Tips on safeguarding against bad buyers...

[Cradiak]

Wasn't sure if this should go in buying and selling since it's just a question, but feel free to move there if need be.

First off, I did read the guide for buying/selling success (and read it twice ).

I just finished my GCP, and will be posting my final worklog on it soon and putting it up for sale. And I have a bit of anxiety about selling to someone who may end up being a bad buyer. I'm less worried about that if someone here buys it, but I may end up going somewhere else to sell it if I don't find anyone here interested, after all, everyone here will just be like "BUT WHY NOT A WII PORTABLE BRO???" ;p

I used to work in eCommerce and managed an eBay store and it scarred me for life seeing all the horrible human beings buying stuff on the internet. Basically if someone on eBay buys something and says you sent the wrong item, they can screw you out of the product and the money they bought it for and don't even need any proof. It's messed up, and as such I will be avoiding eBay like the plague if at all possible.

But the experience has made me super paranoid about selling something as high dollar value as a portable. Especially being that this one has integrated controls. I am confident in my portable's build, but these are some of the concerns I have

1. what if they are just too rough - I built the buttons and such as sturdy as I could, but if someone buys their 7 year old kid this, there's no telling what they will put my poor GCP through. It can handle normal wear and tear, but not apple juice, drops onto the floor, and power mashing the buttons with the rage of a 7 year old's fist because they can't beat a game.
2. Damaged in shipping - I plan to package VERY well, and get shipping insurance, but if it is damaged during shipping, who files the claim? The buyer? Me? If I have to file the claim, am I at the buyers mercy to provide me with good pictures of the damaged package or else I'm screwed??? Also, if they return a damaged item to me, but it looks like it was damaged by the buyer instead of in shipping, can I do anything?
3. How long of a warranty do I provide - again, I'm not expecting my portable to break, but depending on how rough the buyer plays, it may happen eventually. After all, even store bought/professionally manufactured products break over time. How long is a reasonable warranty period?
4. At the end of the day, even if I do everything right, is PayPal as easy to screw a seller out of their money as eBay is? For instance, if they claim I shipped them a box of rocks instead of a portable, will PayPal just give them their money back without question? Because eBay 100% would.

These are the main concerns I have, any tips or reassurance from all you portable vets would be much appreciated.

 

[DeoNaught]

I've sold on ebay a couple of times, and thankfully have never gotten bad buyers(I was selling game handhelds). and I can't give all the tips,
but here's a few I'd like to give.

Shipping: you can never be too careful with this, always (when available) get a tracking number, provides peace of mind for you, and your buyer.

Insurance I've never done, but all my deals were sub $100, but over $100 I'd definitely do.

Take pictures right before shipping, and it in the box. Save them in your camera roll, so if it comes damaged, and your seller is suspicious, you can show the pics possibly. though if it is damaged, you'd probably best by taking it back, and giving a refund, or repairing it for them(they can pay for shipping one way, you could pay one way possibly).

put it out there that you can refuse service to anyone, stating this before anything is always nice, because if their info seems shady, you can stop the transaction before you send it out.

 

[Shank]

BUT WHY NOT A WII PORTABLE BRO???

 

[Gman]

The best way is to try to screen your buyers beforehand, talk to them and explain everything in detail. If they seem unsure, immature, whatever it is, probably better to take a pass because even after it's shipped and done, it can still turn into a never ending headache for you. If someone wants to scam you, there's a million ways to do it so at the end of the day you just need to trust your buyer as much as they are trusting you.

My advice to you if something bad does happen, is that the customer is the most important thing and a little profit is not worth ruining your reputation or the hobby for you. Because we will all be watching to see how you handle it.

 

[Festiva]

I've sold a 3 Wii portables and a couple of GBZ's on eBay now so I might be able to help you out.
1. As long as you built it the best you could and it's sturdy enough for you to use, their's nothing you can really do. If someone throws it across the room or spills something on it its going to break regardless.

2. I had to file my first claim earlier this week about an item arriving damaged. Im honestly not sure who's supposed to file it, I think the seller is supposed to since they are the one who shipped it. I also don't think theirs anything you can do about the buyer claiming the item was damaged in shipping vs if the buyer damaged it since you don't know how it was handled during shipping and you don't know how the buyer handled the item once he got it.

3. This is something you and your buyer should agree to before you ship it and before he sends you the money. I'd say around 1-2 weeks is fair, but again its really up to you and your buyer. The one Wii portable that I sold outside of eBay I told the buyer that I would be willing to help him to the best of my ability with any issues that they would have with it, regardless if its been 1 month or 6 months. So something like this may work for you.

4. I've never had any issues with being outright scammed on eBay or PayPal as a seller, but like @Gman said, if your buyer is acting sketchy its probably best to find a new buyer and find one who has a little more understanding of Wii/GC portables.

If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.