Background is that a rare motortrike was advertised on ebay and although I was outbid, the original seller pulled out and I was the next highest bidder. I am in Northern Ireland, seller is in NW England. Correspondence with the seller just before the auction ended indicated that trike was better than described in ad. This made me a bit wary due to the item not being as described, and I tried to communicate with the seller to confirm the details he said were different, but didn't get a response until the ebay "second chance - buy it now" deadline expired.
A friend and his mechanic mate have since checked the trike and I'm now satisfied that the trike is as the seller described it to me (ie better than it was described on ebay) and the V5 matches the address at which they inspected it.
Ebay ad said that trike should be collected within 3 days. I have asked seller if he would be able to hold the trike until I could sort out transport arrangements, and I have offered to pay a deposit. Seller wants the deposit by cheque, although ebay ad said PayPal was an option. I'm not entirely comfortable with just sending off a cheque and arranging travel/transportation when there's a flight/boat trip involved - if it fell through it would cost me significantly in terms of time and money. What are the safest methods of arranging payment of the deposit and balance? Is there a way to use PayPal after an ebay auction has finished?
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Safest for the buyer: PayPal to his e-mail account
Safest for the seller: Cash on collection
Don't use cheques, too slow for both parties.
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Mike Farrow
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He's been checked out, he's kosher, he's holding an item that he probably needs to sell on your promise and anyone who'se ever sold a vehicle knows what a nightmare that is plus he's just had a buyer drop out on him and you are about to pay an amount of money you would have paid for a lesser bike and your still moaning?
He has every right to ask for a deposit under the circumstances. Relatively small say £100 and absolutely non-refundable if you do the nasty on him.
Repeat better bike same money. Gift horses and mouths?
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Whilst I wouldn't say it quite the same way, I think the risk to a non-refundable deposit is quite small if your mates have checked him out and it gives you the chance to enter into a contract ie that the deposit secures the item as yours for a period that is good for both of you, not just the 3 days.
Show him you're serious with say £200 and get down to business.
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Thommo, I feel slightly aggrieved at your interpretation of my enquiry - how does the wish to take sensible precautions constitute "moaning"?
For the record, he didn't ask for a deposit - I offered. Also, I actually placed my bid based on his information that there was more to the trike than the ad stated - I found out what the full package was just before the end of the auction and bid accordingly. It was the content and lateness of subsequent communication that raised my concerns, but I just chose not to go into all the details here as it didn't seem relevant to my question.
At no stage did I imply or indicate that I would "do the nasty" - it's not how I operate. My use of the phrase "if it fell through" was meant in the sense that the seller could equally choose to "do the nasty" by selling from under me - he is unknown to me and located across the Irish Sea. I've also seen plenty of warnings about when items on ebay aren't "as described". I do try to think the best of people, but I've also heard that a fool and his money are soon parted. Like I say, sensible precautions.
My understanding was that Paypal is the safest method for both buyer and seller. However, due to less than ideal communication, it seems to me that by now the transaction will be outside of ebay - hence my enquiry.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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PS thanks for all positive responses. I hope to arrange transportation by haulage company within a few days, which means I'll need to sort out a quick method of paying the whole amount.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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make sure haulage company insured for this load and ask how they will fasten it down.
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Andy,
Well I'm sorry if your annoyed I read your initial post as 'and now he has the temerity to demand a cheque'. Under his circumstances I would have demanded your mates come back round with cash.
I agree anything about descriptions not matching the actual on Ebay is cause for concern but you say this is actually a better trike. I read somewhere there is some kid who makes £70K a year by buying stuff on Ebay he knows to be badly advertised or advertised in the wrong section and then re-selling it and I can well believe it.
Looks like you've had a result and hope it works out not that as a real biker I can countenance a trike...
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Fair enough Thommo! Not really an option to get the guys to go around a second time as I felt I was imposing on them first time around. However, it turns out that the haulage company are also able to bring a banker's draft with them so the exchange of money/goods can be carried out at the same time - seems ideal to me, and transportation will cost £123.50 incl VAT, which is cheaper than it would cost me to go over myself to collect. The owner of the haulage firm is a near neighbour whose children used to come to a youth club I was involved in, so I feel I can trust them with the banker's draft. Will double check about the insurance cover and how the stuff will be physically secured.
BTW I'm wouldn't claim to be a biker at all - I've always preferred the look of a laid back chopper-style trike, even since I was a kid.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Upload a photo when you've had it and let us know.
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For the record, and to answer a queastion that has slipped through - you can use Paypal anywhere anytime, whether or not the recipient has a Paypal account or not, and it's not restricted to eBay. Indeed, you can now buy things with Paypal over a mobile phone by simply texting the amount to send along with their phone number to Paypal (you get an automated callback asking for your PIN).
But, at the moment, Paypal has a poor reputation for safety for the seller. If a buyer initiates a chargeback against money they have paid to a seller, Papypal are taking a "shoot first ask questions later" approach and simply refunding the buyer; the seller then has to go through many complex hoops to prove the chargeback is unjustified, if it is. In some instances Paypal won't even accept emails from the buyer to the seller saying the product was delivered as being sufficient proof that it was.
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Forgot to bring this up to date - the trike is mine and awaiting collection at a the house of a relative (who handled the cash transaction for me), as the haulage company couldn't manage it themselves. I fly over on Thursday and take it back on the boat back on Sunday. Hope to upload photos after that.
Um, now would probably be a good time to mention that this trike will run on biodiesel - the engine is a 1.5 diesel that was transplanted out of a Peugeot 106! And yesterday, I found out that someone about 20 miles away has done the same thing (built a VW-based trike with that engine), so I might see if he's interested in arranging a couple of ride outs. If so, we'll certainly be heard before we're seen!
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Don't use Nightfreight for the haulage, bitter experience tells me that whilst they go from the NW to NI daily, they don't have enough insurance in the event of their trailer going up in smoke.............
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Thanks for the tip, but I'm actually riding the trike home myself via the Norse Irish ferry from Liverpool to Belfast. None of the traditional car haulage firms I called were able to help me as the transporters all have a gap down the middle, i.e. nowhere for the front wheel of a trike to rest. Any of the breakdown recovery type firms who would be likely to have a full width ramp were either not in the business of going across the water, or wanted anywhere between £350-£400 for doing the job. For me to do it myself, plus have my other half come with me, plus get a three course meal each on the ferry, plus get the chance to catch up with some extended family I haven't seen in years, is £130 all in.
Looking forward to my new toy - roll on Thursday!
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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