members with no feedback?

Hhh
I feel more comfortable when a seller has feedback going back a couple of years. If I see one new with no feedback and asking for payment only in the form of a personal check or money order I slink away. Hey its human not to trust their are many a scam artist.

While I have spoken on the phone on some transactions, I find phone conversations a bit sketchy. 99% of my transactions (and I've had a number of them) have been without phone conversations, 1% with phone conversations. Too often, I'm afraid the folks I've spoken to I'd rather not have spoken to. (some strange folks out there!) But if you are buying from a person w/o feedback you're sort of stuck with the need to establish their credibility as a legitimate seller.

“How do you deal with zero feedback sellers?”

Carefully. Or not at all.

Much of my comments here are based on the $$$ involved. More $$$? More concern. One has to choose at what level can you be comfortable if all goes down the drain and take those measures necessary to CYA, OR forget about it.

Feedback too isn’t the ‘end all be all’

Basically I think the biggest portion of folks selling these sorts of items here that wwe want as a community are honest people. So gaining info and getting on the same page with them is integral.

Never think of their piece as being the only one in existence or that you’ll never see another from some other seller!

Trust your gut instincts during the phone call you have to make. If indeed you want what they have so severely, an actual person to person phone conversation must occur. Such a call ought to be to their land line, not their cell ph.

Be wary of the demeanor and personality of the seller or buyer.

Get evidence they have the thing! Ask for photos that are time and date stamped.

Prior Ebay, and Paypal sales feedback is helpful too.

If you have any worries at all, simply forget about it and move on, unless both of you can commit to using an Escrow Co. to facilitate and safeguard the deal between you both.

COD can stand for Crap On Delivery as the box can not be opened and inspected prior to payment to the carrier is made…. And if it ain’t right inside the box thereafter, the driver ain’t giving you back your certified funds. Count on that!

Get on the exact same page with the seller on how the item is to be shipped and/or packed. Double boxed. Orig Factory packing? On a skid? Which carrier? Condition of the containers, bubbled up and no peanuts. Declared value expressed and paid for? Etc.

I’ve paid extra to have a thing shipped out on a skid. If it’s a pricey enough item this recourse could be a life saver…. Or plan a road trip for yourself… if possible! Again, depending on the $$$ at risk.

I’m as if not more so, cautious about sellers that do not correspond by phone outright, or are difficult to gain info from about the piece in question. EX age, orig owner, model & or serial number, and again, the overall tone of the seller too.

If they’ve no time for a phone to phone convo, I’ve usually no time for buying what they’re selling. Private seller or dealership, it makes no diff to me then.

One thing about folks with little feedback also can mean little experience in this sort of affair too. And I do mean ignorance in fact. Inexperience is a problem all unto itself and apart from the deal that might or might not happen. Like packing up the item safely for instance.

As a buyer your feedback should be posted for you first anyways. When it’s all said and done, submit appropriate feedback wether or not they supply feedback for you is another topic. You’re done. Just waiting on them to fulfill their part of the covenant.

SELLING
If selling to no feedback or very little (<5 deals and all as buyer) arrange payment via US Postal Money order, and coach them to save and make copies of their MO receipts. If something bad happens during shipping, you’ll be very glad you did this bit.

The most notable thing with the inexperienced is buyer’s remorse IMHO.

Newbie buyers can think of private member/sellers as actual stores like Sears or Best Buy, or something. During the exchange, life can up and happen, they can be overly critical, remorseful, or simply change their minds and demand their money back even though the piece met the sales criteria. In short they can be fickle. I feel it’s due more so to their fears and unwarranted expectations than anything else… but such can and does happen.

In short, I’m a pretty big believer in this one principal… If it’s meant to be, then it will. If not that one item, then some other, and the others that have come to me are likely as good and usually better than the one I wanted to pursue in the first place.

As important here aside from the buyer seller deal is the shipper…. They scare me more often than the buyers or sellers, every time!

Reasonableness, common sense, communication, and prudence on both ends will go a long ways to help things go smoothly.

If you have no feedback yet, you should expect special, or extra scrutiny on your first transaction, especially if you are selling something. No way I would do anything in that instance unless there was an escrow arrangement. Stuff on here, in general is too expensive, and there are too many crooks out there.

Also Wpines, did you really complain that you accepted multiple offers and someone left you bad feedback? That shows a lack of integrity right there. Why would you do that? Once you accept an offer, it's done. You get paid, then you ship it. If you were going to take another offer, because of no payment for a certain amount of time, then you should have contacted the original buyer, and given them a deadline, and put the other buyer on hold; because you already made a deal. That's the kind of feedback I am interested in when someone has something for sale.

Ya gotta start somewhere!