UKC

So I am wanting to purchase an item I have seen for sale in a private ukc advert. How does one go about this and how can you be sure that you will actually receive your items? I'm sure most on here are trustworthy but have there been any nightmare stories? Are there any good tips?

In reply to leeoftroy:

Buying things is as simple as replying to the advert and saying you're interested. It's worth looking through someone's past posts (click on the question mark next to their name) to get a sense of how reliable they might be - if they're just selling loads of kit, and aren't engaging in other conversations, then that would ring alarm bells for me.

In reply to leeoftroy:

if you pay by paypal and the seller asks you to put it as a gift on paypal i would advise saying no (but offer to pay a couple of quid extra instead)

In reply to leeoftroy:

We have some guidelines for safer trading on this page - http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/info/forsale.html#safer

Alan

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax: Thats cool. Thanks for the responses. I guess paypal offers a certain level of assurance. One more question - why can I not see my post in the pub section where I put it?

In reply to leeoftroy:

Things for sale go in the 'For sale/Wanted' section or they get deleted, I think.

In reply to leeoftroy:

I've bought and sold a few times on here (only low value items), and I generally approach it as I would if I was selling/buying things from somewhere like a climbing club - I may not know much about the seller, but if they are a regular poster then they are probably ok and will want to maintain a good reputation on UKC. I've used paypal (gift), cheques, bank transfers and even posted cash. All pretty easy and amicable.

For higher value items I guess I would be a bit more cautious and perhaps only use paypal.

There was a series of problems with a specific person a few years ago selling things that never arrived, but generally no problems seem to pop up.

In reply to leeoftroy:

I've bought lots of things (books mainly) from UKC posts. I only buy from people with profiles who have a history of posting. Never had a problem.

In reply to leeoftroy:

Check they are a regular user, how long they have been registered and their posting history.


Chris

In reply to leeoftroy:

I moved it to Off Belay since it is a post that needs archiving. Posts in the pub get deleted after a while.

Alan

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax: ok thanks....still haven't spent enough time on here to understand the systems yet

In reply to leeoftroy:

Climbers code and that

I was selling some crampons to a man who was picking up at my place

I had to go out, left the crampons outside, he put the money in the letter box

Call me old fashioned but we should trust each other!

In reply to aujayeb: Yeah I thought I could trust other climbers but I think I may have fallen foul of one this week.

Pay with Paypal if theres any doubt at all!

In reply to lost1977:

I am quite happy to tick the gift box for anything I buy on this site as I don't think people are running a business like many on flebay.

In fact I did not know that the feature existed until I sold some books on this site and somebody ticked the box for goods/services/suchlike. A huge chunk of my money was eaten up by Paypal which wasn't nice seeing as I took a hit on postage as well.

On the whole I trust those that I buy from and sell to. So far I have only bought one expensive item and sold a few books.

Trust is the key to this site and that trust can only be viewed in a person's on-line persona. No harm in asking around before you buy.

In reply to leeoftroy: I look at their posting history and see if they've sold things before and if they have any complaints etc. If they're a regular poster I wouldn't have a problem but if it's a new account or they're just selling a load of stuff I'd have my doubts...

In reply to leeoftroy: I've bought and sold quite a few items on here, without any issue. Only had one item never arrive, and the money was refunded quickly via PayPal. I don't think for one second that it wasn't sent - I suspect Royal Mail lost it.

As mentioned earlier, you get an impression from previous posts and from email contact whether the person is likely to be genuine or a wrong 'un.

I wouldn't be concerned if a poster is only using the site to sell kit, rather than taking part in other conversations - the way they use UKC is up to them, and they'd soon be outed if sold kit wasn't arriving. However, and brand new user trying to sell kit may be cause for concern.

In reply to alooker:

Especially if their were hints in their post that they didn't know much about the gear they were selling, rather like buying a used bike from someone who seems to know very little about it. It is normally pretty clear which illicit activity you are encouraging, even if you actually do get the gear at the price agreed.

In reply to leeoftroy: Good advice from all....I have no doubt that there is a code between climbers - we trust one another on the end of our rope after all! My worry is more that non climbers could well think its a great idea to abuse that trust and start selling things that don't exist. But I shall be looking at the history of my potential sellers and use a bit of instinct. It seems most on here have had a pretty good experience which is nice to hear

In reply to The Lemming:

the problem with gifting on paypal is your pretty much have no comeback if the seller decides to screw you over

In reply to rj_townsend:

Likewise. I've bought various things via UKC (from posters with some history - I too am wary of people who use the forum only to sell things), and never had a problem until just recently.

A few weeks back something failed to arrive for the first time, and it does look very like the post office have lost it (temporarily perhaps). It wasn't a lot of money, so rather than a refund the seller & I agreed to donate the money to the local MRT instead.

In reply to leeoftroy: Some bastard stung me for £25 some years back, since then I've been very careful, (that was before paypall).

In reply to lost1977:

True.

But then I sold an item in mint condition for less than I payed, obviously, and worth far more than I was asking.

The buyer told me that once they had the item that they were going to sell it on. I wan't best chuffed. I have a fluffy idealism that this site is for selling stuff in good faith and not for commercial profit like fleabay. I may be nieave but I'd like to like that way.

In reply to The Lemming:

thats why if a seller ask for you to gift the money i simply just offer a few pounds extra to help cover their paypal fees rather than gift it (seller shouldn't lose out and you have some comeback if things go wrong).

the exception is if i know there is no risk like when i bought a SSD from nick smith

In reply to lost1977:

someone quite recently bought from someone on here, gifted it and then it didn't arrive and the seller didn't answer emails. if its a few quid for a guidebook its not too bad taking the hit but if its £60 on a jacket

In reply to leeoftroy: I dislike Paypal and choose to pay by bank transfer if the seller is happy with that, I have also paid money in over the counter at the seller's bank. I check history, particularly if there is suddenly a lot being sold by one person. I do this just in case it's a scally chancing their arm after robbing some poor climber.

I've never had an issue and have bought quite a bit, in fact this is my go to place to buy before shops.

Good luck buying.

In reply to leeoftroy:

For what it's worth, PayPal worked fine for the one item that I've sold through the site.

In reply to leeoftroy:

Have both bought and sold via the forums here.
(Thankfully) never had any issues with either.
Picking up my next purchase from here next week

In reply to leeoftroy: i have bought and sold on here, no probs so far. if your a regular user you should be able make a sound judgement on the seller

In reply to leeoftroy: I too have bought and (especially recently) sold plenty of stuff on here. Kit has always been as described and I've never had any issues. Equally, i'd hope that anyone who bought from me found everything as described. I'd rather sell here for less than you'd get on fleabay as i know the kit will be bought by likeminded people who use it as it is intended.
The only time i had a problem on here was when i posted a wanted ad and someone replied offering a great deal. I neglected to notice they were a recently registered user with no posting history. I got ripped off, but learned a lesson.