Buying from private sellers - with or without buyer protection?

Down Up Dick said:

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. ld:

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I agree with Dick. First of all, I'm never satisfied when I buy something used. From the minute I get it I start wondering why they sold it to me and I start looking for things wrong with it. Except old motorcycles, and I expect them to have issues when I buy them. But that's not what we are talking about here. But on the other side of it, if I sell something it is because I don't like it anymore for some reason or another, and if you buy something from me you are getting it for that reason. When I sell something I do my best to take pictures and describe it accurately, but in the end I'm not forcing anyone to buy my cast offs. I can't put a guarantee on my stuff. There are just too many fickle people out there who are never going to be happy and I've had to deal with a few of them. It just leaves both sides feeling bad. If you aren't sure, don't buy it. Simple as that. I live by that rule as well. Unless you are guaranteeing my satisfaction up front, it is my fault if I buy your cast offs and I'm not satisfied.

Edit: As I read this after I posted and it sounds kind of harsh, but it is not meant to be. It is just me. So smiley face

As has been stated, never buy/sell using F&F, unless it truly is a friend or family member. If someone ASKS for that, I won't deal with them at all. There is NOTHING cool about getting scammed. It's also worth noting that in a dispute, PP sides with the buyer ~90% of the time. So even after you sell something, they've got time to argue that the item wasn't "as described" and PP will typically take their word for it. With F&F they can claim they never even received it, since there's effectively no transaction. Buying and selling on the internet is a gamble, albeit a fun one. I've only had a handful of transactions (out of hundreds) which upset me, either as buyer or seller. But they happen, and you want what protection is available.

kohanmike said:

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.

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

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Sounds like you were lucky, Mike, to have a seller who was willing to give you an immediate refund on the bug-infested Ovation! For a moment I thought you were going to say that you contacted the seller and he immediately sent you a can of Raid.

Thanks everyone, what you've all written has kind of confirmed my gut feeling! I've pulled out of what I was looking to buy because
1. The guy was very slow replying, it was like pulling teeth!
2. He's a bit rude and
3. I get a bad feeling and I'd rather pay £100 more and be happy!

Really interesting reading people's experiences, and nothing reads as being harsh

I've been scammed selling on gumtree but was lucky and got my money back (was short of a miracle I've been told!) and when I sell I try to be as honest as possible, and so don't always consider that other people's motivation might be different...
Thanks for helping me make up my mind and for taking the time to reply!

I was selling an Ohana Tenor that was the second uke I ever bought. It was sold to me as new and had just been taken off the sale price. The owner of the store said he'd give me the sale price. And agreed to setting it up after I asked him to. (From reading GotAUkulele.com articles.) It's a nice looking & playing tenor uke. But it does have a couple of finishing flaws under the varnish. I shugged them off because it's a middle of the line quality and though that was why the flaws were there.

I was selling it on the UU Marketplace. One person was interested and asked me to send photographs of it. I was shooting it and noticed a couple of other flaws and I tried to get a good shot of the ding I put on the sound board. But when I took a picture of the inside label, it suddenly dawned on me what the blue "B" after the model number indicated. "B" stock! (I know, I'm slow.) Funny how taking photos focuses (pun intended) your attention on small details.

I immediately notified the potential buyer about the label and how I noticed more flaws in the finish whilst photographing it. I offered to reduce the price even more and apologized profusely for my stupidity. Alas, I think he felt I had tried to scam him and only fessed up after he asked for photos.

I felt like an idiot. But, lessons learned.

Have done at least a couple dozen transactions (bought, sold, traded) with folk on this site and one other with no problem. Got almost taken on a scam transaction on a different uke site a few years ago and it took over three months to get resolved. The overall transaction record has been quite successful over the years and very rewarding. The key to me is to not be afraid of walking away from a potential deal if not fully satisfied with the information exchanged with the other party.

There are millions of used instruments out there and always another opportunity to deal. Getting rushed into a deal always alerts me that something may be amiss with the instrument. If I end up not getting the "prize du jour," then I just wait for the next chance, A review of the Marketplace listings for the past year is a good forecast for what the next year will bring.

Regarding used instrument online sales/purchases, I'll only go "Regular Paypal." Buyer/seller protection notwithstanding, trying to beat Paypal out of a handling fee for their service just seems unethical to me. They provide a commercial service which has value in dealing with strangers, and that should be recognized for its value. Trying to claim that folk I have never met or even had a serious conversation (and probably never will) as "friends and family" in order to save anywhere from $3-to-$15 on a $100-to-$500 business transaction by an intentionally untruthful action is (to me, anyway) the online-equivalent of shoplifting.