Buying online... the risks We are still getting cases opened when someone buys something online and the product is never delivered or the seller disappears with the cash. Now I am VERY tempted to simply state Stupid should hurt (ooops...sorry) but anyway, for the innocent parties, no offence is intended, here are some tips on buying goods off the internet. 1) If you do not personally know, nor have dealt with that person before, nor have met them face to face before, DO NOT take anything for granted. Draw up a very simple contract. Literally copy and paste a picture of the advert with the words the seller used. State your and their name and ID numbers. Put three places for signatures and make two copies. One for you and one for the buyer. See no 5 for who the third signature should be. 2) If you buy off sites like Bid or Buy (I have found pretty safe) look at the number of sales the seller has made. Look at the types of feedback comments they get. BOB also have a verified seller (green tick) which means they have a good track record. Here, it is relatively safe to transfer cash by EFT. BOB have a system called BOBPay where upon your purchase you get a code which you put in the reference part of the EFT transaction. Not every chancer seller gets this feature. Also, BOB themselves are available for questions and comments. I have found them very accommodating if I am unsure about something or have not had communication from the seller. 3) Gumtree and similar sites carry higher risks. Simply because anyone and everyone can post a product or item to sell and you have no idea if that thing even exists. We have had a couple incidents where cash is transferred and the seller simply disappears with the phone number they posted turned off permanently and no trace possible as it was an Un-RICAd SIM card. Kiss your cash goodbye. Other cases in this category have been when the seller wants to meet the buyer somewhere public, like the Wimpy. Cash is exchanged and only later you discover the item is not what you thought it was. How to get around this, I will explain under the next couple spots. A tip here is if you want to buy something here, buy local. That motorbike in the Free State is not the only bargain you are going to find. Unless it is some exotic collectors item, where I am sure you are going to be spending a lot of money and you will gather enough information about the thing as possible. 4) Local Buy/Swap/Sell pages. These are relatively safe, although I would definitely advise you have your wits about you. Again, unless you personally know that seller...you do not know who is selling to you. I have received and read many complaints about people posing as someone else, using other names or even avatar names. If you are not sure, click on their profile. Do they look like a real person. How many friends have they got? Pictures posted? A little bit of investigation will help. It is a public platform anyway. Yes...yes...I know about privacy settings and they are a good thing. I can still, with a practiced eye see if you are real or not. If you are still not sure, ask the site admin to contact you to have a chat. 5) My advice for this and for the Gumtree thing: Dont meet the seller alone. If you have bought a fridge or something big you have to collect, take a big hairy father, husband, cousin along to help carry the thing. The Wimpy, with all respect, is not a safe place to meet a complete stranger and hand over R4.5g for a Galaxy 5 they swear has never been opened. You do not know how many of their buddies are seated round sipping milkshakes making sure their end of the deal goes according to plan. For small items, suggest meeting at the nearest SAPS station. Here, I mean IN the Police station. Ask if at the Community Service Center if you can have a policeman witness the transaction. If the seller is even the slightest bit shady they will not like that idea. INSPECT the item before you hand over cash. If you receive a sealed item in proper packaging it is probably safe. Other than that, you check it out thoroughly. In working order means exactly that. If you are not happy, walk away. 6) Please evaluate ups and downs of using EFTs to pay people you do not know. I fully understand the risk of drawing large amount of cash and handing it over, but if you do a transfer before you meet the person or before you have inspected the goods, you carry the risk. Dont be tempted to pay deposits to secure an item. Easiest trick in the scam book. If the seller is honourable, they will deal with the first offer. Maybe pay a deposit after you have physically seen the item, like a dishwasher, and made sure it is in working order. Take a photo of it or the serial number so you know it is the same one you receive later. For the main transaction, take your laptop to the Police station and do the EFT in front of the person selling. 7) On the day is not the time to haggle price. Do that way before. Dont start squeezing the seller and ummm-ing and aah-ing over price at the hand over. If the item is not as it was described, close your mouth, walk away. In saying that, beware of adverts that post a picture with the note, actual item may not, is similar to the item shown. Nope. I want to see THE item I am buying. 8) Please do not give out personal information over open groups like on Facebook. There are predators who actively look for people like that. In one second I can find out you are a woman at such an address with X telephone number just because you wrote it in the comments column. Even private messaging...rather give an email address to begin with. Please protect your personal information. Please take care. There are crooks out there with no morals who will happily steal your cash you saved to buy your daughter that special present. These people do not always fit the visual profile you may have of a criminal. They are scam artists and are very silken tongued. Stay alert. Lerts dont get ripped off.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 09:38:20 +0000
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