Need some help & advice!

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

elkhorn

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Messages
1,199
Location
Utah
I just received an order for one of my higher end pens through my web site. The customer purchased it through the website using Paypal. The customer is from Qatar. I've not sold to anyone overseas before. How can I verify that the purchaser is legitimate? How long do I have to wait until the Paypal payment is verified by Paypal?

Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to insult a potential customer, but also don't want to be the unknowing victim of a "Nigerian Prince" deal.

Thanks in advance.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

mark james

IAP Collection, Curator
Joined
Sep 6, 2012
Messages
12,720
Location
Medina, Ohio
I have no suggestions other than what I have read for previous similar situations... Your concerns are merited, be careful. (Nothing you don't already know).

May be a great order, I suspect not.

Hope it works out.
 

Terredax

Banned
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Messages
892
Proceed with caution. Don't gamble more than you can afford to loose.
Scammers usually go for the better, more valuable items, like your higher end pens.
 

elyk864

Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2017
Messages
354
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I just received an order for one of my higher end pens through my web site. The customer purchased it through the website using Paypal. The customer is from Qatar. I've not sold to anyone overseas before. How can I verify that the purchaser is legitimate? How long do I have to wait until the Paypal payment is verified by Paypal?

Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to insult a potential customer, but also don't want to be the unknowing victim of a "Nigerian Prince" deal.

Thanks in advance.

I've sent one over to Qatar already, no issues. I also used PayPal, which is really good about protecting both parties from fraud.
 

DavidD

Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Messages
299
Location
Boulder, Colorado
I wouldn't really worry about it, especially because it has gone through PayPal. Despite loosely associating "Nigerian Price" scams with overseas, I don't think there's any reason to be suspicious of your customer, based upon the information provided.

Congratulations on making a sale to a place so far from the US!

David
 

leehljp

Member Liaison
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
9,314
Location
Tunica, Mississippi,
I too would be suspicious. With PP, go through with it. But if you suddenly get a request for multiple pens and a request to make a payment OUTSIDE of PP, then this can be viewed as a set-up for a later scam.
 

Lucky2

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
1,502
Location
New Brunswick/ Canada
I really hate that a person can't take another person's word as good or legit, it has become a sad world. I wouldn't worry about selling to someone in Qatar, as long as payment has been recieved in advance. And I would sell them as many pens as they wanted, but under the same conditions. As long as the payment for the goods has cleared through Pay-Pal, I wouldn't worry about a thing. On your Esty site, you should have it posted that all payments have to clear Pay-Pal before the item is shipped. And another policy I used to have, is that all payments were to be made through Pay-Pal. They have saved me from losing out a couple of different times, I love dealing through them. Good luck with this sale, your are now an international seller. You can even advertise that you are, if you think that ight help you sell a few items.

Len
 

elkhorn

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Messages
1,199
Location
Utah
Thanks for the help and advice everyone. Very much appreciated. I will check with Paypal and see if the funds have cleared. If so, I'll keep my fingers crossed:) and ship it out.

I'll keep you posted so that, for better or worse, it can help someone else out.

Thank you again.
 

elkhorn

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Messages
1,199
Location
Utah
Hi, all. I thought I would give you an update in case anyone else is faced with this.

I checked with Paypal and they said that the funds had cleared, the address was verified and the transaction qualified for Paypal's protection plan.

If anything else develops, I'll let you know.
 

Rolandranch

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Messages
1,034
Location
Tucson, AZ
Congrats on the sale! You will definitely want to insure the package with that pen. You will probably want to send it using USPS Priority International service. First Class International service is too risky with high-end pens and it can't be insured (unless using a third party service).
 
Last edited:

Marcros

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
63
Location
United Kingdom
Congrats on the sale! You will definitely want to insure the package with that pen. You will probably want to send it using USPS Priority International service. First Class International service is too risky with high-end pens and it can't be insured (unless using a third party service).

I would say that this is the bigger risk than the cleared funds. I don't know the US postal options, but for Paypal protection you need more than proof of postage, you need a proof of receipt. If the package is insured, this enables you to make a claim if you can prove that it was posted, and it is not received, or if it is received damaged.

One classic PayPal/eBay scam is that somebody pays through PayPal, and collects. Sellers don't think to ask for proof of collection/acceptance of the goods by the buyer, and so everybody is happy until a few days later when the buyer claims that it has never been received, and the seller cannot prove anything.
 

Rolandranch

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Messages
1,034
Location
Tucson, AZ
I would say that this is the bigger risk than the cleared funds. I don't know the US postal options, but for Paypal protection you need more than proof of postage, you need a proof of receipt. If the package is insured, this enables you to make a claim if you can prove that it was posted, and it is not received, or if it is received damaged.

One classic PayPal/eBay scam is that somebody pays through PayPal, and collects. Sellers don't think to ask for proof of collection/acceptance of the goods by the buyer, and so everybody is happy until a few days later when the buyer claims that it has never been received, and the seller cannot prove anything.
Yes, this is why you should purchase your postage by using the "ship" option in the PayPal transaction. This is also another reason to use Priority service; the service includes tracking and delivery confirmation.
 
Top Bottom