Timeliness of gear swap transactions

**single** · 09-16-2010, 10:49 AM

I just had a weird transaction on here, with I buyer that I wont name.

So the person in question payed me via paypal for a pair of skis on saturday. Due to recent paypal sketchiness that has happened to me, I was waiting for the payment to transfer to my bank account. Usually 3-4 business days. (to be fair, I did not inform the seller that I was going to wait for this to hapen)

But on top of that I am a full time engineering student with other shit going on. And it is early season, noone is skiing right now.

But all of those excuses are beside the point.

I was planning on shipping the skis out this morning, when I received a pm from the buyer asking if I had tracking information. I said no, and that the skis were going out today and wondered if he had a carrier preference. He responded, surprised that the skis were not yet en route, and asked for a refund because it had been a week.

I sent the money back, whatever. But is this time frame completely unreasonable? I have admittedly taken longer to get skis out with no problems from the buyer, and consider myself to be a solid and well known seller on this forum. [/blog

your thoughts?

-g

In other news, I have a smoking deal on some 176 gotamas (of the wood buddha era with BD01's) Check it out in gearswap.

**berko** · 09-16-2010, 10:51 AM

I think the buyer is just pissed because of all the powder days he just missed waiting for those skis.

**smmokan** · 09-16-2010, 10:52 AM

No, not reasonable at all. Given that the Paypal transaction probably didn't clear to your account until Wednesday or so anyways... that means shipping Wednesday or Thursday is about right. You're a (fairly) upstanding member of the TGR community, too.

Besides, it's September- who needs to get their skis this week anyways?

**lobstahmeatwad** · 09-16-2010, 10:53 AM

ghey.
Interweb dweebs especially in the US can be very impatient.

I'm shipping some stuff out tomarrow I was paid for last fri. My only day to do that stuff is on a fri. If he had sent me the money on tues when I had it ready I would have sent it out last fri but he paid me at midnight on fri so he has to wait a week.

**Eluder** · 09-16-2010, 10:58 AM

I think your actions are fine. I personally would have given full disclosure because people get stupid about shit. That being said I am sure there was some buyers remorse or something going here.

Patience and communication, two things most people suck at.

**pappag** · 09-16-2010, 11:00 AM

What smmokan said. ALWAYS wait for a paypal transfer to clear before shipping to someone you don't know. CYA comes first.

**single** · 09-16-2010, 11:05 AM

thats what I figured. Just glad to know everyone isnt getting their shit out day of.

I mean, if I am selling out of my shop doing CC transactions and have access to shipping equipment right there, stuff goes out same day. But if I dont even know the person here, its going to take a few days.

Hugh Conway · 09-16-2010, 11:06 AM

As soon as the funds appear in your Paypal account you should ship the product

Originally Posted by NPG

What smmokan said. ALWAYS wait for a paypal transfer to clear before shipping to someone you don't know. CYA comes first.

Paypal can quite easily take money out of your account.

**single** · 09-16-2010, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

Paypal can quite easily take money out of your account.

Very true. Another point is that I believe that paypal will usually catch a fraudulent payment in a 3-4 day time frame. That way you know the transaction has settled, so to speak.

**single** · 09-16-2010, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

As soon as the funds appear in your Paypal account you should ship the product

Not true at all. I had some bad ebay shit happen a few days ago that would have not happened at all if I had waited for a couple of hours even. Paypal informed me that they believed the payment to be fraudulent right after I had shipped it (2 hours after the transaction) and informed me not to ship it.

**Eluder** · 09-16-2010, 11:16 AM

I think this a case by case thing, and shouldn't you be studying

**Sessiøn** · 09-16-2010, 11:17 AM

It depends on who it is. If it's a fairly established Mag I will, and have sent stuff out as soon as it hit paypal. Especially in the winter. Someone newer I would wait until the money hit my bank account.

I think we have seen here cases where people disputed the charges once an item was shipped.

And in light of your most recent bad luck with selling an item online I wouldn't blame you for being cautious.

Anyone being so anal about this is a big fucking vagina that doesn't deserve your shit.

**single** · 09-16-2010, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by rludes025

I think this a case by case thing, and shouldn't you be studying

yes, I should. But working on excel programs for hours on end SUCKS.

And phiber, totally agree. If it is a legit mag, I have sent stuff out before I even received payment.

For the record, it was someone here with a sub 200 post count.

**Edgnar** · 09-16-2010, 11:21 AM

I don't see a problem with it, as long as you inform the buyer. Tell them you have to wait for payment to clear before you can ship. If they have a problem, they can buy from someone else. If they don't (no reason they should) they can wait, and be informed and expect a few extra days. Seems perfectly reasonable. But full disclosure is key.

P.S.- Would love to hear if anything came of the other sketchiness.

**DJSapp** · 09-16-2010, 11:25 AM

Wait, payment was made, no contact from buyer to see how things were going or mention that he needed them in a hurry? and then he asks for a shipping # within 3 business days of purchase and when he doesn't get it he demands a refund?

Out him so we can ridicule his retarded ass. Seriously, it's still summer and unless you're jumping on a plane and need them ASAP (which should have been mentioned), chill the fuck out brother.

edit: and Saturday to Thursday morning does not make a week, by any means. I'd guess that the buyer is either: A: 16 years old or B: Paypal scammer trying to pull a payment and knows the clock is about to expire.

**JONG SLAUGHTER** · 09-16-2010, 11:29 AM

I'D SAY SINCE IT'S SUMMER AND HE WON'T BE SKIING SOON, TAKE YOUR TIME TO SHIP THEM. AT LEAST A MONTH OR TWO. NOBODY SHOULD GET UPSET THAT THEIR SHIT ISN'T SENT PROMPTLY AFTER DUMPING SEVERAL HUNDRED TO SOME RANDOM GUY ON THE WEB.

