Thousands of people buy and sell successfully on internet every day, but for the novice and slightly cautious we’ve put together some helpful hints and tips for safe buying and selling.
Safety for Sellers
- Never disclose personal details until you are sure a buyer is genuine.
- If you are accepting cheque as a method of payment ensure the funds have been cleared in your bank account before you release the item.
- If someone offers to pay for an item and the shipping costs but asks you to pay shipping costs first upfront, don’t. You are likely to loose the money.
- Be suspicious if someone offers to pay a lot more than your asking price.
- Be wary of inviting people into your home if they are complete strangers. Have someone with you or meet at a halfway public place.
Safety for Buyers
- If you can try and meet the seller face to face so that the item can be seen and payment can be exchanged then this is always the safer option. Never transfer money until you have seen the item and ask for a receipt as proof of purchase.
- Beware if a seller is asking a very low price and asks for a holding deposit. They may keep your money and not send you the item.
- Make sure the number you call is an Irish number; otherwise the seller could just be making money from phone calls.
- E-mail can sometimes be an unreliable form of contact so try to get another method of contacting the seller like mobile number.
- When buying tickets make sure they exist and that the name can be changed on them.
- Pay extra attention when buying expensive items.
- Be aware of scams that promise large amounts of money for items upfront (see below).
- Report any attempted fraud to us and the Gardai.
Scams to be aware
· Calls from Fake A2Z Trader representative
Advertisers who have recently placed paid for ads are contacted by someone pretending to be Ad Trader accounts staff. They claim that there is a problem with the original payment and request the credit card details again.
On no account reveal your credit/debit card details to these callers. Either hang up or advise the caller that you will phone back on the telephone numbers listed online.
· Cheque overpayment
Buyers being sent a cheque worth more than the value of the item and then being asked for the surplus to be returned. The cheque will clear in your account and then be refused or stopped a few weeks later, leaving you without the money, no item and also out of pocket for the surplus you paid back.
· Import fees
Sellers claiming that there are fees to import the product into the country. Don’t pay them as you often lose the money and don’t get the product.
· Buying a Car
If you are purchasing a car then check with the Hire Purchase Register (Ph: 01 2600905 begin_of_the_skype_highlightingend_of_the_skype_highlighting) that the car is not under a Hire Purchase agreement.
Check the car history, there are a number of Irish online services: MyWheels, Cartell, Motorcheck.
Go to the Citizens Information website which will tell you how to transfer the ownership of a car.
Bring a mechanic with you if you are considering purchasing a motor of any kind to check it out.
Ask for NCT details and when the next test is dueOverseas property buyer
· Overseas Property
An overseas buyer for your property wishing to meet to discuss payment terms, offering all expenses paid travel. Terms are usually agreed in excess of your asking price and for ‘tax’ reasons you are asked to make a payment in cash and full funds will then get transferred within Ireland for your property. When you return with the cash it is stolen from you.
· Pet Shipping
A seller will offer to ship a pet (usually sought after breeds) from overseas and get you to pay for this upfront. In most cases the pet doesn’t exist and you are left out of pocket.
· Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is.
