Reply With QuoteI think once the money has cleared in your account there's little that can be done to reverse.
Hi,
I have had an offer from Australia on a collectable Seiko.
I have exchanged various emails with the buyer, including detailed pictures of the watch and a video of all the chrono functions working.
I have received the payment. The buyer is happy.
The buyer has asked me to take the battery out and send it as "Non functioning watch for spares" and declare a value of £37 for it. To save on duties etc I guess.
Does anyone smell a rat? His ebay feedback is immaculate, we made contact over ebay in the first instance but *I* asked not to go through them because I don't trust them. I'm being messed about on another sale. Long story...
Having spoken to my bank, I'm nervous that the payment might be reversed on spurious grounds.
Any advice?
S
I think once the money has cleared in your account there's little that can be done to reverse.
According to the bank, it can be done. I'm not saying it's a simple process but how do I prove that I didn't send a brick through "Signed For" delivery? Can he say I sent him a scrap watch worth £37, "It even says so on the paperwork!"?Originally Posted by Pelicans
S
shipping for lower value - when I got Amazon shipment from US, customs asked for invoice and payment proof, even though taxes were already paid by Amazon. So, in case Australian customs flag you shipment, your buyer will be unable to provide proof of payment. But this will be buyer problem, not your.
Yes, he said something similar... I'm more concerned about being left without the watch *or* the payment. I can't see how the burden of proof *isn't* on me, that I sent a bag of peanuts by registered post, for instance.
How did your bank say that a wired payment could be reversed? Unless it was an escrow arrangement, I rather doubt it. Ensure the buyer doesn’t have your routing number and acct number, that can be used to withdraw money.
You can take pics or a video of the boxing process.
The request to doctor the watch to fool customs as to the value sounds illegal, I wouldn’t be complicit and state that wasn’t a condition of the sale. Just my 2p.
Bank details are on any cheque and he had to have those to make the payment.
The bank said that they would have to accept a request for the payment to be reversed if he wasn't happy with the watch, that it wasn't as described, etc.
I considered doing a video of the boxing process but that's still easily faked. My local Post Office is friendly, I might ask one of them to witness me putting the watch in the box and then immediately handing it to them for shipment...?
S
If it’s a direct bank transfer then it can’t be reversed. If they pay the cash into a branch then it might be possible; if it’s paid in by cheque it can be reversed weeks later. Who are your bankers?
If you are not comfortable then do t go ahead with the deal. You are exposing yourself to additional risks in lowering any value, or making any declaration about the goods you are sending too.
I don’t see what protection the buyer would have if they settle outside ebay/pay pal.
It's just a matter of time...
What’s the value of the watch? I used to send JonW on here high value watches all the time to him in Oz and he wasn’t bothered by the customs value as it was a pretty high threshold, maybe it’s changed or they have got stricter ?
EDIT- just looked at the threshold is $1000 AUS before duties etc are charged.
Last edited by JasonM; 6th July 2018 at 15:19.
You are worrying too much. He's just trying to avoid fees and get the best deal for himself.
Thanks for all the responses. I won't reply to each one...
The sale was for £350 plus a few quid for postage etc, might just top AUSD1000...?
I'm probably worrying too much. I do have trust issues I admit.
I'm going to ask one of the staff at the post office to witness that I'm sending the watch and then hand it to them straight away for shipping.
Thanks guys.
S
The payment reversal all sounds like PayPal, which can be linked to a sale and is controlled by eBay. Never seen this on a bank account payment, as those are private transactions amd not linked to an external event like a sale.
I just wouldn't do it. You won't be insured and it's potentially fraud.
Play safe and let the buyer deal with the tax. It's not a trust issue, it's a common sense issue.
I sold a watch on another forum to a buyer in Australia no problems I think it took a couple of weeks to arrive the only issue was discussing postage costs but from what I remember they weren’t much.
The red flag I see here is you don’t want to do the deal through eBay (but use the eBay platform to advertise) so you are not covered by them but then when he throws up something dodgy you are concerned.
I guess if you are both looking to cut corners then your options are one play by the rules and pay the extra costs (eBay fees and VAT) or take the inevitable risks of not doing so.
TBH that's a waste of everyone's time. Plus, it's then more likely to be nicked by those thieving monkeys at the PO (only kidding).
Let's say you've got every proof in the book that you sent the legit item but the buyer still wants to reverse the payment. Unless you go to court to chase it, then your "proof" isn't worth anything.
Keep everything above board and don't participate in his attempt at defrauding the tax man.
Have you chatted to him? Why not ask for a number for WhatsApp or Skype address for a quick confirmation. I think if he had the trust to send you the money with nothing (yet) in return, I think the deal should be sound. It would take a lot of hassle and risk for him to now try to reverse the payment.
This would be my take on it also.
If the funds were transferred to to your bank account directly from the buyers bank there is no real way to reveres this transfer.
However, if the buyer paid via PayPal etc and you transferd the funds to your bank then there remains the chance of an “Item not as described” claim.
Thanks again for comments.
The payment wasn't though PayPal, I'd definitely not be up for that, just a regular bank transfer. My bank does say that it can be reversed if it comes to it though, similar to PP.
I'll try to relax about it. :-)
S
In what universe is that? Google just converted £350 to AUSD624.91.
I still don't understand how your bank says the wire transfer can be reversed somehow. You're leaving out a specific detail, like what kind of transaction it was, or what dodgy bank you're dealing with.
Dude, I think you need to switch banks.... :-\
Last edited by ChromeJob; 6th July 2018 at 18:53. Reason: what bank are you with, anyway?
Sorry I'm not up on the current exchange rates... With the shipping etc it was £380.
I'm not leaving a specific detail out. As far as I'm concerned it was a regular bank transfer to a Lloyds account. As respectable bank as any probably...
S
Send him a non-functioning watch worth £37 if that’ts what is being declared by you. Else declare real value and watch will be insured (I think most shippers do up to £500 if paid for). Seems like fraud to me otherwise.
What fees?
As an Oz resident I can receive goods up to au$1k with no additional GST to pay, and then that’s only 10%.
For me it doesn’t stack up.
Any way - good luck OP
It's just a matter of time...
He probably just doesn't want his wife to see how much he has spent when the parcel turns up.
Maybe he's worried about it getting stolen in transit if the full value is declared on the package?
Just send it and declare 350gbp if you are concerned about it. No worries. Recipient wont have to pay any duty. Not your problem anyway.
It is an odd request given aud1000 threshold, but maybe recipient doesn’t know this and thinks it will cost him extra import duty...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Posting Permissions
