HOW DO YOU SELL OVER THE NET

[Tlynce03 0]

I am trying to sell my rig over the internet and wanted to know how people usually do it. I don't want to ship it without getting money first but then I understand they probably do not want to send money before they recieve their merchandise. Can anyone tell me how it is usually done. Thanks, Tiana

[cvfd1399 0]

Dont send your gear until you have the funds in your bank account. Ask the teller to make SURE it is good funds before you ship it. This might take a few days. Try to use pay pal that goes through bank accounts and credit cards that might have some sort of buyer/seller protection. If it smells fishy It is a WHOPPING TUNA run like hell with your merchandise.

[FlyinseivLP2 0]

If you are worried about it then spend a few extra bucks on shipping and send it COD. Specify that the funds are to be secured(cashiers check/money order)That way you both know you are not getting ripped off and you will both get what you want in a reasonable amount of time.

[ahegeman 0]

When I got my rig it needed to be re-packed anyway, so it worked out well to have the seller ship it to my rigger. She repacked it and made sure I paid him. Kinda an escrow thing, I guess. I'd make sure to give the rigger a little something for asking them to take responsibility for your transaction, though.

---------------------------------------------------------------
There is a fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'.
--Dave Barry

[colossus 0]

Although I have not sold, I have bought all of my equipment over the net.
For payments, I have always insisted in PayPal. I know some don't like it, but they usually offer some protection to the buyer. I think it is up to $500.
As well, I have heard many people use escrows. They can be either a rigger, or there are actual escrow services out there... of course for a fee.
One thing that really helps out is talking to the person that is buying the item. Buying and selling over the internet is a unique experience. It is much easier to sell to someone who is sitting across from you because if they don't pay, you can take your stuff back. Talking to the buyer builds trust in for both parties involved.
One thing that you MUST watch out for is the scam artists. I don't mean to scare you, but if the person says they will send you a cashier's cheque, more than what you want, and they ask you to send the difference... DONT.
Where to sell? I have bought stuff from both here on the DZ classifieds and on E-bay. E-bay will charge you a fee. I believe the DZ classifieds are free.
I can keep talking about this all night... but I think you probably get the gist.

One last thing. Trust your gut. If it seems fishy, it probably is. Make sure you get as much info as they are wanting.

Anything else... ask away.
Jason

[sdctlc 0]

There are a few ways to do this. I have suggested to people looking at rigs to let the seller know that your interested and that you want to try and work something out to see the rig for fit and inspection. Personally I have in the past talked with the seller and offered to cover shipping to have the item shipped to the DZ. I've offered this since a DZ is an established business and can be looked up or called for verification. Also sometimes the seller or buyer can offer/request a refundable deposit for the rig and have it sent for inspection. It should be accepted that the shipping should be covered buy the prospective buyer. For ease, sometimes the seller will pay for its delivery and after it arrives one of two things happen: It works for the buyer and they pay the agreed price plus the shipping cost for the inspection. -OR- It does not work and the buyer sends the rig back and covers the shipping along with a check for the cost of shipping to him if the seller covered it.

I like this way since the seller is in a position where he can’t show it to anybody else. He should not cover any of the shipping. It also has to stated upfront the amount of time that the inspection will be until a decision is made and it will be sent back or paid for after it arrives by the prospective buyer.

Also only ship it insured and in a way that it is traceable with a signature on delivery. This is to protect both parties. Trust on the Internet is tough sometimes when trying to sell equipment you have to take some risk. Send to an established DZ to reduce the risk on both sides. Have a time line established for payment or return. And have a good level of communication before hand to hammer out all of the details…

This has worked well for me in the past and is only a suggestion.

Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[JonBonGraham 0]

Quote

Dont send your gear until you have the funds in your bank account.

It does annoy me when people give advice like this - I've also heard people say that as a buyer you should absolutely NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES part with ANY money untill you have the goods sat in front of you! If both buyer and seller took these stances, nothing would ever get sold!!!
You'll just have to come to a comprimise, is all - some sellers are happy to ship to a DZ, or DZO, or a rigger before they get thier payment.
One other option I used when I bought a canopy from Canada was escrow.com - for a £450 (don't know quite what that equates to in USD), they charged $25US - I think that's a small price for the peace of mind that goes along with it!
Basically, the buyer gives escrow.com the money, they make sure it's all cool, then the seller ships to the buyer, then he tells escrow.com it's all cool again, and escrow.com pay the seller. You can arrange it so the buyer or the seller or both pay the fee.
Oh yeah - this isn't an advert for escrow.com, it just made it a whole lot easier and nicer to be happy with the transaction I was making, but I'm sure just about any reputable escrow service will do the same!
Hope this helps!

