eBay - £4K item to new ebayer?

[HollyBollyBooBoo]

Can we pick and choose who we sell to?! I know everyone has to start sometime but is it ok to accept a £4K offer from someone with zero previous transactions?

I see issues in everything so might well be overthinking it!

A car is about only thing I could imagine selling on Ebay, for that sort of price.
Facebook marketplace is pretty much global. I had a European asking about my dumb-bells today (hint, 20 kg is too heavy to post to Luxembourgh). No fees!

I very much doubt they'll be prepared to pay on collection - you have to offer Paypal as well, and while you can refund such a payment and insist on cash you'd probably have ebay after you for that

Much better to simply block them and change your settings (if you still can) to accept only buyers with a minimum number of feedbacks

And that still won't protect you if - unless it's a very unique piece - they claim it's fake and then send you back a cheap copy in order to get a refund

Thanks all for your advice, really appreciate it.

Puzzled, I don't think you do have to offer paypal on ebay anymore so taking that off would remove any problems with buyers trying to get refunds.

If you're selling on ebay and the buyer to collect in person please don't go through PayPal.
If you send it via a courier and have the item insured you are covering yourself.
If it's PayPal and the buyer to collect the buyer can tell PayPal they never got the item, and unless you have concrete evidence they do PayPal will side with the buyer.

Glad to hear it, Patti ... clearly they've changed this, but then I no longer sell anything on ebay so I guess I'm a bit out of date

Obviously £4000 of cold hard cash would be much better, but whether buyers will be prepared to go down that route is something else again

the buyer can tell PayPal they never got the item, and unless you have concrete evidence they do PayPal will side with the buyer

Unfortunately there have been cases where ebay's sided with the buyer even when proof of receipt does exist ... probably not helped by the nasty habit that's broken out of sellers listing fake tracking numbers, in the hope they'll be covered when the item doesn't arrive

I really don't think this is a good idea, you sound very naive about eBay, why on earth would you risk something as valuable as this on a website you do not understand fully?! Madness. Take it to a reputable auction house and pay the fees. It's better to have a slightly smaller profit after fees guaranteed, than no profit at all after someone scams you...

Also just because a jeweller says something is valued £4K, that doesn't mean that is its retail value. It's actual retail value is likely to be less as second hand jewellery tends to sell for less unless it's super special.

I wouldnt fancy my chances standing in my own house counting out £4000 in cash, whilst they are casing the joint.

They could also come back in the night for the cash.

They could swap your item for a fake, & bang your door down the next day demanding a refund (whilst they keep the real item)

They could give you fake cash.

They will ALWAYS have your address.

They will also say 'I will come at 2pm"
You say "Im at work"

They now know when the house is empty, with 4 grands worth of kit inside & hopefully more.

I could go on.

Please do not do this.

I think a real auction would be better as someone else said.

Please be careful OP - normally on here everyone mocks when the whole “I don’t want to give out my address thing” comes up. But telling someone you have a piece of jewellery in your house worth 4K is asking for trouble. Meeting them is just as bad.

How will you send it? Royal Mail don't cover more than 2k I think

I wouldn't give my address either though. You could put it in a real auction-lots of jewellery bought this way & safer but more expensive

As above, a real auction is a better option.

A lot of very valid points there, Yonijust ...

Is your valuation for insurance? Would that be the replacement value rather than the value it could be sold for? Second hand jewellery has a lower value than new (I think no VAT for one thing). If I had four grand for a piece of jewellery I’d be much more comfortable buying from a shop or auction than a random on EBay.

I would just end the item as "no longer available". If ebay query it say you are inexperienced and have been advised it is too risky to sell the item on ebay.

DH got in difficulties selling his motorbike on ebay, he tried to receive payment by paypal, (not allowed any more for vehicles) then the other guy said he'd sent the money by bank transfer but it never arrived, then that guy pulled out and didnt' want the bike, it had to go to the 2nd bidder and it was a total PITA. Find a safer way to sell.