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why are sellers to be trusted, but buyers are not?

We buy and sell on sites like this so there is an exchange of 2 things that  have  an agreed upon equal value

  1. the item being sold from a seller
  2. money from a buyer

in all cases, the seller must be trusted to send the item as described, but the buyer is not trusted to send the money. And more and more, sellers are insisting to be paid in ways that have no recourse for the buyer, like PayPal F&F, Venmo, etc.

The item and the money are of equal value.. so why is one party to be trusted and the other is not? Why does the seller always insist on waiting to get paid before they ship? Why doesn’t the buyer insisting on getting the item before they will pay for it?

I have hundreds of perfect feedback going back over 20 years  on multiple platforms, but the seller always insists I pay them first even if they have much, much less feedback. Why should I trust them if they don't trust me?

just curious

 

 

herman
moto_man
459 posts
 

@goodlistening64, all good, and sure there are untrustworthy people in every profession, mine included.  But here’s the thing about using an attorney as an escrow agent.  Unlike having to deal with PayPal or sue, all attorneys are regulated by their state’s Bar.  Mishandling of client funds, such as those being held in escrow is in most states a capital offense for attorneys, meaning at a minimum, suspension for at least a year from being able to practice law in any way, up to and commonly, disbarment.  The state bar investigates the complaint so you don’t have to deal with it.  I don’t know any colleagues who would risk their bar license over whatever money is being held in escrow.  Are there some?  Sure, I suppose that there are some who would be willing to risk their bar license, but those people would generally have a record of prior discipline with the state bar for other ethical breaches — records which are publicly available.  I think that the risk of using an attorney as an escrow agent is far less and far more reliable than, say, PayPal, joking aside.  I am surprised that especially for substantial sales, it is not more common to use an escrow service.

whart's avatar
whart
3,394 posts
 

+1 @moto_man: is there an established escrow service for high end hi-fi? I am not in the retail market these days. I think Bring a Trailer offers it for used cars (of the collectible type). Agree that it would be stupid for a lawyer to risk their license over mishandling funds in an escrow. 

limomangus's avatar
limomangus
2,050 posts
 

I have bought some used equipment which wasn't as advertised. Equipment that broke down in less that 90 days.So buyer beware.If are buying used remember it used....for who knows how long .

jwei
266 posts
 

Yeah, buying used is a risk.

I bought a second subwoofer once.  Unpacked it, and it worked fine in my system.  But I noticed the driver looked different from my other sub.  Upon inspection, the driver was a replacement from a different manufacturer.  So just for peace of mind, I eventually replaced it with the proper OEM driver.  Still cheaper than buying new.

audition__audio
1,777 posts
 

Is this a serious question?

Buyer uses credit card or service to pay for item. Seller paid item shipped. No show full recourse.

Buyer promises to send payment. Seller ships. No show no recourse

Simple solution. Never send a cash type payment to a seller that you dont know or trust.

I have little sympathy for those that send cash to an unknown and them get burned.

 

 

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