How do you tell a fpgeeks potential buyer they don't have enough cred ?

[Anne]

I mailed a bottle of ink to the US from the UK. I used Royal Mail tracked and signed-for service which has adequate insurance and is supposed to take 5-6 days for delivery.

Within 48 hours it had made it from my local Post Office, across the pond and had arrived in LA. I was given USPS tracking saying 'passed through USPS facility' Ten days later, nothing else had happened. I was frustrated by the fact that USPS wouldn't let me email them because I didn't have a US address. So my buyer lodged an enquiry, that showed up on the tracking.

Nothing else happened, so I searched for and found the name of the CEO of USPS and sent an email. I received a reply from the advocates office the next day. That same day it moved from wherever it had been (US Customs I assume) and was sent to the area where it needed to be delivered. Then it was delivered the next day. 16 days after I had mailed it.

I'm happy to try to be patient, but only up to a point. It was only a bottle of ink, nothing earth shattering. Customs didn't need to delay it for so long.

I am disgusted that you had to wait so long - And to be told you had to have a US address to even email them?? What century are they living in I wonder?
Well, needless to say I am currently in the same boat. My package, if you believe the "tracking", has been in Los Angeles since Feb. 10th.
I hope my case ends eventually like yours, and I at least get my package.
As I am writing this, I have been on hold with USPS and after 43 minutes was told that "it's a waiting game and you just have to wait until customs releases it" and
it could take up to 3 weeks.
I spoke to a supervisor that, of course, told me the same thing. When I asked him for the number to contact Customs, he had to put me on hold 3 times to find it.
Eventually, he said that they took their number down and only have a website! He said there is no way to call them - they ( understandably ) don't want to answer
questions on locating packages.
Ugghh. Can you say D-I-S-G-R-A-C-E-F-U-L? Or maybe, just Disfunctional...

Chrissy, I am trying to find that email address now...

When sending something from New Zealand - barring certain rare restrictions - the package has included insurance for full replacement value as long as that value does not exceed NZ $2000 (about US $1350). So, I could send a Nakaya (for example) to the US for about US $10 and still be fully insured!

I find it a bit strange that a small and insignificant country like this can apparently have a better postal service than a superpower, but there it is.

Oh, once I ordered a some books from the UK and Royal Mail delivered them to my door here in just 3 days! I think that may be a record.

Disgusted? Really? For taking a little over a week to be processed? Around 40% of the world's total mail volume goes through USPS. Millions of parcels and letters are picked up, processed and/or delivered every single day. Mistakes are bound to happen overall. With that amount of volume, if all you're complaining about is packages occasionally taking a while to be processed or inspected they do pretty well.

Empty_of_Clouds - Royal Mail is oddly quick. I don't know why since it should theoretically take the same amount of processing time as every other international shipment. But it is consistently 1 week to my door step. Even packages from Canada take approximately 50% more and they're our neighbors. No idea why.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case. If you noticed my first post, you would see that I am waiting for 3 other packages that have supposedly been delivered. I get nervous when I know that the tracking system is not accurate either. I am just happy that the packages do not contain medicine or anything else I might need to survive.
I am glad you have had better luck recently than me though

[KBeezie]

Empty_of_Clouds - Royal Mail is oddly quick. I don't know why since it should theoretically take the same amount of processing time as every other international shipment. But it is consistently 1 week to my door step. Even packages from Canada take approximately 50% more and they're our neighbors. No idea why.

The best value-to-time service I've seen has been Japan Post EMS. For $12 I can get a pen shipped from Japan to my door within 3 to 4 business days.

[brunico]

As my question suggests, is there a way to tell off the potential buyer (hopefully not a scammer) that he appears to not enough cred and I don't trust him?

So, did you tell him?

[Frank]

All posts prove that "Word of Mouth" goes a long way....
(Generally just as/more important than ratings/feedback/etc...)

Allow me to turn the tables...
There is also concern about dealers who are not well known. Let's take "yours truly" as an example-

I was informed recently by someone that I was not among the "reputable dealers" because I had just started my "store".
Long forgotten were the years Frank/"FrankieX" sold vintage pens on forums (Frank's BOGO/etc..).
Because I had stayed away for nearly a year "Building" my retail venture, these bits of good business became forgotten.

The point is- Reputations need to be built, re-built, and built-on constantly.
Feedback scores and post count only go so far to tell you about someone's character as both a buyer- and a seller.

Regards,
Frank

[Rossler]

I agree with your view of Japan EMS.
If only "customs" would get out of the way, the inks I have been ordering from Japan could arrive at my doorstep in less than a week after ordering/paying.
Will continue to give them my business.

[Armstrong]

Doesn't PayPal offer an escrow setup? That may be one way of dealing with the problem, especially for an expensive pen.

[pajaro]

If someone pays through paypal, where is the risk? They could open a case and say they didn't get the item, and there's a hassle.

If you are selling, make the rules. Who cares that everyone has to start someplace? The seller and buyer have to decide on their own risk tolerance.

[kaisnowbird]

Just to get back to the OP's question: It seems to me the bigger risk is as a buyer, not a seller. I would be much more reluctant to BUY a pen from someone who has little presence or is brand new, than I would be selling to such a person. As others have said, if you follow PayPal's guidelines for Seller Protection (tracked, delivery confirmation, ship to PayPal address) you are fine. ..."

On that note, there is a user who wants to trade for an Edison #76

I agree with dmendel's point and feel much less worried about selling to new members.

I would quite readily buy from a reputable member with frequent and recent contributions to the forum (and always track the package).

On the other hand, I would only accept or initiate a trade if I actually know the other person well, or he/she is a very respected member of this community and I can be reasonably sure that their account hasn't been hacked into.