Buyer Protection.... ?


I'm looking at buying a heavy and expensive (to me!) piece of equipment.

The item looks legit, seller seems nice, but it has a price tag of over 5K. There is no feedback anywhere and I'm trying to figure out what I can do to protect myself without irritating anyone.

Neither of us has done a large amount of buying/selling online.

Any suggestions?

I'm not sure Fed Ex will ship items of this weight, for what it's worth.
jason
I personally wouldn't enter into a $5k mail transaction with someone who doesn't have a long clean record as a seller. I've had transactions where things were a little less than advertised, or details you don't think of asking until you get the item were overlooked.

As they say, "Even the Devil can quote scripture." If it's a common item up for sale, have some patience.

If you must buy, however, try an escrow service like escrow.com and work out the terms of why you'd return the item first. These services essentially hold the money pending your approval of the item, for a modest fee.

On the other hand, as a seller I wouldn't do escrow with a novice buyer. Opens up the possiblilty of monkey-business.
Use Team Air Express. They do GREAT work and don't damage items!

COD is also an option, a great freight company! (877) 601-8070

Good luck,
Dan
It has to be the deal of the century for me to buy under such circumstances. There may be another come along with a seller whom is close / or has sufficient feedback. Talking for hrs. on the phone hasn't always done it for me.-- Got stuck;in spite-of.
Jason, STOP right now and click on to www.escrow.com. This is the only way to protect the buyer and the seller. They hold your money until the item is delivered. After you let them know you are satisfied, they pay the seller. The only problem is they charge a 3% fee. Maybe you and the seller can split it. Good luck from one who was burned!
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