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Just after for some advice.....
I’m looking to buy a musical instrument off a member of a different forum. I’d prefer to meet them in the middle and hand over cash, but they want to post it as it would be a 3hr round trip for both of us.
Just concerned it won’t turn up or if it gets damaged in transit. If I PayPal them the money would I be protected?
If you pay by PayPal goods and services, you are fully protected.
Or go the extra mile? Literally. Drive closer to them. If you really want it, is it worth the effort? Yes it's a day sitting in a car but piece of mind knowing it's safely "delivered" for a bit more in fuel compared to postage.
What's the value roughly?
If I were you I'd get them to post it but make sure its insured in case it gets damaged in transit. To be fair I've never had any trouble with stuff getting damaged in transit and many people I know buy musical instruments on line and stuff is shipped to them via normal couriers so as long as the seller packages it up properly there is a low risk of damage in transit.
If it is that valuable and you can't even bear it just getting the value refunded if it was damaged then I'd probably bite the bullet and go an pick up myself and make a day out of it.
PayPal will give you protection. The best way though is to find a seller you can trust. If they are in another forum you can search the user name. See if they have been posting a while, if their posts are about the sort of thing you would expect. See if the user name shows up elsewhere. Should tell you if they are genuine.
If I was selling, there is no way I'd drive to a neutral spot to swap cash for goods. Buyer collects or pays for delivery. I expect very few people would find your request reasonable.
I often meet up to sell stuff, but usually only places we'd both be going anyway e.g. trail centers or if I happen to be passing by (I drive a lot for work) I'll offer to meet them at the nearest services.
When buying I've bought a few bikes and the sellers posted them, been fine each time, often worked out better than some I've bought in person and missed major faults! I'd base that on trusting the seller though, if there was the slightest wif of dodginess or the bike looked "well used" I'd not send them money.
I'm reluctant to post anything where their condition could be described subjectively. I'd rather people had a look at the parts and just paid cash or bank transfer when everyone's happy. It's less about not trusting the postman, more that I'm quite happy with kit/bikes that cosmetically battered as long as it's mechanically fine. Other people get upset by paint chips of brake calipers.
If I was selling, there is no way I’d drive to a neutral spot to swap cash for goods. Buyer collects or pays for delivery. I expect very few people would find your request reasonable.
I've done exactly that (meet in the middle) but not for a random - it was someone I've known virtually for a few years but not met in person before. I think i'd be less inclined to drive 1.5hrs x2 for someone who might not show up. Paypal G&S is the answer. Possibly a debate on who paying the transaction fee.
Also depends on the value.
If we're talking a £2000 Les Paul, I'd maybe consider delivering it to the buyer.
If it's a £20 kids guitar and amp from Argos, then I'd just say no thanks and wait for someone local to buy it.
Did that with a £350 bike over lockdown, in the end a guy drove down from Mansfield to collect it as I just said I wasn't haggling on the price and wasn't shipping as I couldn't be bothered with the hassle.
It’s approx £500, so not mega bucks but not peanuts either. If it was a 2K les Paul I’d probably drive there.
Decided to just transfer the cash and cross my fingers.
If I was selling, there is no way I’d drive to a neutral spot to swap cash for goods. Buyer collects or pays for delivery. I expect very few people would find your request reasonable.
Quite surprised by that. I’ve done it a few times, usually meeting somewhere busy like the motorway services. Quick check over of the goods then hand over the cash or do a transfer on my phone. I don’t really see where the risk would be in that?
Check which couriers will accept guitars, parcelfarce manged to put a massive dent in one I sent yrs ago. They argued it should be in hard case, at the time there was nothing on their site about this, but a quick look and there is lots of exclusions on there now.
https://www.parcelforce.com/help-and-advice/sending/items-we-exclude-compensation