Accepting funds from abroad.. whats safe?

[Colinevan]

I may be selling one of my cars, and the buyer wants to pay via bank transfer.

What i'd like to know, how safe is it for abroad and how long does it take to transfer ( i.e it may show as received immediately but make take 7 days etc.)

Is paypal much safer. I remember stories of people selling items, and upto 6 months later, the americans could claim that on there credit cards linked to paypal, they never received the goods, and the banks just remove the funds.
is this still true.

Buyer also wants ups to collect the car from my address, as he has an account.

Just want some peace of mind.

Thanks guys.

Col.

[Marvin]

When sending the item, I ALWAYS make sure that I have tracking, and that it requires a signature when received, then you have proof that they received the item, so their argument collapses. I think it's best to use paypal, as it's the safest method (when buying), though when selling it doesn't really matter what method you use. Banker's transfer is fine as you can get confirmation of payment, and evidence etc.

Hope this helps
Simon

[terry.sc]

For the seller bank transfer is much safer. It usually takes 3-4 days and once the money is in your bank that's it, the buyer can't get it back. It's as good as being sent cash.

Paypal is really good for a buyer but a pain in the butt for a seller if you sell on ebay - the seller can say the goods haven't arrived and paypal will take the money back and it's up to you to try and persuade paypal that they have been delivered If you comply with paypals seller protection rules (you must send the goods so they are trackable online and to a confirmed address) then paypal will give you the money back once you've sent them all the proof they need.
Outside of ebay the rules are more vague as the chargebacks are part of ebays policy to make it safer for ebay buyers so paypal won't just give in to the buyer. If they then try to get their credit card company to take the money back from paypal it's not that simple as the deal of transferring money to paypal worked fine and what happens to that money afterwards is nothing to do with them. If they do get a chargeback through their credit card company then paypal will take the money it has lost back out of your account, but the buyer usually then finds their paypal account is frozen so they have really got to take the risk of not having a paypal account.

If he sends UPS to collect it once it has been collected any problems are between the buyer and UPS, not you, as you will be given proof that they collected it.

For a seller this has to be the safest deal there is, a secure way of payment and no problems dealing with goods lost in the post - perfect!