[bvachon29]

It's been a while since I've sold anything of decent value on any marketplace. I recently won a bike that I'm now selling because it's an aero race bike and I couldn't be further out of my element on it.

It now has a buyer who offered to pay what I'm asking for it plus shipping. Sounds great and dandy and almost too good to be true. Payment would be through Paypal. What are some things I should be looking to do to protect both myself as the seller and the buyer so neither of us gets scammed and have a good transaction?

 

[Impetus]

I've sold several things and bought several things via PB buy/sell- including a $2000 frame. It's always worked out, and 9/10 were awesome experiences. 1/10 the guy strung me along, or tried to low-ball me and continually adjust the deal. I just walked away and another party bought it.
Aside from the stuff PB clearly states in the giant yellow box I always look at the buyer's profile and ensure he didnt just make an account today. (it's not a deal breaker, but it makes me careful.)
Other than that use the PB rules-
All communication done through the PB mail.
Use PayPal ONLY and insist on goods/services.

You're the seller- technically the money needs to land in your acct before you ship, so you kinda hold all the cards. When he pays you, then you ship the bike. Obviously don't ship before Paypal clears the funds to you.
As long as you have excellent pictures to show the 'new' condition of the bike, pack it really well to avoid damage, and provide a tracking number, there isn't much a buyer can do to scam you.

I took pics of the bike when out of the box, with it packed in the box, and made sure I had a picture of the serial number. If it shows up broken, and blames you or he tries to read you a wrong serial, you can laugh off the scam and enjoy your money.

 

[bvachon29]

I've sold several things and bought several things via PB buy/sell- including a $2000 frame. It's always worked out, and 9/10 were awesome experiences. 1/10 the guy strung me along, or tried to low-ball me and continually adjust the deal. I just walked away and another party bought it.
Aside from the stuff PB clearly states in the giant yellow box I always look at the buyer's profile and ensure he didnt just make an account today. (it's not a deal breaker, but it makes me careful.)
Other than that use the PB rules-
All communication done through the PB mail.
Use PayPal ONLY and insist on goods/services.

You're the seller- technically the money needs to land in your acct before you ship, so you kinda hold all the cards. When he pays you, then you ship the bike. Obviously don't ship before Paypal clears the funds to you.
As long as you have excellent pictures to show the 'new' condition of the bike pack it well, and provide a tracking number, there isn't much a buyer can do to scam you.

All good points. I think I'm just surprised this is all going too well and I've never sold something this expensive so I'm a bit out of my element. But with everything you've said it should be a straightforward deal for me being the buyer.

 

[mik_git]

or they an oceanographer?

 

[DETarch]

You're the seller- technically the money needs to land in your acct before you ship, so you kinda hold all the cards. When he pays you, then you ship the bike. Obviously don't ship before Paypal clears the funds to you.

This has been my perspective as well when selling on PB...you're in the advantageous position as the seller getting paid first. I've sold multiple bikes via their Buy/Sell, 2 of which were around $6000 each. No issues at all. For higher value transactions, I also make a point to at least text the buyer to get a feel for legitimacy. I'm happy to call or Facetime buyers to verify everything too.

 

[Impetus]

I want to believe that 99% of PB 'residents' just want to participate in a high-quality marketplace to get good deals and offload things they no longer need.

Just this week I bought a Ripmo AF frame with shock and a dropper.

The transaction went almost verbatim like this:
Me: "Yo. I want your frame, is it for sale? Does the listed price include the shipping to <my zipcode>?"
Him: Yep., it's still here. Yeah, I'll do <price>, shipped to you.
Me: Kickass. What's your PP address, I'll shoot the money now.
Him: Awesome, man. my PP is <.....>
.
.
.
Me: K, Boss... you should see the PP deposit. HMU if you don't see it.
Him: Yep. It's there. I'll print BikeFlights the label, and drop it off today.

<4 hours later>

I have a tracking number.

This one was easily the fastest transaction I’ve had on PB, I’ll admit one thing I bought took like 4 days because the seller only checked PB like once every 36 hours. But they've all gone smoothly once they happen.

 

[matadorCE]

If you have a whole bike of decent value and components, try The Pro's Closet first

 

[bvachon29]

If you have a whole bike of decent value and components, try The Pro's Closet first

I did check with them already. I thought that would be the easy route but I thought they offered a bit of a lowball offer. They offered basically half of what this current buyer offered.

 

[bvachon29]

I want to believe that 99% of PB 'residents' just want to participate in a high-quality marketplace to get good deals and offload things they no longer need.

Just this week I bought a Ripmo AF frame with shock and a dropper.

The transaction went almost verbatim like this:
Me: "Yo. I want your frame, is it for sale? Does the listed price include the shipping to <my zipcode>?"
Him: Yep., it's still here. Yeah, I'll do <price>, shipped to you.
Me: Kickass. What's your PP address, I'll shoot the money now.
Him: Awesome, man. my PP is <.....>
.
.
.
Me: K, Boss... you should see the PP deposit. HMU if you don't see it.
Him: Yep. It's there. I'll print BikeFlights the label, and drop it off today.

<4 hours later>

I have a tracking number.

This one was easily the fastest transaction I’ve had on PB, I’ll admit one thing I bought took like 4 days because the seller only checked PB like once every 36 hours. But they've all gone smoothly once they happen.

