eBay help

Bionic Monkey

So, I'm selling a high price item on eBay right now that also has an unclaimed rebate attached to it. A buyer has made me an offer (via the "Ask a question" option) that is less than my asking price, but I register and keep the rebate, which ends up putting me ahead in the long run. (The reason is he lives in Canada and thus cannot take advantage of the rebate.)

First of all, is there any reason I should be wary of this? And if I go ahead with it, what's the best way of accepting this offer? Do I lower the price on the item and let him "buy it now"? Do I remove the item entirely, and proceed as a private transaction?

For reference, we're talking about a $700 transaction here, so I want to make absolutely sure I don't get screwed over.

Cycophant

What kind of item is this? We don't need specifics, but if it's something that you're pretty sure will sell anyway, and for your asking price, I'd say don't bother. The ability to just sell the item and wipe your hands clean of the whole affair is nice.

But speaking as a Canadian who's seen huge rebates get denied because of that 49th parallel, I can understand why a perfectly legitimate buyer would make such an offer. It's certainly not a "common scam" that I've come across, and off the top of my head, I can't think of too many ways it could screw you over. Check the details of the rebate and ensure you keep everything you need (UPC cut out, page out of the manual, whatever else) to process it. And as long as you're pretty sure the rebate in question is coming from a reliable company and they won't screw you over, I'd say go for it.

I think the only way to do this though is to cancel the auction - AFAIK, there's no way to just "adjust" the price.

Hewn

You could remove the item and have him pay you via Paypal. Paypal works good in this sort of scenario.

Atlus Parker

And don't let him use any kind of Escrow service. That's just asking to be taken advantage of.

Bionic Monkey

It's a home theater projector, for those curious.

blincoln

I would be really cautious about this. Any time you have an international transaction, you are making it a lot harder to do anything if it is a scam. If it were me, I wouldn't do it at all. As long as you are listing the item for a fair price, it should sell. If you are dead set on taking the offer, don't do it outside of eBay, because then you'll lose even the minimal protection that they provide.
To be as safe as possible, you'd have to get payment in the form of a cashier's check, and then wait until it clears before shipping the item. This can take quite awhile - I believe for my bank it's a month. There is a popular myth that cashiers' checks clear immediately, but that is not the case (at least not anymore). If it is a washed check, you can lose all of your money even weeks after the deposit.
An additional potential problem is Canada Customs. A friend of mine had several thousand dollars worth of electronics destroyed by them when it was "searched" and had no recourse. I would highly recommend making sure that your shipping insurance would cover that kind of damage before shipping anything that expensive over the border.

Bionic Monkey

Very good point. I should note, this guy says he works in the US, so I could insist on shipping it to his work address to avoid customs.

JaysonFour

BM, the guy's trying to scam it from you.

1) He wants to do it outside of eBay.

Completing the transaction outside of eBay will mean you lose any hope of getting thier help when this guy vanishes, and is considered a general bad idea.

2) He'll most likely send you a check or counterfeit money order.

Western Union, we hardly knew ye. Beware of any kind of payment that's not good hard U.S. pictures of dead presidents. My mother the eBay addict says she's seen her own share of rubber checks, and usually we wait two weeks for the processing to come through before sending. Fake MOs are on the rise again too, looks like.

3) If you send this guy the projector, you'll never see or hear from him again.

Make a one-day auction with a Buy It Now price of your asking price minus rebate, and let him buy it there. If he's using the question feature, he must have an account, right? This just reeks- no, it absolutely STINKS of scam to this family of experienced eBayers.

Our advice? Keep the auction up, and tell the guy either he buys it through eBay or no projector for him.

EggyToast

Tell him that if he wins, you will deduct the price of the rebate from the final auction price, and fill in the rebate yourself.

Or just say "sorry, there are other people watching the item and it would be unfair to cancel the auction at this point."

Most people who contact you outside of eBay in an effort to get you to close your auction early are trying to scam you. If you do it outside of ebay, it's no different than you simply mailing it to a random person you don't know, with the same recourse available (none).

Daedalus

Unless he lives close enough to you that he can pick it up in person and pay with cash, which is unlikely unless you're near the Canadian border, don't do it, it's not worth the risk.

Topia

If he truly is just wanting to do this because he can't use the mail in rebate all I can say is never trust mail-in rebates. I worked at Futureshop, and kept track of all my customers (it's good, I make more money that way, I'm not a stalker), and not ONE single time in 1 year have any of my customers recieved their mail-in rebates back. Rebate companies are not the same company as whom you purchased the product from, and they do anything and everything they can to fuck you. Period.

Bionic Monkey

Thanks for all the advice. By the time I was ready to respond, I already had several people watching the auction, so I decided to let it run.