A 0 score user just bought 300 bucks item from me

[pansophic.innovator]

300 bucks notebook, it might not seem like much, but it's the highest worth item I ever sold on ebay
I am a bit worried because I am selling my most costly item to a new user with 0 feedback score
So this guy literally just joined today, went to ebay and bought my item.
His address is confirmed, but it's a condo that's currently on sale on on realty website, and the address said to ship to the front desk
Paypal also said "The sender of this payment is Non-U.S. - Verified"

So what should I do? Is this a safe gamble?

If I choose Expedited shipping with signature, I should be covered for any problem, right?

[2014sportsterguy]

See no problem if they have paid with PayPal, if not paid not sure they will, but tracking should cover a buyer, but still could be a cc  reversal, bit scary at this point your call, sure more experienced sellers will advice.

[pansophic.innovator]

He has indeed paid through paypal, address confirmed, account confirmed.

I dunno, I just feel a bit scared since I usually don't see people spend a lot of money on their 1st purchase on ebay.

[recped]

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@pansophic.innovator wrote:
He has indeed paid through paypal, address confirmed, account confirmed.

I dunno, I just feel a bit scared since I usually don't see people spend a lot of money on their 1st purchase on ebay.

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address confirmed, account confirmed, don't mean much. More important, does the payment state that it qualifies for seller protection? If it doesn't be very careful, if it does it should be fine.

[pansophic.innovator]

yes it does indeed say the seller protection is confirmed.

I already said all sales are final, but my worst fear is that he might have the same model but is broken, so he is buying mine and the returning his broken one to me and trying to scam me out of it. If it's a user with decent score, he has reputation to worry about, but if it's a new account, it could be discarded at will. That's why I am worried.

What can I do to prevent any problem once it's been shipped out?

[patken123]

Can't you record the serial # of your item ?or maybe mention it on the invoice?just wondering.

[musicyouneed]

I find that you have to go by your gut.  I have often thought that something was off and it turned out that way.  If you choose not to go through with the sale, and refund the money, you will end up with a negative, you don't have that much feedback built up, but at least you have not lost your money.  You can just leave that one and build up another Id.  

What ever you decide, let us know how it turns out. 

[widgetc]

Likely it will be OK...most transactions are. Make sure to ship with tracking.

Also "I already said all sales are final"  On eBay no sales are final. All the buyer has to say is Item Not As Described.

Remember that every buyer started with 0.

[reallynicestamps]

I already said all sales are final,

Which only discourages honest buyers, who don't want to get stuck with an unusable item.

You can cancel the problematic bid. And block the bidder. A specific Block can be used on a specific buyer, no matter what his FB or lack thereof.

If the auction has closed however, you're kinda stuck with it.

Look up the address on Google Maps. Then look for the building supervisor's phone.

Try calling the building supervisor and ask for the bidder by name.

I would not send it to a generic address like 'Front Desk".

I would not send it to an address that is for sale. What happens if the sale closes before your auction?

You can ask eBay for the buyer's phone number. (He also gets yours.) If he doesn't have one, 'incorrect contact information' is a reason to get out of the sale.

And of course, if you have shipping for Canada and the USA only, you are not required to ship  offshore . Just the mention of the name 'Nigeria' to an eBay clerk should get the transaction ended and your fees returned.

[rose-dee]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

You can cancel the problematic bid. And block the bidder. A specific Block can be used on a specific buyer, no matter what his FB or lack thereof.

If the auction has closed however, you're kinda stuck with it.

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I agree with everything you've said, although I'm not sure trying to phone the building manager and asking for the buyer by name is a good idea, especially if the buyer isn't entirely on the up and up. 

I would add that if the OP is really getting nervous about this transaction, he may not need to be stuck with it if he's willing to accept what I call a "manageable" defect (for cancellation).  That is unless, as you point out, he can cancel using the reason that the "buyer is in a country I don't ship to", which should not result in a defect at all.  

The alternative is to ship the item and hope he doesn't get the "unmanageable" type of defect and a case opened to boot.  By the way, I don't think the OP mentioned where his buyer is located -- that could be essential information to making a decision (like Nigeria, as you say). 