Good to know, that's what I'm striving for. Also, did you have good look with BikeFlights? I've been looking into them vs just shipping UPS.

 

[IMeasure]

Lots of good advice here. As stated, make sure the payment is PayPal goods and services and NOT friends and family. You have to pay extra for the service, but you also get seller protection.

When shipping the item make sure the shipment is fully tracked and I would include signature on arrival. If you are using a service like UPS or DHL you could have it shipped to a local depot (assuming it's convenient for the buyer) and have them collect it there, so it's not stolen from their porch.

 

[matadorCE]

I did check with them already. I thought that would be the easy route but I thought they offered a bit of a lowball offer. They offered basically half of what this current buyer offered.

That's a big bummer. I sold them my SB55 and got fair price for it but must have been the right timing. PB is typically pretty solid, although I've also sold on Ebay too.

 

[WhiteDLite]

1 thing, and I just had a 9500 transaction on Pinkbike selling a WAO Arrival. You do not have access to the money as soon as they pay you. PayPal holds the money from both parties, the buyer and seller, and releases the money to you the seller after the buyer has confirmed the deal or you have confirmed you’ve gotten the bike back in same shape you shipped it.

Take plenty of photos and provide tracking with signature required.

I had the bike in the mail next day after I was paid, basically took pics of everything.

 

[Yolo_MTB]

Something new to take into account... There is a new 2022 Tax law, which states that if you make more than $600 from places like Venmo, Paypal, even Stubhub, you have to pay taxes on it, and they actually are required to report that to the IRS... Fun times... Gonna bite a lot of people in the ass at the end of the year... I am not a tax guy, so feel free to look more into the details.

 

[Impetus]

Good to know, that's what I'm striving for. Also, did you have good look with BikeFlights? I've been looking into them vs just shipping UPS.

100% BikeFlights. If for no other reason than it’s cheaper.

 

[Impetus]

Something new to take into account... There is a new 2022 Tax law, which states that if you make more than $600 from places like Venmo, Paypal, even Stubhub, you have to pay taxes on it, and they actually are required to report that to the IRS... Fun times... Gonna bite a lot of people in the ass at the end of the year... I am not a tax guy, so feel free to look more into the details.

View attachment 1964520

ehh…kind of.
It might be more applicable to the OPs situation, because it was a ‘prize’ but for the vast majority of what we’re talking about- selling parts you bought and used; as I read it, it’s a non-issue.

Is the IRS taxing PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App transactions? Here's what you need to know

The IRS has new reporting requirements for Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App users. Here's what you need to know if you're on a peer-to-peer payment platform.

grow.acorns.com

The super relevant part is about halfway down the page:

“ But let's say you sell a couch to someone online for $1,200. As long as you can prove with a receipt that you originally paid more than $1,200 for that couch, that is not considered taxable income, Wilson says.”

im sure it’ll take a few years before it gets to be a ‘thing’…remember back when we were supposed to report our own taxes for out of state online purchases? Yeah, no one did that.

 

[NS-NV]

Something new to take into account... There is a new 2022 Tax law, which states that if you make more than $600 from places like Venmo, Paypal, even Stubhub, you have to pay taxes on it, and they actually are required to report that to the IRS... Fun times... Gonna bite a lot of people in the ass at the end of the year... I am not a tax guy, so feel free to look more into the details.

View attachment 1964520

That sucks, but I think if you show your cost of goods sold (receipt), you are actually showing a loss, not a profit. Will be asking my accountant for sure…

 

[Yolo_MTB]

ehh…kind of.
It might be more applicable to the OPs situation, because it was a ‘prize’ but for the vast majority of what we’re talking about- selling parts you bought and used; as I read it, it’s a non-issue.

Is the IRS taxing PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App transactions? Here's what you need to know

The IRS has new reporting requirements for Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App users. Here's what you need to know if you're on a peer-to-peer payment platform.

grow.acorns.com

The super relevant part is about halfway down the page:

“ But let's say you sell a couch to someone online for $1,200. As long as you can prove with a receipt that you originally paid more than $1,200 for that couch, that is not considered taxable income, Wilson says.”

im sure it’ll take a few years before it gets to be a ‘thing’…remember back when we were supposed to report our own taxes for out of state online purchases? Yeah, no one did that.

Guessing if it was a "Prize" and then he sold it, that would be considered a profit. If he paid $4k for it and sold it for $2K that would be a loss. But like I said, not something I'm real familiar with, not sure if the IRS is going to come knocking down your door, or if you should just keep a paper trail "to be safe". I'm sure you could have a receipt for a Piano and say that's what you sold, they are not looking for bike serial numbers.

 

[milehi]

I've bought and sold a lot of components on PB but only have one complete bike transaction. It was worth the four hour round trip drive not to have to deal with shipping. For both of us. I received a nice discount for his time not to break the bike down, box it up and drag it to the shipper.

 

[crazylax42]

Anyone ever bought bike from Canada for delivery to US? Extra taxes etc? Exchange rate has made some listings very tempting.

 

[TylerVernon]

I've had no problems as a seller because I'm not a moron. As a buyer, I've had bad experiences. There are a lot of unethical people who will try to sell you their broken junk then blame you. I've always gotten a refund but it's a hassle.