Was RIPPED OFF! Future Strategy

[mgetty@dental.temple.edu (Getty, Marc)]

Hi Kevin,

This piece of advice is definitely too late to help you, but....

I learned from Peter's gf Laurie that a postal money order is the only money
order that can't be canceled. While they can be stolen, this is terribly
unlikely. When I sell stuff on eBay I only accept postal money orders, and
no others, never been burned yet!

-Marc

'87 VW Smoking Scirocco Tornado Red 16V 214,000+ miles in Philly PA
    since 7/2/99 - Before and after pics: http://getty.net/scirocco/
'81 VW Mk1 Scirocco - Selling to Peter???



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jan Folkson [mailto:jfolkson@optonline.net] 
> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 12:18 PM
> To: scirocco list; Kevin Collins
> Subject: Was RIPPED OFF! Future Strategy
> 
> 
> Hey Kevin,
> 
> Sorry to hear about your getting ripped off it really sucks.  
> Unfortunately, there's not much you can do to get your stuff 
> or money back at this point unless this guy happens to show 
> up at a show with your stuff.  The authorities are more or 
> less useless in scenarios like this.
> 
> In a previous life I was a manager of a large music retail 
> chain.  We got ripped off like this more often than I care to 
> mention.  And usually it could've been prevented by the salesperson.
> 
> We put together a list of general rules and the thefts 
> decreased dramatically.  Don't ship the stuff until:
> 
> 1.  You get a phone number from the guy and call him back on 
> it. 2.  Then verify with the phone company that the person 
> lives at the shipping address and is listed with that phone 
> number.  If he's unlisted, you must wait until the funds are 
> deposited into your account before the stuff ships (i.e. Wait 
> for checks to clear) 3.  If dealing with money orders, take 
> them to your local post office and verify them. 4.  All 
> personal checks must clear before merchandise ships. 5.  If 
> he only gives you a cell number or pager number this is a red 
> flag and you should be extra careful.
> 
> An alternate method is to ship the stuff to a list member you 
> can trust in the area of the guy and arrange a cash 
> transaction between them.
> 
> You guys could probably add more, but these basic steps 
> should prevent most thefts.  It's a drag that a legitimate 
> guy who doesn't have a listed phone number or only has a cell 
> might have to wait longer to receive his stuff, but if he's 
> really legit he'll understand.  You may even lose a sale over 
> it, but in the end it's worth doing.
> 
> 
> - Jan Folkson  http://www.janfolkson.com
> NYC
> 
> '86 16V
> '99 Passat GLS 1.8t
> '00 Beetle GLX 1.8t
> 
> 
> 
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