**bmg97** · 09-16-2010, 11:30 AM

Well I waited a bit over a month for a pair of skis I bought from a mag on here. I admit after a couple of weeks I was getting a bit pissed but I after some pm's back and fourth they finally shipped. Just depends on who your dealing with. Some people have things to do and get caught up on it. For me, I try to ship a.s.a.p. but I really don't have a life

**FNG** · 09-16-2010, 11:34 AM

I think we, as internet consumers, are just used to having the stuff we buy online get shipped within a day or two.

Are you wrong for waiting for the paypal to clear? Probably not. You didn't have history with the buyer, and he/she didn't have a forum reputation to stand on.

Is the buyer wrong for wondering why his/her skis hadn't shipped after a week? Probably not. He/she didn't have history with you, and might have been a little worried about getting scammed -- especially if he/she has been scammed buying stuff online before.

It's too bad that the deal fell apart, but internet shopping can be scary for both parties. In the future, I think you should continue to wait for the paypal to clear and also inform the buyer that you will be doing so before they send the cash.

**frorider** · 09-16-2010, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by single

I just had a weird transaction on here, with I buyer that I wont name.

So the person in question payed me via paypal for a pair of skis on saturday. Due to recent paypal sketchiness that has happened to me, I was waiting for the payment to transfer to my bank account. Usually 3-4 business days. (to be fair, I did not inform the seller that I was going to wait for this to hapen)

But on top of that I am a full time engineering student with other shit going on. And it is early season, noone is skiing right now.

But all of those excuses are beside the point.

I was planning on shipping the skis out this morning, when I received a pm from the buyer asking if I had tracking information. I said no, and that the skis were going out today and wondered if he had a carrier preference. He responded, surprised that the skis were not yet en route, and asked for a refund because it had been a week.

I sent the money back, whatever. But is this time frame completely unreasonable? I have admittedly taken longer to get skis out with no problems from the buyer, and consider myself to be a solid and well known seller on this forum. [/blog

your thoughts?

-g

.

i buy and sell here and on similar forums. it's pretty much always gone well, with timely communication in both directions.

Normally the seller (incl me, if i'm selling) will state 'I should have them shipped out to you by Monday or Tues' or something similar. it's courtesy. writing a PM takes what, 60 seconds? if i were the buyer, and you'd told me soon after the payment was initially sent 'hey i'm a shit-show that uses my student status as an excuse to not get things done, so it'll be a week before i get 'em shipped', then i would have replied 'no problem. no snow now anyway.' but I would have appreciated the fact that you contacted me before a full week had gone by.

For any buyer who has gotten screwed over the years in a gear purchase, it seems that one week of dead silence is when they start to get a little itchy.

**Danno** · 09-16-2010, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by single

For the record, it was someone here with a sub 200 post count.

Post count is not the only thing that matters, registration date makes a difference to me.

In any case, yes, they were exceedingly uptight. But I'm not siding with you because your communication was pretty poor. How hard was it to communicate details of shipment when the purchase was agreed upon? When I make a deal, I do expect items to ship within a day or two, unless they tell me differently. Would I cancel the sale if I found out that it hadn't shipped after 5 days (especially skis during summer)? No, definitely not. Would I think it a bit lame that the seller waited until my email asking for shipping info to tell me that he wasn't going to ship until days after I paypalled? Yes.

Your excuse of being a busy student doesn't fly. If you have time to list something to sell, you have time to communicate and ship it. Communicate to the buyer that you're a busy student and that shipping might take a while and there would have been no issue.

**JONG SLAUGHTER** · 09-16-2010, 11:48 AM

UP TO DATE COMMUNICATION IS KEY.

FAILURE TO KEEP BUYER UP TO DATE WHEN HE HAS ALREADY PAID YOU IS YOUR FAULT.

[/THREAD]

**Beaver** · 09-16-2010, 11:49 AM

I dunno, my experience here has been item shipped the same day I put the money order in the mail and in one case skis in the mail before I had the money order in the mail. I've never been screwed & have never screwed over anyone. I would not be too put out by a week delay, if I had to have it now I'd go pay top dollar for it new down the street.

**GeezerSteve** · 09-16-2010, 12:01 PM

You should always work this out ahead of time, i.e., "I'll ship within X day of receiving funds" or "put the $ in the mail and I'll ship and trust you," etc.

All my TGR transactions have been smooth deals. So far.

**Poop~Ghost** · 09-16-2010, 12:02 PM

I'm probably ridiculously communicative when I'm selling / buying / shipping - but it works.

I tell the person the day they pay, if I'm waiting for funds to clear or if I'm shipping it on a specific day. If I miss that day for any reason, I send an email and a PM to let them know I missed the post office hours and that it will be mailed on the next day.

Once it's shipped I email them to let them know it was shipped and include the confirmation number if I have one. I typically ask them to email as soon as it arrives and to make sure it's up to snuff with what was described or shown in pictures.

I've never had a single issue in years and years of buying and selling here.

**AKbruin** · 09-16-2010, 12:03 PM

I think within a week is generally fine, but the best course of action is to communicate with the buyer about when you plan to ship it. Ship date can be a critical issue in certain circumstances. (Of course, the buyer probably should have indicated this to you before consumating the transaction.) Also, as a buyer, I worry a little when a seller hasn't shipped after a week or communicated with me regarding a ship date. If it were the winter, I'd probably want the skis shipped within a couple days though.