Monday, July 19, 2010

SCAMS ON SELLING USED PRAMS

I have been buying/selling prams (for my own use)on ebay for abour 2 years.I normally buy a pram that I have seen when out and about and thought "I like that!!" so have bought them off ebay as then are alot cheaper than buying new.After a few months (or even a few weeks!) I have decided that I dont like the pram and fancy a change, so on ebay it goes.Over the past 6 months I have had a few problems.1. Pram arrived damaged2. Pram not fit for useall the prams I have sold have been used by me and I would not sell on a pram that is unsafeone complaint that the wheels were buckled, the brake fell of etc. as the buyer paid via paypal they froze my money. I offered her a refund but she would have to send it back before i refunded her money this she did not want to do so we ended up going through the paypal process. I was accused of being aggresive and abusive in my emails-which I wasnt and that she would settle for a part refund (the price she had paid for the pram less postage)I knew the pram was safe as I had used it the week before and it was perfectIn the end I emailed her and said that as she had my pram and paypal had my money (and I knew she had bought another double the week before mine) I had forms for the small claims court and that it amounted to theft as i didnt have my goods nor my money and that I would be taking the forms to court. She notified Paypal the same day and dropped the case - STICK TO YOUR GUNS WHEN YOU KNOW THAT THE ITEM WAS SOUND AND HAD NO FAULTSanother case was where the brake was damaged on a loola in transit - the buyer emailed me the same day as the pram was delivered and said that the brake had sheared off - I knew it was fine as I had put the brake on whilst putting the seat back on the frame for the photos. I asked for her to send the pram back and i would refund in full (including the postage) once I had checked the pram was mine as I now mark all prams I send due to the amount of fraud going on. she said she would settle for it being repaired as she liked the pram and would wait for a claim to go through the couriers (pram was sold on B I N and as soon as shehad bought the pramshe asked when I would be sending as she had just sold her pram and didnt have one and needed this ASAP!-but she was willing for a claim to go through?)I sent the claim to the couriers and spent the next 3 months chasing up the claim that had been lost and emailing the buyer to explain the hold up and twice again offered her a refund which she refused.In the end the courier has said that the deadline has passed for claims and I have not heard of the buyer (4 months since the pram was sold)I think she had a pram with a busted brake and just wanted a new frame. IF POSSIBLE MARK ALL ITEMS SENT OUT OR EVEN COLLECTED WITH A SECURITY MARKER. I mark the wheels, frame, basket, and everything that can come off a pram, the covers, hood etc.If you sell alot of items it is well worth buying a security marker ask in case of a claim you can prove/disprove that the item is yours.Another scam going is not just for prams but as they are bulky items alot of people will not offer postage/couriers which is understandable ( I am lucky that I have a recycling place near me where I buy my boxes from).People pay by paypal on collected items, they get the item home and then later open a case with paypal as they have not received the item.You as the seller cannot prove that the item was collected-paypal need a tracking number in all cases-this you do not have if an item is collected! Once again the buyer wins-Paypal is fine for all the genuine ebayers out there but it benefits the fraudsters and not the sellers in the event of a claim-I KNOW !!!!MARK EVERYTHINGCASH ON COLLECTION ONLYDONT BE BULLIED BY SCAMMERS-YOU CAN ALWAYS REPLY TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

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