay and Gumtree with no problems. For me the key is communication with the other party. If the person isn't easy to deal with, I drop out. I have had enough success that even if I had a bad transaction, it wouldn't put me off.
 
I have bought (and sold) countless instruments online over the years, most have been mutually rewarding experiences but there are any number of people that choose to be dishonest with their descriptions when selling. Stuff like failing to disclose the item had finish imperfections glaring enough that they would be (or should be) considered factory seconds... and then photographing them extensively but in a manner that ensured these problems did not show up.
Sadly, this practice is not unknown among the ukulele sellers I've dealt with over the years. In some cases, I kept the instrument as I still considered it a fair price... but it clearly was not a "great deal" .
 
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