buyer question

Obviously most of you dont sell a lot of equipment on here.  First off, when I list equipment for sale, I pay fees ahead of time, so audiogon gets paid no matter what.  Second, who said paypal is the only option to pay for equipment?  As a seller, we have very little protection.  And as a seller who has a ton of good feedback, and has been a member for many many years, I feel like when I sell something, I can ask for whatever method of payment I want.  The buyer has a right to move onto the next item.  I always add paypal fees, because if they buyer wants to avoid the fees, they can pay by money order, check, cash, or paypal friends and family.  If they want that extra security, they can pay the 3%. I put 20yrs into this site, have a good reputation, and have made a lot of good friends.  Last thing Im gonna do is let a new member tell me he is worried about dealing with me.  Back in the day, I traded many thousands of dollars back and forth and never really had any major issues.  Thats the way it should be.  Paypal can go back to Ebay for all I care.  As a buyer, just do your research.  

@souljasmooth  On Audiogon, Sellers can now only accept PayPal or Express Checkout payments.  Only Dealers can accept other Payment options.
We require this so buyers have the protection they need in case the item is not as described or item is damaged during shipment.

So what if someone is local and can pick the item up?  Still has to go through paypal?  Or if I am a local buyer negotiating the price, still has to go through paypal?  Makes no sense.  What is Express checkout payments?

@Admin - thanks for weighing in. It would be good for the group to get a ruling from you on OP’s question. It would provide a lot of clarity for all. Thanks.

As a counterpoint to the “if the buyer doesn’t want to pay fees or send me a check then screw em” mentality, let me offer that as a highly rated seller on Audiogon, I always bake the fees into the price as the cost of doing business.  If the fees make the price undesirable, then I eat them. Also, the cost of doing business. I have never once asked a buyer to cover my costs. If I can’t cover my own costs, then I don’t sell. Simple.  I own a small company and approach doing business with my customers the same way. If I can’t afford to sell something, I don’t.

As a buyer on Audiogon, I have agreed to pay the fees as part of the negotiation to get the overall price where I wanted it, but tend to steer away from “Buyer Pays Fees” listings unless the inclusion of those fees still puts the overall transaction price where I want it. 

Under no circumstances, would I send a check or money order sight unseen to anyone. As a consumer, I then have zero recourse should I be cheated without involving law enforcement which is a headache that no one wants. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Audiogon and PayPal provide an extremely valuable service that makes transactions in the 1000’s of dollars relatively safe on the Internet. To try and avoid or cheat either of these vendors of their rightfully deserved fees is unethical and in some cases, illegal. Not to mention, it cheats them out of the funds that allow them to continue providing what I consider to be a valuable service that the absence of would descend our online marketplace into chaos and rob honest sellers and buyers the opportunity to enjoy our hobby.