Am I being paranoid with 2nd hand sales?

[Tiercel]

Im sure selling RIFs used to be relatively easy, I know times are hard with the cost of living etc, and I think the prices Im asking are reasonable plus open to negotiation.

But it seems the only messages I ever get any more are from accounts that are only a few days/weeks old and have 0 posts and 0 feedback. And/or the messages sound a bit AI generated-ish. Which puts me on edge, I just cant help the feeling that a totally blank account with no profile pic, no info, no post history at all is going to be a scammer with either a stolen paypal or put a claim in saying its broken/not as described/not arrived and then paypal go "oops thats a gun, not allowed by T&Cs say goodbye to your money lol"

Has anyone else noticed this or had similar experiences? Are there legit buyers who just lurk here waiting to browse the classifieds with absolutely no interest in engaging with the forum community in any other way?

 

[Austeyr]

Has anyone else noticed this or had similar experiences? Are there legit buyers who just lurk here waiting to browse the classifieds with absolutely no interest in engaging with the forum community in any other way?

Click to shrink...

Sadly, yes. A lot of people seem to only use the forum for buying and selling. I've had people with brand new accounts message me before for stuff because they've seen the advert somehow and made an account purely to buy the item.

I've personally had no issues with buyers like that. Just cover yourself if the sale does go ahead.

Take videos of the replica being fired, take photos of it in the box, take photos of it packed up, take photos of it ready to be posted, take photos of your proof of postage, always send it tracked, add tracking to your PayPal transaction, only use Goods and Services etc.

PayPal do allow the sale of airsoft replicas, so that wouldn't be an issue

 

[Tiercel]

Ah for some reason I thought paypal still didnt allow airsoft guns, maybe that was just a thing from ye olde days, Im sure there used to be tales of people scamming sellers by deliberately mentioning its a "gun" so paypal refuse to cover the seller.

 

[Cannonfodder]

I wouldn't say you're being paranoid, just cautious. If someone contacted me about a sales post with an account that's only a few days old, has no engagement or feedback and their message looks like English isn't their first language I'd probably think twice about selling to them.

Yes there are quite a few people who only use the forum for sales and have no interest on engaging with the rest of it but they've usually been around a while and have some feedback.

Imo it's better to have missed out on a potential sale than to loose your money and/or gun to a scamming cunt

 

[ButcherBill]

As always... be cautious, I've bought 'one or two' rif's from the classifieds without any unfixable issues, a few of them had minor issues but rarely anything I couldn't fix (even with my limited tech nonskills) and no scammers.
If it doesn't seem legit then hold onto your money & anyone asking for F&F on paypal or bank transfer walk away.
Since the forum moved house it's been a bit difficult to check someone's feedback so I often judge a sellers/buyers interactions in the forum.
PayPal does have protections if it goes bad.

 

[Galvatron]

Being paranoid implies you are being irrational and that there is no merit to being so cautious. There are bad actors out there so being vigilant around newly made accounts is the right thing. If the buyer takes your caution on a new account or a lack of forum interaction personally, that may be a warning they may not be worth selling to as that's a headache you've saved yourself from.

As Cannonfodder said, it's better to lose a sale when you're uncertain than lose money to a scammer.

I'm not suggesting you play mind games but as long as you only show yourself to be keen but not desperate to sell, you hold the leverage as they are less likely to try and push your buttons, trying to manipulate you.