I've never sold anything online and I'm confused about how the whole thing works.

I listed a textbook on facebook marketplace and someone in Ohio wants it. I figured Paypal is the safest way to do business so I sent a payment request to him.

My question is, who makes the first move?

Am I supposed to send the book and give him a tracking #, then he sends me the money? Or do I wait until I receive payment and then ship it? Also, should I request a signature upon delivery? I've heard stories of buyers claiming they never received the item, and then Paypal refunds their money no questions asked.

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Wait until you have received payment before shipping -- ALWAYS. Books, CDs, magazines can all be shipped 'media mail'. It's dirt cheap. Unless they have paid for express service this should be the method used. The downside is that tracking / signature services are not available.

Signature request should vary on the value of an item. Personally, I wouldn't bother < $100. However, the stories you've heard about PayPal are probably true. The burden of proof is always on the seller.

 

^^^ he speaks the truth. wait for payment. and yea media mail ftw. what i usually do is if im getting a significant amount for the book, i send it regular mail and get a track number. i then send the tracking number after i mail it via email. that way, they dont bother me about there item because they can check on it themselves. if anything goes wrong i have a tracking number in hand so i can provide that to paypal.

when i sold my textbooks, there were no facebook ads so i dont know how that works. but on half.com they actually pay for shipping. usually reg mail isnt that much more than media (unless the book weighs a ton). plus it doesnt take 54083275408327 years for them to get there package.

 

books

 

thanks for your advice guys. i received payment from the buyer and then shipped the book via media mail. i paid an extra .75 for delivery confirmation so that should cover me if things get shady.

next question: how do you get that money in your checking account? it's sitting in my paypal account right now.

 

if you have your checking account tied into your paypal account just go to My Account -> Withdrawl -> Transfer to Bank Account

 

thanks bighead!

now I have a new question:

i have another item listed on facebook marketplace and I just received a message of interest. the message read as follows:

PLEASE REPLY ME TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS .
xxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

i am interested in purchasing your item with no delay,but first?
What is the final price of the item? Is the price firm?
Will you be accepting a US certified Check or money order
Contact me with the present state of the item and your contact
information to mail out the payment to you as soon as
possible.
Name you want on check:
Home Address:
City:
State:
Country:
Phone Number/Office Number:

PLEASE REPLY ME TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS .
xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

a quick check into the guy's account reveals that he joined facebook at 7:28AM, joined the washington, dc network at 7:30AM, and messaged me at 7:32AM. he has no pics, no friends, nothin. seems like he joined just to buy my item.

Is it just me or is that a little weird? I messaged him back saying that if he's in the area we can meet up and if not I'll be using paypal. We'll see what he says. What do you guys think?

 

[QUOTE=s2krazy01,Mar 24 2008, 09:04 PM] thanks bighead!

now I have a new question:

i have another item listed on facebook marketplace and I just received a message of interest.

 

This doesn't just wreak of a scam, it IS a scam... Nigerian, most likely. I see soooo many of these types of requests come through my business account every day. they all have the same BS-style of writing, they always want it as fast as possible, and they always want to pay with methods that are untrackable and easily faked.