Ordering online

drivetolive · 02-07-2010, 06:07 PM

I'm about to buy an intake off of someone on e46fanatics. He/she is shipping it from Boston. Most likely paying through paypal (if the deal goes through).

I've never ordered anything online privately where they've had to ship it. Is there anything I should do to protect myself? What can I do if it turns out to be a scam (i've heard about complaining to paypal or something)?

Arash · 02-07-2010, 06:25 PM

make sure they are a verified paypal user. Also make sure he/she isn't a noob on the forum.. couple of quick ways to check. I've bought many things privately from US, I always check for those things and never any problems,, but heard of many ripoff stories so be careful.

nachos23 · 02-08-2010, 08:36 AM

Paypal does a good job @ protecting you if he's legitimate. See if he has an eBay site. If I can find the same part on eBay (not a knock-off) of the part, then I go eBay. With eBay you get both eBay and Paypal protection, also you can see how many transactions the user has and the satisfaction rating of the user.... I try to buy from User's with PowerSeller ratings and hundreds if not thousands of transactions.... If you are buying from another user, then make sure they have a paypal account and then consider the price of the part you're buying. Then you have to decide whether you believe he's not gonna rip you off.... Likely, if he's a regular contributor to e46Fanatics, they shold have multiple posts.....

daytona · 02-08-2010, 08:41 AM

Two words....credit card....never pay thru Paypal using your account balance unless the seller has a strong history.You have chargeback protection if the seller screws you if your using your CC for payment.

King Luis · 02-08-2010, 08:55 AM

with paypal, you have 45 days to dispute the deal. if you don't get the parts in 40 days then dispute it.

i've ordered headlights from germany once and the person took off with $300 of my money. i disputed it, they never replied, paypal gave me my money back.

oh, and definitely make sure they provide a tracking number and they have been on the forums for a while.

daytona · 02-08-2010, 10:13 AM

KL if the seller has no balance in his account you get no money from Paypal,thats why always pay by CC....you may win a judgment against the seller thru Paypal but if the seller has no balance you get no money.

drivetolive · 02-08-2010, 10:19 AM

Well he's not really that active on that site, I think he only has ~150 posts. The intake is a Simota, he's offered me it for $175 shipped ($100 more and I can get it brand new, so I'm still thinking of whether or not I should just buy it new and not worry about getting screwed over).

How can I pay him through credit card? Or do you mean pay through paypal using a credit card?

So basically if I pay through paypal, than I can only file a claim (have a chance at getting my $ back) if he has a balance on his account?

drivetolive · 02-08-2010, 10:21 AM

BTW I searched to see if he sold anything else and nope, not even any ratings on his profile.

W2WDETAILING · 02-08-2010, 10:36 AM

Personally I would buy new that 100 dollars your saving really isn't worth it you have to consider border fees to may have to wait long and it's a used part and your taking the chance. Just my 2 cents

drivetolive · 02-08-2010, 11:09 AM

^^^You got a good point, exactly what I was thinking. Lol why can't these parts be available readily in Canada

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