Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!emory!mephisto!udel!mmdf From: jones@uv4.eglin.af.mil (Calvin Jones, III) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Buying via "Net-Order" Message-ID: <23502@snow-white.udel.EDU> Date: 3 Jul 90 16:01:43 GMT Sender: mmdf@udel.EDU Lines: 55 Alex Liu writes: > This does not pertain to the subject, but I was wondering how you people > have the guts to sell your stuff over long distance. I mean say if you > live in Pasadena, California, and post your A2630 for sale on USENET. > Joe Blow from Pasadena, Texas see's it and wants to buy it. How do you > guys do the transaction? Do you send your A2630 and Joe Blow send his > check at the same time, Federal Express? Geez man, what if at the > last minute, Joe Blow didn't send his check and received your card and > cross the border into another country? First, contrary to what one might assume by reading all the Piracy netmail, I've found that there are a lot of honest people out there. In my case, I purchased a system from an individual in PA (I live in FL). I began by calling him on the phone and finalizing the deal. Then I wrote a personal check for the system and mailed it along with a letter listing what I expected to receive from the individual. The check was annotated to reflect what I was buying, as well. I did give the individual instructions on checking the balance in my checking account so he could rest easy that the check would clear. The individual sent me all equipment and software, as promised, and even called a couple of days later to confirm delivery and ask if I had any problems setting it up and getting it to work. In a case like this we could have four possibilities: 1. My check is good and I receive the equipment. Everyone lives happily after. This is what happened in this case. 2. My check bounces after the equipment is sent to me. Now, the individual has every right to have me arrested for uttering a forged instrument, or something like that. Since I don't really want to spend any significant part of my time in court, I do try to make sure that checks I write are covered. Of course, the individual selling the equipment could have waited until the check cleared to make certain that he would get paid. 3. The individual could have cashed my check and never sent the equipment. This would put me in the position of now being able to sue for mail fraud (since I used the USMail to send the check and list of equipment). Now I doubt that the individual would want this to happen. 4. My check is no good and the individual never even had the equipment. In this case, we both deserve what we got (or didn't get ). An alternative is to have the sender send the stuff UPS COD and require that UPS accept only CASH or a CASHIERS check. This would leave the buyer with no recourse unless he had a letter describing what was to be sent before he accepted delivery. --- Cal // Cal Jones - Internet: \X/ BBS: 904-243-6219 1200-9600HST 340Meg, all Amiga Single Tasking? *JUST SAY NO!!!*