After a bit of a debacle last week and the recent posting of Buyer / Sellers Beware i have taken it upon myself to share my experiences of the buy / sell internet market here on ball reviews.com.  I think this is a great service for us, to mess it up would be a shame.

1. Always, if at all possible have digital pictures to E-mail potential buyers if u are a seller.  

2. Be 100% honest about the ball, if its been plugged tell so, resurfaced tell so, damaged tell so, etc etc etc.

3. Be ready to ship promptly when bought or post when exactly you will ship.   "I have to pick it up from my uncle who is letting his cousin borrow it" just doesn't get it.  Then it is always "When i went to get the ball it was gone or some other story".  If the ball is not in your hands do not post it for sale or trade.  

4. Ship via UPS or some other trackable method and e-mail tracking numbers promptly to buyer.

5. Use a service like Paypal or some other similar method to transfer and receive funds. This also gives you recourse if not receiving merchandise.

6. If not using a method like Paypal, ship COD.   Paypal is easy to sign up.  If one chooses to not use this service for you and them then they need to take the hit of a COD charge.  

7. Unless u have sold several and have 100% confidence NEVER send a ball or payment without these type services.  You only ask for it if you do so.

8. Sellers DO NOT WITHDRAW funds until the track number has been sent and buyer can see that the shipment is in route.  (This is good manners)

9. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.

10. Know the shipping charges if you are adding.  DO NOT state it may be 5 dollars then come back and request more money when u miss it.  If you quote 5 bucks then it 5 bucks.  If you do not look it up then it your fault.  Not mine.

Nod


Post your additional comments or suggestions

Nod

Edited on 2/18/2004 10:01 AM

Nod,

I agree with your list IF you are a new seller. Otherwise, as in my case, I do not agree with #1 (I am not buying a digital camera, just so someone can see the ball in a picture that can easily be deceiving. I already got stuck myself by someone who is supposedly a trustworthy seller here.). I alreay have a reputation of sorts here and on other selling sites. If a ball or other merchandise is not as I describe it, I will take it back. Not one person has yet to complain, beyond asking me why I charged so little.

COD is fine but many people do not realize there can be a large ($7-10) surcharge for what may have started out to be an inexpensive ball ($25-40). Also COD guarantees nothing more than a heavy box than could contain rocks (saw people pay $10,000 for audio mono-block amplifiers and receive said bricks!). I, as a seller, have gotten the raw end of the deal several times when a buyer requested COD. They never picked up the box; I got stuck with my product a nd the shipping AND COD charges. Now, if someone asks for COD, to protect myself, they must pay the shipping and handling charges (if there are any), before I send out anything.

FYI Paypal seems to be a protection for the seller, not the buyer. Although I use it and have not been burned by the use of Paypal, I research my sellers (when I am buying) very, very carefully, even when using PayPal.
 

These are based on a few of my experiences over a 25 year period.
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"Just because you can do something does not mean you should do it."