Durham University Freefall Club

Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

[cvfd1399 0]

Well happy being annoyed.

[murrays 0]

I have used a number of methods.....

Once, I had a reserve shipped to the manufacturer for inspection. The seller and I advised them the inspection was prior to a sale being completed. The manufacturer advised me the reserve was fine, I Paypal'd the money. The seller told the manufacturer it was ok to send me the reserve. Everybody happy!

Another time I bought a harness container from a well-known Florida cameraman. I just sent him the money. he sent me the rig. Long timers in the sport aren't going to ruin their reputations....Trust.

Another time, I bought a main from someone I didn't know. I had them contact a old friend who is a well known DZO to vouch for me and they sent me the main without receiving any funds. I sent them the money...being a long timer in the sport I'm not going to ruin my reputation for a few hundred bucks...everybody happy.

I just sold a main to a person I didn't know. She gave me a reference that I knew, I called the reference and sent off my main before receiving payment. I haven't received all the payment yet but I am not worried in the least given the reference I received and the good communications we have had discussing shipping, addresses, etc, etc.

Almost all skydivers are honest and won't rip you off. If you can get good references through mutual acquaintances or DZOs you are probably ok. That being said, you have to be careful. Using a third party such as a DZO or rigger is a good way to proceed if you aren't comfortable.

(It has been suggested to Sangiro that he set up a Feedback feature similar to eBay's to help people out with their on-line purchases/sales. It is something he may do in the future.)

Good luck!

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[councilman24 36]

I've been trying to figure out if there is a way PIA can expidite these kind of transactions. But since we don't have a central headquarters location or paid staff it's not easy to do. It would still be the reputation of individuals and a lot of work for somebody. PIA might be able to put together a list of members, riggers, gear dealers, or manufacturers willing to do an escow kind of thing.

Somewhere there was an article or thread about a single guy who set up a business in conjunction with one of the bigger dz's to do this for Russian and other oversears transactions.

I haven't bought parachute gear but I have some other stuff and usually used a postal money order to have some recouse of postal fraud. I got burned on one for $100 where I sent a check and hundreds of other people got burned on the same deal. Last I knew he was being prosecuted.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[fjd 0]

have you tried selling it at your local DZ first? put up a flier or talk to your local rigger or gear shop. that would be THE best way since both the seller and buyer would be local and can meet face to face.

if that fails, list your rig right here on the dz.com and use an intermediary, once your find the potential buyer.

here is how it worked for me. you send the rig to a reputable rigger or DZO so that the buyer can inspect the rig or have it inspected at his/her expense. if the buyer likes the rig, then he/she will send you the payment. then your intermediary would release the rig to the buyer only when they hear from you saying that the funds are in your bank/paypal account.

call and talk to the rigger/DZO in advance to make the arrangement. most, if not all, will be happy to help. and you can bet that they will not risk their reputation on a lousy rig.

oh, one more thing. you gotta have a certain amount of faith in the skydiving community. of course, there are a few bad apples, but i've found that most are straight-up folks. good luck!

===============

[GravityGirl 0]

PM me if you need help in this area.

Also, it would help if your info was filled out. I could refer you to someone local.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[RMURRAY 1]

I sell gear for friends and always send the gear out before getting paid. This is because I would not want to pay for something before I see it. Never a problem and I have sold probably 25 pieces of gear. If I don't feel good about the person I get a reference (like a DZO) and call the reference.

rm

[2cmyzx 0]

I bought a really nice Talon, pd-210, swift+175 on ebay last year. Very nice but harness didnt fit right and decided to sell it on ebay, which is something I have done lots of. Well got lots of bids but did not get to reserve price that I had on it but one fellow in I think Washington? offered to buy it from me after the auction had closed. I got a offer of about 100 less than I paid so we agreed to the deal. The only problem is that He e-mailed me saying that 6 different people were trying to sell him the same rig as mine, right down to the pictures. This would be easy to do as all they did was copy the pics from ebay and e-mail the bidders on the bid list. I assured him that It was my rig and had it in my possesion. He paid me through paypal and I got tracking # so he could track it. Also I had 100+ positive feedback from e-bay so that helped. So be careful out there as their are people trying this all the time.

[dgskydive 0]

Go through a third party.

Send it to a rigger at the dropzone that guys jumps at. Have the rigger take money and give the rig. Works for a lot of people.

Dom

[freakflyer9999 1]

I've bought and sold over $10,000 worth of gear on the internet. As the seller, I've never once required money upfront and as the buyer, I've never hesitated to send money first. So far I haven't been burned.

I did return a harness/container once that didn't fit me and since this was just one of two items I purchased for a lump sum, we had a slight disagreement over the value of the item I returned. We settled the problem amiably.

Good Luck & Blue Skies