TIPs for Buyers - Buy|Sell|Trade Skiboarding Gear

[slow]

A few suggestions to make the offer to buy and purchase processes more straight forward and to improve your odds of success and satisfaction:

• Sellers should be as descriptive as possible to avoid creating a wrong expectation of the product being sold. Post (not attach) medium resolution pictures detailing your product's defects/damage and describe anything that you think may be worth highlighting so the buyer is not disappointed.
• Always PM the seller to show your interest and get in the queue. PM is your first opportunity to show real interest/commitment. Replying to the thread may not get you in the queue.
• PMing allows sharing of information that you and the seller may not want to be public (real name, address, email address, etc.)
• Make sure your mail box is not full otherwise the seller will not be able to contact you and may have no choice but to move on to the next interested potential buyer.
• Include your name and shipping address with Zip or Postal Code. Then the seller can check on shipping rates and share them with you in the reply.
• Go to the UPS or USPS (Canada Post in Canada) website to check shipping rates.
• Also consider providing your email address to the seller when you PM your interest. It makes follow up communication easier and quicker than using PMs.
• Do not expect the seller to wait much longer than 24 hours after your initial expression of interest before the seller moves on to the next interested buyer in the queue.
• IF OBO is not in the description, offers most likely will not be considered initially if the product is in demand, so you will loose your position in the queue.
• Have a Pay Pal account set up in advance so the seller can send you a payment request by email if you agree to go ahead with the buy. Note that the seller will be taking the hit on Pay Pal fees and may want to negotiate having the buyer cover the fee. Some sellers may have built the fee into the asking price. Make sure you sort who is paying the fee when making your "deal".
• Another payment option that may be available to you at your bank is email payments. Check if you have the service in advance by going to your bank's website and setting yourself up. Note that the buyer may be the one taking the hit on the email payment fees if there are any.
• The buyer may have import duties, taxes and/or broker fees to pay if it is crossing a border. Stating that the items are "used" and "a gift" in the customs paperwork generally avoids these extra charges but that is not always the case.
• Be sure to ask the seller to include the optional insurance when determining the shipping cost.

Although the seller has the right to sell product to whoever they want, the buyer who commits payment and communicates information most timely is usually the successful buyer.


If you have any other thoughts on what buyers should be aware of, feel free to add it to this thread. I am sure they will appreciate gaining from your experiences.

[sempai]

Wow! You have posted most of this info in four different locations now. You must really want to get your point across.

[slow]

It is more like I developed the tips along the way as I interacted with potential buyers and thought I would consolidate it in one place and delete them from the other posts. Done now.

[koneco]

slow, none of my business, but what's with the clearance sale? Didn't feel it was appropriate to ask on your FS's.

[slow]

slow, none of my business, but what's with the clearance sale? Didn't feel it was appropriate to ask on your FS's.

Just running out of room with new skiboards on order. Technically my wife and I currently own 9 pair, some of which I do not list in my signature, and another pair on the way for a total of 10. So we are giving an opportunity to others to ride those that we are not using often.

[Greco]

good info...stuck.

[slow]

good info...stuck.

Thanks Greco.

[brutus69]

Great post!

Hi slow,
I really appreciate your tips for buyers and sellers!
This will make it easier for everyone.
Thanks a lot.

A few suggestions to make the offer to buy and purchase processes more straight forward and to improve your odds of success:

• Always PM the seller to show your interest and get in the queue. PM is your first opportunity to show real interest/commitment. Replying to the thread may not get you in the queue.
• PMing allows sharing of information that you and the seller may not want to be public (real name, address, email address, etc.)
• Make sure your mail box is not full otherwise the seller will not be able to contact you and may have no choice but to move on to the next interested potential buyer.
• Include your name and shipping address with Zip or Postal Code. Then the seller can check on shipping rates and share them with you in the reply.
• Go to the UPS or USPS (Canada Post in Canada) website to check shipping rates.
• Also consider providing your email address to the seller when you PM your interest. It makes follow up communication easier and quicker than using PMs.
• Do not expect the seller to wait much longer than 24 hours after your initial expression of interest before the seller moves on to the next interested buyer in the queue.
• IF OBO is not in the description, offers most likely will not be considered initially if the product is in demand, so you will loose your position in the queue.
• Have a Pay Pal account set up in advance so the seller can send you a payment request by email if you agree to go ahead with the buy. Note that the seller will be taking the hit on Pay Pal fees.
• Another payment option that may be available to you at your bank is email payments. Check if you have the service in advance by going to your bank's website and setting yourself up. Note that the buyer may be the one taking the hit on the email payment fees if there are any.

Although the seller has the right to sell product to whoever they want, the buyer who commits payment and communicates information most timely is usually the successful buyer.

If you have any other thoughts on what buyers should be aware of, feel free to add it to this thread. I am sure they will appreciate gaining from your experiences.

[cuffball]

I have not sold anything yet but when I do this will help. I am still trying all the boards to find the perfect one for me.

[Karl]

It might be nice to make this into a Buyer and seller tips thread.

Some things for sellers to keep in mind are to make sure to be as descriptive as you can to avoid miscommunication and frustration. Also, post pictures (no cell phone shots, unless maybe you have the droid x with 8MP camera), good detailed pics are the best way to describe your boards and anything that you think may be worth pointing out. If you're clear you can set expectations and your transaction should go smoothly and everyone will be happy.

P.S. As a seller I don't think it's out of line to have the buyer pick up the paypal fees of 2.9% if they don't have a linked bank account or balance (it's free if you do). If I were a business and was trying to retain customers I could possibly see doing so but when I'm just selling a set of boards here and there I don't see that as something I should have to absorb.

[slow]

Thanks Karl. I added your points into the original thread.

[LugeDude]

i spent around 500 dollars on skiboards and bindings, knowing that i am cross boarder from the U.S, how much would the fees/duty be?

[slow]

i spent around 500 dollars on skiboards and bindings, knowing that i am cross boarder from the U.S, how much would the fees/duty be?

Depends on which company they are being shipped with and what service level. My experience is ~10% with USPS (United States Postal Service) and as high as 58% with courier UPS using their STD service. UPS is not friendly to Canadian cross border shoppers and should be avoided because of their handling fees!

More buyer experiences can be found in thread http://www.skiboardsonline.com/forum...ghlight=duties

[beggstar]

Important

What should you do if the seller cuts all contact after the payment is sent?

[slow]

What should you do if the seller cuts all contact after the payment is sent?

Hopefully the items have already been shipped to you. Note that if you paid with PayPal, you can file a claim with them. The process is defined on their website.