There are some expensive transactions through the ST classified section. What is the best way to actually send money to someone selling a bike across the country? I was considering using escrow.com but is that common?
Nope. Paypal is going to be your best bet.
Why is paypal best? It does not ensure in anyway that I get what I am supposed to get. There is still a fee associated. With escrow.com, they release the money to the seller after I receive and check the goods. The fee is around $40 per $1000. I just can not imagine purchasing a bike for over $1000 and just send the money and hope to get what I paid for?
Why is paypal best? It does not ensure in anyway that I get what I am supposed to get. There is still a fee associated. With escrow.com, they release the money to the seller after I receive and check the goods. The fee is around $40 per $1000. I just can not imagine purchasing a bike for over $1000 and just send the money and hope to get what I paid for?
You sometimes have to have a little faith in humanity
Why is paypal best? It does not ensure in anyway that I get what I am supposed to get. There is still a fee associated. With escrow.com, they release the money to the seller after I receive and check the goods. The fee is around $40 per $1000. I just can not imagine purchasing a bike for over $1000 and just send the money and hope to get what I paid for?
Never used it. What protects the seller?
The tracking information is entered so guaranteed delivery protects the seller somewhat. The seller gets the sale, and the process boosts the confidence of the buyer.
so you work for escrow.com or something??
this doesn’t seem like a very legitimate thread/question…
I’ve bought two sets of Zipp wheels over the years plus innumerable amounts of other items. The wheel transactions were for $1500 and $2600 each. I had no hesitation sending the money. I’ve also sold quite a bit with the largest sale being in the $750 range. Again, no issues with either side and all of it was done through Paypal.
I have to agree with the others. You come on here looking for advice, ie different companies, yet you seem set on this escrow that I’ve never heard of.
How does that protect the seller? I sell you something, you receive it as promised, then change your mind or have buyers remorse, file a claim and tie my merchandise in a claim. If you’re that nervous then buying thus way may not be for you. That’s ok.
That was my thought. Kind of combative in first response.
I intend to use it. I also encourage others to do the same but I am trying to figure out what is “normal” on these un-policed classifies. There are thousands of dollars of products on there there and nobody talks about how to exchange the money. Craigslist is generally local so a meetup is generally organized. Ebay is insured and policed. It would suck to “have faith” in humanity as someone stated only for the person I intend to buy the bike from to disappear.
No I do not work for escrow.com. I actually think the fee is kinda steep and it is double if you want to use paypal.
I intend to use it. I also encourage others to do the same but I am trying to figure out what is “normal” on these un-policed classifies. There are thousands of dollars of products on there there and nobody talks about how to exchange the money. Craigslist is generally local so a meetup is generally organized.** Ebay is insured and policed**. It would suck to “have faith” in humanity as someone stated only for the person I intend to buy the bike from to disappear.
No I do not work for escrow.com. I actually think the fee is kinda steep and it is double if you want to use paypal.
And how do you think ebay transactions are handled? For that matter, who do you think owns paypal?
Paypal is the “normal” on any and all classifieds.
The way I look at it, if someone has a history of genuine triathlon discussion on ST, he isn’t going to choose ST to try to defraud someone. I’ve done a dozen or so transactions here of the years with know problems.
Thanks for the feedback about this. It is encouraging to see most support the honesty of the ST community.
I have bought and sold thousands of dollars worth of stuff in the classifieds. I use paypal as my method of sending and receiving. If you are buying from me and refuse to use it, then I refuse to sell to you. Just like if I was buying from you, I would not send my money to some random site that you have chosen. If you don’t like the way the classifieds work, then there are plenty of LBSs that would love to have your money.
I think you just have to do a little due diligence too. I bought from a guy on classifieds for several hundred dollars. In addition to his ST posts he emailed me from a semi-regular email address, had a blog, race results. He was a legitimate person. If I went looking for a guy who didn’t use a real name and didn’t exist anywhere on social media or race results or something, it would probably cause me to back away from the deal.
While it makes good sense to be a little skeptical, at the end of the day you also have to remember that the Paypal transaction is going to be picked up on the other end by a real person. They’ve left a bunch of other digital clues around by logging into ST, maybe doing a picture hosting. Masking all that is an awful lot of work for maybe defrauding someone out of a $1000 here or there on transactions that can’t be remanufactured in bulk.
I have bought a pile of stuff. And sold as well. No problems.
I’ve bought and sold bikes here, no issues, over 10k to date.
Mike
Wow 10,000 bikes! You must not be married and really believe in the n +1 rule. 
(Pink)