I know that buying used parts off of forums can be fraught with all sorts of issues, between payment, shipping, etc.
Any tips? In this case, meeting in person is not feasible.
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:03 p.m. scardeal HalfDork
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:07 p.m. Ian F SuperDork
Imo, it's the price to need ratio. I've been buying used stuff online for years. Most of the time, its been ok. Once in awhile.... But the more I need the part, the more money I'm willing to risk without seeing it first.
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:07 p.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork
Determine if it's worth the risk. If it is, dive in.
I've gotten great deals, mediocre deals, even gotten screwed a few times.
In the end, i'm pretty sure i've made out ahead.
Just make sure that you have some way of getting your money back. (Paypal, much as i hate them, credit card, etc etc etc...)
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:11 p.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork
Pictures, pictures, pictures, and pay in a manner that both protects your ass..ets and gives you recompensation should the seller be fraudulent.
Get pictures with requests in them like having the part at a couple specific angles with a slip of paper with something like your name, the date, and a random phrase (e.g. "Scardeal - 2012/02/02 - Butter Unicorn Truffle Spoon").
Talking over the phone can be an assurance to some people, personally I hate the phone so I try to avoid it.
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:14 p.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
I buy from forums all the time. Mostly ones where I participate and sorta know who I'm dealing with - but if not - I google the user name and read a bunch of posts to gauge if they are reasonable and honest enough to give it a shot.
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:17 p.m. 93EXCivic SuperDork
I have both stuff from both here and Triumph Experience and I haven't had a single bad experience.
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:19 p.m. Gearheadotaku SuperDork
I've bought things through several forums, never really had a problem. But then again, most of the forums I use aren't populated by sideways hat wearin' kids in baggy pants.
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Feb. 2, 2012 1:25 p.m. jrw1621 SuperDork
Get your items shipped with tracking numbers so that you have a way to tell if the seller has actually shipped the item. If there is one thing I hate it is sellers who just can not seem to find the time to go and actually ship the item. In addition, I hate the sellers where now that you have paid for it has no idea how they are going to package the item.
Personally, when selling, I did not list an item until I had in my possession a box to actually send it out in.
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Feb. 2, 2012 2:05 p.m. scardeal HalfDork
It's on scca forums, so it doesn't seem to have much in the way of the dregs of society. Just nerds who like to autocross.
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Feb. 2, 2012 3:33 p.m. failboat HalfDork
Ive had a couple issues over the years, but 9 times out of 10, things go as planned.
I always use paypal because I can hide the money coming in from the wife and use it for my own extravagant online purchases. LOL
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Feb. 2, 2012 4:04 p.m. xflowgolf New Reader
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
I buy from forums all the time. Mostly ones where I participate and sorta know who I'm dealing with - but if not - I google the user name and read a bunch of posts to gauge if they are reasonable and honest enough to give it a shot.
yep. same here.
I actually prefer forums because I can back search user history and read posts and get a pretty good history of their knowledge/reputability.
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Feb. 2, 2012 4:14 p.m. Woody SuperDork
I've either bought or sold maybe a hundred items on Pelican and have only had issues twice. One was a bad shipping choice on the seller's part. Another was a buyer who flaked.
I've never had a problem buying or selling here.
It almost pains me to say this, but Miatanet has been very good to me.
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Feb. 2, 2012 4:40 p.m. RexSeven SuperDork
Gearheadotaku wrote:
I've bought things through several forums, never really had a problem. But then again, most of the forums I use aren't populated by sideways hat wearin' kids in baggy pants.
I'm active on a website with some baggy pants-wearers (mazda3forums.com) and semi-active on another (rx7club.com). I've never had a problem buying parts from those forums.
One thing I would look at in the buy/sell/trade forums is if there is any prerequisites for selling. For example, if you have to have a certain post count before you can post a for sale ad. I know M3F comes down hard if your 50 or so first posts are crap to run up your post count instead of actually adding to a discussion.
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Feb. 2, 2012 4:43 p.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork
Haven't had any problems. But the forums where I generally buy stuff have have 'trader ratings' (RX7Club.com, XS650.com, etc) and those can be a very good indicator. Then again, this forum has no such ratings, I have bought stuff here and it's been fine every time.
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Feb. 2, 2012 5:56 p.m. ThePhranc HalfDork
Only been a seller but its been flawless so far except for the USPS dicking me with shipping to France.
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Feb. 2, 2012 6:07 p.m. DuctTape&Bondo Reader
I buy and sell all the time, mainly on forums I've been a part of for years. I look at the seller's history, reputation (itrader) and how long they've been around. Verified paypal as well as getting a phone number also helps me feel better.
Worked out pretty well, had 1 item show up damaged due to poor packaging but the damage was minor and not visible once installed, had another guy steal my money, but we (others he scammed) found out his info (that he just got married, last 3 cars he owned, phone numbers of him and his new wife, etc...) and he refunded us all. Even if that was a loss, I'm out way ahead in what I was able to buy at great prices and what I was able to make money on.
The forum I moderate has more issues with damage due to improper packing vs straight out scamming.
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Feb. 2, 2012 6:09 p.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork
ThePhranc wrote:
Only been a seller but its been flawless so far except for the USPS dicking me with shipping to France.
Funny, I shipped a ~ 35 pound differential to Australia via USPS, no problems at all. Cost about $118.00 IIRC.
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Feb. 2, 2012 7:01 p.m. z31maniac SuperDork
I've had good luck on 99% of transactions buying and selling.
I've probably sold $15k+ worth of stuff on R3Vlimited over the last few years. And purchased thousands and a car from R3V as well.
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Feb. 2, 2012 7:14 p.m. ThePhranc HalfDork
Curmudgeon wrote:
ThePhranc wrote:
Only been a seller but its been flawless so far except for the USPS dicking me with shipping to France.
Funny, I shipped a ~ 35 pound differential to Australia via USPS, no problems at all. Cost about $118.00 IIRC.
They quoted me the wrong price for a flat rate box on the web and over the phone. But the guy was nice enough to pay the difference. I was willing to eat the lost dollars.
