Should Escrow be Required?

How does escrow protect the seller? I have never used escrow, but it seems like the buyer has all the control in the matter. Aside from the fact that the money is in place, there's a number of things that could go wrong, and now the person that owns the gear (the seller) has less control than the buyer. I like to ask for a phone number, call them and ask all the questions I want. If everything sounds good to me, I go online and do a reverse lookup to verify that the phone number they gave me comes up registered to the same name and address that I'm sending the money to. I'll also confirm everything the we agreed to (on the phone) in writing via email just to be sure that everything is understood by both parties. It's no guarantee that I won't get ripped off, but neither is escrow.

Dmason.

You caught me! ;-P

Mike

No,Escrow should not be required. I also agree with Viridian. Feedback or not Get sellers Phone number and talk to him. I will not buy any expensive gear unless I speak to the seller and ask the importent questions and get a positive feeling for the seller. Its no gurantee but its better that emails.

I think you need to talk to the seller and be comfortable. It goes both ways. I bought two items recently. One expensive by your standards, one not that pricey. The expensive item involved some discussion and the seller shipped after I told him my payment was on the way. For the less expensive item, I told the seller I would purchase the item after I after I got home (1 week)from vacation. He received my payment by check and waited for it to clear, then shipped.

Both transactions involved a different level of trust. One for shipping early, and one for holdong an item that could have been sold sooner

In both cases I had good feedback and talked to the person about myself, and more importantly them.

It all amounts to knowing your buyer or seller. All that being said I would never send a cashier's check as payment in advance. Escrow services give help to both parties in expensive transactions.

If you are going to use escrow, be wary of such sites as :
www.italy-escrow.com
www.ultra-escrow.com

These are fraudulent sites. Ebay recommends escrow.com if you are in the US or Canada.