How to avoid collection scam?

[january123]

Bit anxious after reading scam posts and would welcome peoples thoughts.

I've just sold a piece of engineering equipment for significant amount of money.
I had a lot of watchers but only one bid and it was very early on. Thought it a bit strange that no questions were asked about the equipment before bidding but each to their own.

The buyer messaged me last night to say he was arranging collection and to ring him to chat through.

At this stage I don't know if this means he will be coming in person or arranging a courier but want to be aware of pitfalls before agreeing anything.
Frankly I don't want the hassle of a courier as the machinery is large and relatively fragile but equally don't want him to back out of the transaction.

Probably should have been clearer in my listing that it l had to be collection in person only

If it's collected from you then payment MUST be in cash, or accept BACS but with a 3 day lag between payment and collection to be sure funds clear.

Only accept paypal in conjunction with YOU arranging dispatch by courier - if the buyer isn't collecting in person then you have to be the customer for the courier because then you are the person who is insured if it goes wrong, and the person who receives proof of delivery.

The scam happens if the buyer is able to withdraw payment and if you have no way to prove that they received it.

Thanks @ArdeteiMasazxu
Interesting there needs to be a 3 day lag between BACS payment and collection. Can it be clawed back then?

Cash on collection, and the buyer checks he's happy with the condition. Ideally if it's been sold in working order then you'd want to show the buyer it working.
It's probably fine, but unfortunately scammers exist so protect yourself. I wouldn't do courier unless you are prepared to lose the equipment and the money.
If the buyer won't collect then re-list the item. It will sell eventually even if you end up dropping the price or re-listing several times...think the longest item I had going was 4months!

BACS transfers can theoretically "bounce" even after they ostensibly appear in your account. When we bought our house there was a big problem because we used BACS transfer to get all the contributions from our savings and both sets of parents all into one place and then same-day tried to arrange payment of the deposit out again as a lump sum and the bank refused because any of the BACS could be clawed back within 3 days. I wasn't quite clear how that claw back would happen but I learned then that essentially you can't trust a BACS deposit for the first few days.

Don't fall for the: 'I'll send a courier with cash nonsense' that's a well-known scam!

Honestly I would only accept cash, buy one of those pens to check the notes and check all of them before handing over piece. The buyer collects the item and advise them of they need to bring packing etc. I would not take the chance with a courier. Get them to inspect the item in front of you and take photos of the condition it is in at pick up.

How far away is the buyer? If the item is valuable I'd consider offering delivery. It is widely known that buyers wanting to send a courier to collect an item are very often scammers. Either the payment will fail or they will claim to have never received the item and that it was never collected. Then you lose the item and have to refund the buyer.

I agree. Counterfeit notes are a rising scam used in fraudulent collections.

Gosh, I’m completely naive and didn’t think this would happen with collection items.

Im selling a garden item which I’ve listed as buyer dismantle on collection, what do you think I should do? Cash or is Paypal ok?

Not PayPal if it's for collection.

PayPal are notorious for refunding the buyer at the drop of a hat. Even if you get proof of delivery they may claim it isn't genuine or not as described, and you will need a huge amount of evidence. Cash is much better.