For what it's worth, in this situation, if I had to make a choice and the buyer was located outside the US or Canada, given that the building is for sale and the address is "Front Desk", I'd cancel the sale and take my chances, especially if my listing didn't specify shipping to that particular country. 

To the OP:  I know it doesn't help you now, but if you're fairly new to selling on eBay, I would urge you to take the advice that's been offered again and again by experienced sellers, to start small, sell what you know, and sell where it's easiest (which means the U.S. and Canada for most new sellers).  Get your feet wet gradually, before you jump into the deep end of the pool.  A ca. $300 laptop may not be the best or easiest thing to sell, until you can afford to take a loss and have enough positive transactions under your belt to afford to take a hit on your seller status.

I hope this turns out well for you in the end.

[pansophic.innovator]

The building seems to be a condo resort/hotel of some sort, it has concierge desk, and the rooms are for sale or for rent.

[rose-dee]

Incidentally, I see from your sold listing that you ship "worldwide".  This can be a big part of the problem for newer sellers.  I would at least restrict your "ship to" countries to those that have a reliable postal system and a history of fewer delivery/theft problems.  

Set up your exclusion list (under Account/Preferences) to specify which countries you will ship to, although as I mentioned, if I were starting out now as a Canadian seller on eBay, I'd stick to Canada and the U.S. for a while. 

[rose-dee]

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@pansophic.innovator wrote:

The building seems to be a condo resort/hotel of some sort, it has concierge desk, and the rooms are for sale or for rent.

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What country is it located in?

[pansophic.innovator]

Alright, the place is just in Ontario Canada, just called the building and confirmed this address checks out, the buyer used his work address that's why it said front desk. Thanks for the suggestions.

[rose-dee]

That does make a big difference, no guarantee, but it's a lot more probable that your transaction will end OK.  Just make sure you use a tracked service (like Expedited). 

Best of luck!

[pansophic.innovator]

Seller's protection is tracking number with signature, right? So Expedited with signature should cut it.

[rose-dee]

Signature is only required if the item is over a particular value (which I believe is currently around $750-800 US), however delivery confirmation (DC) is required for seller protection, and if I remember correctly DC is included in the price of Expedited.  I usually ship to the U.S., so I may be thinking only of Expedited USA.  If that's the case, then you'll need to use Xpresspost within Canada. 

Take a look at the Canada Post services summary to be sure.  

I should add that signature confirmation, even though not necessary for a $300 item, isn't a bad idea if you have some doubts about whether the item will actually get into the recipient's hands.  Not a bad idea particularly if you're talking about a laptop. 

[recped]

Signature is pointless, the "front desk" will sign for it and that's not going to serve any function that would be of more use than the delivery conformation itself.

[rose-dee]

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@recped wrote:

Signature is pointless, the "front desk" will sign for it and that's not going to serve any function that would be of more use than the delivery conformation itself.

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Well yes, except that sometimes having an actual person's name can be of benefit. 

I recently sent a rather pricey (ca. $500) item to Toronto from here (Nova Scotia).  I decided to send it by Xpresspost with SC, even though I winced at the price.  It was the same kind of situation -- in my case this person's executive assistant signed for the parcel.  It turned out the address was a place of business and the actual recipient had left the company a week earlier.  

Because of the SC I was able to ask for the assistant and speak to her personally to find out what had happened to the parcel (she told me she had forwarded it to the recipient's new address).  Without that person's name/signature, I might have had a much harder time following the trail (this was a large corporation).  Also it allowed me to talk to an individual who actually knew something about the recipient, rather than just somebody who happened to be "at the front desk" at the time.  In my experience, front desk people tend to rotate a lot. 

Granted, this is a pretty rare occurrence, but it certainly saved this particular situation for the extra dollar or two that it cost.   Of course, I wouldn't waste the money on a $30 item.  

[pansophic.innovator]

https://cms.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&fli=true&content_ID=ua/SellerProt...

So paypal says signature confirmation is required for seller's protection for items cost 325 CDN. Looks like I might have to spend 1.5 on the signature afterall.