All kinds of people use eBay so how do you protect yourself against fraud? I saw a listing where the seller said he records all serial numbers; apparently he was ripped off once.

For example, suppose you list a phono cartridge like a perfect MMC-1. The buyer might have a defective cartridge on hand and once he receives the good one, ask for a refund substituting his junk, in which case you might be S.O.L.

Would you send it through a 3rd party such as Sound-Smith, assuming they would even do such a thing, or what?

eBay is a minefield.  All you can do is cover yourself by describing everything as well as possible and hoping the buyer isn't a scam artist or a complete idiot.  However, eBay seems to attract both..  

There are a lot of decent, honest people out there though which have made eBay successful - but if you're buying, study feedback carefully.  If you're selling - cross your fingers.

I've had people from my own website buy things, then say they are faulty at the other end.  They swap out the good part from your product to repair their own, then get you to pay for a bogus repair to what you have sold them.  They know who they are - and i now refuse to deal with them, but these are the kind of people who are out there.  It's sad, really.

When selling, you could say 'buyer collects' and demo it on the spot - but that will severely decrease the amount you get for something as not everyone wants to travel, especially for a cartridge..

Lee

9 LEE:

 

I've had people from my own website buy things, then say they are faulty at the other end.  They swap out the good part from your product to repair their own, then get you to pay for a bogus repair to what you have sold them.  They know who they are - and i now refuse to deal with them, but these are the kind of people who are out there.  It's sad, really.

 

Lee

Wow, how sad! Can you not put some discrete serialised or customised anti-tamper stickers on some of the products Lee? That would at least reduce the incidences I would think...?

When they're in a foreign country it's often not worth shipping it back to inspect.  They could take a picture of the unbroken seal, email it to you, then get to work changing the parts..

It happens once, you grin and bear it.  It happens twice, you get suspicious.  It happens a third time, you know you're being ripped off - especially as all the products were fully tested before shipping.. and none of the issues could be attributed to transportation damage.

Lee

The last time I cleaned out my electronics closet, I had two poor experiences with buyers that completely soured me on the Ebay selling experience.  I don't think I will ever sell again because of two guys buying second hand electronics from me for $25.

$25 x 2.  Very sad.

I still buy, though.  I've actually never had a poor buying experience.

Sad for Lee, though, that the one bad apple has to spoil the whole bunch.

This reminds me of a thread I think Martin started last year.  In that thread I noted that Ebay seems to have forgotten their customers are the sellers, not the buyers.

Well Lee I would put the stickers on anyway as it must at least put one or two off. If it was a second time I would then insist they demonstrate the fault via webcam (send 'em one if they claim not to have one!) and show the intact seal too!  I am sure they will still come up with some excuse though...