ORIGINAL: LGM Graphix



I don't really think anything was said that was half cocked or nearing it. I think the general consensus is proceed with caution. The internet makes it very easy to buy and sell items, unfortunately, it makes it very easy for scammers to nail people too.
As I said earlier, there are red flags up in this ad, I never said it was a scam, I suggested proceeding with caution.

I have sold multiple items online, also bought multiple items. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.

Everybody has to start selling somewhere, so not everyone has feedback right away. In this instance, the seller has no feedback nor has he ever posted or been an active part of RCU, that makes him a complete unknown. That doesn't discount the legitimacy of his sale, but it does make it more difficult.
A better way to make the sale in this instance, or to instill confidence in the buyer would have been to say something in his ad along the lines of:

''I am new to the site, however you can check my ebay feedback under username (if they have ebay feedback, if they don't then skip that part), I am also happy to conduct business via a consensual third party, be it an established escrow service, or trustworthy business that can be agreed upon by both buyer and seller.''

(I have used hobby shops for this purpose), I send my payment to the hobby store, once they receive payment the seller ships the aircraft to the hobby store, in my case I was able to use a hobby store within driving distance for me so it was still only one shipping charge)Once the item arrives in the described condition, the payment is sent to the seller and the buyer can pick up the item. In my case I offered to pay the hobby store for acting as a secure third party to protect my money, they declined as I had a good relationship with the store so they did it as a favor.''

Next in line, almost any ad with one picture that really doesn't show much of anything makes people wary, pictures should be from multiple angles including some that wouldn't be typically taken pictures (example, pictures of the jet at an event, anyone could take those, post them online, and have them stolen for use by anyone''. Take pictures of engine serial numbers, servo's if possible etc. Even a seller with good feedback will benefit from taking proper pictures.

Give accurate information, caution flags in the ad in question here include incorrect name of the turbine manufacture, this is critical, the turbine is a very expensive part, you NEED to be sure to give accurate information, calling it something it's not is a huge flag to a potential buyer, even if it's an honest mistake, proof read your ad before you post it. Don't just list parts as ''High end XXXXXX''. Tell potential buyers what the high end parts are. To me personally, I don't care if it's the best servo that hobby king makes, it's not high end and does not belong in a jet, if I bought a jet with ''high end servo's'' only to find that they are the ''high end'' of a brand I've never heard of, I'd be mad, yes, it would be my fault for not inquiring further, but really, if they are JR servo's say they are JR servo's, or Futaba, or whatever. Give ALL the information.

In this instance also, not trying to discredit the seller, but if you have a phone number listed that shows an area code that is not an area code in the state you are in, it would give some further confidence to buyers to understand why the number is odd. There could be a ton of different reasons for it, it would take only seconds to mention that you are perhaps military, or work reasons, recent move etc.

If we were talking about a $100 foamy then all this might be overkill, but when we're talking about somebody sending thousands of dollars for an item to a completely unknown person, it is certainly prudent to give as much information as you possibly can.

I've been guilty of being lazy in ad's and not putting in all the information in the past too, and those items never sell, or if they do, it's only after spending WAY more time answering emails and phone calls to answer questions that I should have had answered with correct info in the ad to begin with.

As I say, everyone starts somewhere with feedback and reputation, it only takes a couple extra minutes in your ad to begin to establish a good reputation even with zero feedback.

Just my opinion.