How to prevent fraud
There some basic rules to prevent being cheated on buying second hand equipment. There are two types of fraud depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller. We will describe both sides here.
Buyer fraud
As a buyer it is most likely that you get tricked by a fraudster. In most cases you pay the goods and
do not receive anything. To prevent being tricked do the following:
- Do not pay via bank transfer. If the seller does not send you anything you are dumped. You can go to the police but in most cases the money is just lost. Paying via bank transfer does not give any guarantees.
- Pick up the goods personally. The best way for being safe is to pick up the goods personally and pay via cash.
- Pay via Paypal with buyer protection. If you can't pick it up personally you can use paypal and pay with buyer protection. In this case you get your money back if the seller does not send the goods you are buying.
Seller fraud
Being tricked as a seller is a bit harder than as being tricked on the buying side, but it is possible.
- Goods are payed via paypal but picked up personally. If this happens you are not able as seller to prove on paypal that you handed over the goods. Always send via mail if you get payed via paypal and keep the recipe of the mail company.