How to Protect Yourself When Selling Phone Over the Internet

**WannaBeYou** · 12-30-2012, 06:49 PM

Please move this if it is not appropriate for me to post this in this forum. I picked this forum because it is busy and seems like it would have the most people who frequently buy/sell phones and could give me some advice.

I am going to sell a phone probably on swappa.com. I know to take pictures of the phone to show the condition and I will ship insured, but what do I need to know to protect myself from an unscrupulous buyer who would say the box I shipped was empty or something like that? If they did I could report the phone stolen and have it blacklisted, but what about apps that could be installed that would take a picture of the person to show they received it? Wouldn't I need to keep the phone activated on my account for those apps to work?

I've never sold anything over the internet before so any advice is appreciated. I could try craig's list locally, but it seems like you get more educated consumers who would know a good deal if you sell on the internet.

**Hubertsng** · 12-30-2012, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by WannaBeYou

Please move this if it is not appropriate for me to post this in this forum. I picked this forum because it is busy and seems like it would have the most people who frequently buy/sell phones and could give me some advice.

I am going to sell a phone probably on swappa.com. I know to take pictures of the phone to show the condition and I will ship insured, but what do I need to know to protect myself from an unscrupulous buyer who would say the box I shipped was empty or something like that? If they did I could report the phone stolen and have it blacklisted, but what about apps that could be installed that would take a picture of the person to show they received it? Wouldn't I need to keep the phone activated on my account for those apps to work?

I've never sold anything over the internet before so any advice is appreciated. I could try craig's list locally, but it seems like you get more educated consumers who would know a good deal if you sell on the internet.

That is an instance of mail fraud and you could get the police invovled to see if he actually received. If you sent it don't worry dude... what's the thing to worry with a justice system if you did it and you have nothing to be guilty of?

**WannaBeYou** · 12-30-2012, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by Hubertsng

That is an instance of mail fraud and you could get the police invovled to see if he actually received. If you sent it don't worry dude... what's the thing to worry with a justice system if you did it and you have nothing to be guilty of?

Yeah, just probably being paranoid here, but it seems like there are so many scammers out there.

What about pay pal - should I only accept a sale from pay pal verified accounts? I have a pay pal verified account linked to my real banking account.

**davey11** · 12-30-2012, 09:00 PM

I just sold on swappa. They are a reliable service. Get delivery confirmation when you ship. Should be all the protection you need.
Don't do cl, that is where all the scammers are. I had 4 scam attempts on cl.

**WannaBeYou** · 12-30-2012, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by davey11

I just sold on swappa. They are a reliable service. Get delivery confirmation when you ship. Should be all the protection you need.
Don't do cl, that is where all the scammers are. I had 4 scam attempts on cl.

great, thanks! I definitely want to avoid craig's list. If I did go that route, I would tell them to meet me in the parking lot of a Verizon corporate store so that if they bought they could go activate it on their account.

**Byzantium** · 12-30-2012, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by WannaBeYou

great, thanks! I definitely want to avoid craig's list. If I did go that route, I would tell them to meet me in the parking lot of a Verizon corporate store so that if they bought they could go activate it on their account.

You should never meet somebody on Craigslist in a parking lot....

**WannaBeYou** · 12-30-2012, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by Byzantium

You should never meet somebody on Craigslist in a parking lot....

Even in broad daylight? Where do you meet, in a starbucks?

**Byzantium** · 12-30-2012, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by WannaBeYou

Even in broad daylight? Where do you meet, in a starbucks?

Yes, even in broad daylight. You meet in a place where one person can't just run away with the item and you don't meet up with people of a certain persuasion...

**swarlos** · 12-31-2012, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by Byzantium

Yes, even in broad daylight. You meet in a place where one person can't just run away with the item and you don't meet up with people of a certain persuasion...

+1 CL is the worst, just get so many people who waste your time. I've sold quite a few things on eBay and two phones on swappa. Just like the other posters have said only accept payments through PayPal and get delivery confirmation and have them sign for it too if that makes you feel even more secure.

Beamed from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

**N4Newbie** · 12-31-2012, 06:21 AM

A lawyer once pointed out to my father (regarding a business transaction) that Certified/Registered Mail, in and of itself, is worthless for exactly the reason you point out. The recipient can say, "sure I received the envelope, but the only thing in it was a child's nursery rhyme!"

The normal way around this problem is to have an attorney actually do the final packaging and mailing. An attorney's testimony in court is presumed to be truthful and a judge will give great weight to it.

Of course, that would not be very practical for something as small as the mailing of a phone (unless you have an attorney in the family willing to do you a freebie?). So, your next best option is to have one or more reasonably reliable persons witness the mailing. If the recipient tries to make a false claim, you point out that you will call the police and have him charged with fraud on the basis that you have two (three, four) witnesses who will testify as to the contents of the package.

But seriously, I have sold over 100 items on eBay including at least three phones and have never had a problem such as the one you are concerned about. Other venues such as Cl would give me pause, however.