Recommendations for selling/buying gear online?

[airdolphin 0]

What recommendations do you have for selling/buying gear through skydiving classifieds? How can both parties protect themselves from fraud, being cheated or treated unfairly? How can payments be done (money orders, PayPal, etc.)?
Thanks, Pavel.

[BRYANGOESBOOM 0]

I got a jumpsuit online i had the seller send it to my rigger and sent him the check after i put a few jumps on it

Not only will you look better, feel better, and fuck better; you'll have significantly increased your life expectancy. --Douva

[bwilling 0]

The best way to protect both parties is to use a third party to handle the transaction... the seller ships the gear to a trusted DZO or rigger for inspection, and the DZO or rigger only releases the gear to the buyer once payment has been confirmed by the seller.

Payment can be made via any mutually agreeable means since the gear won't be released until payment has been confirmed by the seller. Something traceable is always preferred though. :-)

The other thing I'd recommend is communication! It can go a long way to building enough trust that neither party feels threatened by the deal... which helps!

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[mattjw916 2]

I've bought/sold a lot of gear online and haven't had any major problems so far.

When I sell, I require payment in advance via Paypal or money order and require all funds to clear before I ship anything. I provide extremely detailed descriptions, pictures, sizes, etc and have not had any complaints to-date.

When I buy, I believe in caveat emptor (buyer beware). If something doesn't feel right or looks sketchy then I skip it and wait for another deal to pop up. Usually after talking to the person and asking a few questions you can get a feel how truthfully they are representing themselves. I have had some gear show up that needed a minor repair that wasn't "declared" but I don't think the original owner was aware of that particular damage due to the nature of it.

Third-party escrow would be nice but generally is a little impractical for most purchases. Paypal does offer fraud protection if both the buyer and seller have gone through the verification process. No matter how hard you try, eventually you will get a pissy buyer that nothing will satisfy.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[migliore 0]

I've bought/sold several things online from whole rigs to altimeters. No matter how big the transaction, a big thing for me is their presence on dz.com. First, how long ago did they register? Second, is their profile filled out and believable? Check out the posts they've made, if any. If someone has made hundreds of posts over the past few years, my guess is they are not a fly-by-night scammer. Skydiving is a small community and the people you want to buy from or sell to care about their reputations. Ask if you can call their DZO or S&TA as a reference (look up the phone number yourself, though, to avoid a bogus person on the other line).

In the end, unless you use a third party (which is not a bad idea for big items), you are never 100% protected, but that is part of the joy of long-distance transactions.

Good luck.

Shane

[fcajump 164]

Quote

The best way to protect both parties is to use a third party to handle the transaction... the seller ships the gear to a trusted DZO or rigger for inspection, and the DZO or rigger only releases the gear to the buyer once payment has been confirmed by the seller.

I've been the rigger in this scenario several times and it seems to work out fine. I've even had the buyer and seller agree to send the payment to me (made out to the seller) for holding during the inspection. Then upon my report (given to both), they tell me where to send the check and where to send the rig.

Who pays me, that's up to the buyer and seller, but I get paid up front.

Additionally, I STRONGLY recommend that your BID (or purchase) be made ONLY after the seller agrees in writing (email) that the sale is contingent upon YOUR rigger inspecting it.

Of the sellers I have bought from (or aided in the purchase), of the ones that agreed to make the sale contingent upon inspection, ALL the rigs were found to be as described.

However some sellers were unwilling to commit to this requirement.

Jim


Additionally, I recommend that all

Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...