EddScott

Looking at buying a TV off Ebay but the seller doesn't offer paypal. They are requesting payment via bank transfer.

Although paypal has its faults as a buyer you can at least attempt to getthe money back if the item fails to arrive. With a bank transfer is there any way to protect yourself if the item doesn't arrive?

Ta

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

99% of the ebay transactions here are done by bank transfer, you Brits really need to move into the 20th century let alone the 21st.

Your bank will be the best place to advise you about its proceedure to retrieve money not the scoobynet massive.

I personally use online bank transfer for all my internet buying here in Germany with a minute amount done by paypal and have never had a problem except for once when dealing with a guy in China.

bugeyeandy

1 in 4 winning bids on Ebay is paid for by Paypal payments.

Bank transfers are an incredibly risky way of paying for Ebay items of any value. There is no comeback or protection unless you use some sort of Escrow account.

Best bet is to collect and pay cash or to look elsewhere.

Brendan Hughes

Ask the seller to post a photo of herself in a bikini as compensation.

SJ_Skyline

Or get Nate to "research" the seller before you buy

David Lock

So why would a transfer be any more risky than sending a cheque which seller clears before sending goods or, come to that, sending cash by Special Delivery?

I'd be strongly influenced by feedback stats. dl

Chrisgr31

The issue with bank transfer is that it is next to possible to get the money back. You would need to go to Court to get the money back. The first problem is identifying the correct person. So you'll need the bank to give you their details. So you need to go to Court first to get the bank to release details. Need to do the same procedure with cheques although if you send a cheque at least there is a slim chance they might live at the address you send it to! Well they might be known there but again proving it would be difficult!

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

the last ime I did a bank transfer from ebay I was scammed, I now have the police involved !

boxst

I have paid by Bank transfer and it has been fine. The reason that it is more risky is that you are just transferring money without knowing the person's address. You still have the same problems getting your money back with a cheque, but you have somewhere to visit to express your opinion personally.

Steve

rik-1

If you are unsure, then pay a little more and go to a shop.
As with a lot of other things;
price is related to risk.

stuart n

Check the sellers feedback rating first to make sure they appear genuine. I've paid for an item using bank transfer and had no problems but the seller had over 1000 feedback comments so there was less risk.
If in doubt don't buy it.

David Lock

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned feedback status as all this relates to the integrity of the seller. If it's someone who has been selling value items on e-bay for a few years with say 50 plus feedbacks listed at 99% then I would be relaxed. If seller had just joined e-bay with 8 sales of used mobiles then I would walk away. dl

I was typing this as Stuart was posting