Advice regarding Gumtree for new Discovery 4 wheels

Paypal is one method. There may well be others but we have found over the years that Paypal used as an intermediary is excellent. The quota after my name is a direct quote from the "hints" section in Gumtree:

Phil.

What are the payment methods?

Solution
You can use PayPal to purchase paid features on Gumtree:

Paying by PayPal allows you to pay directly with money from your bank account or credit card. PayPal uses the best commercially-available encryption technology to ensure that your financial information is never shared. Note: to make a payment via your bank account you must first be registered with PayPal to do this go to PayPal and click the "Sign Up" link at the top of the page.

I always use paypal for security

My main beef with eBay and Paypal is that they have credit card as a "compulsory" payment method...

Gumtree is now owned by eBay and eBay also owns Paypal.

The thing I don't like is the fact that a buyer can at will file for a "charge back". This makes credit card the most dangerous payment method there is...for the seller!

Tell the seller that you want to pay via Paypal or some other merchant (credit card) method. For a charge back to be valid, it needs to be direct - ie not a cash advance - it needs to be direct to the seller. That way if the item is not what you expected or not delivered etc, you can file for a charge back...Obviously you need a credit card :)

Oh, and BTW, credit card is also the absolutely most dangerous payment method for the buyer too !!! ... No PIN or ID or signature or anything else needed - just the card number... and every flee and his dog is carring a HD camera in their mobile phone these days...Is he (or she) really checking a message or taking a photo of your card???.

Rant over --- You can do a COD through Aust Post. They will delivery the item to you and collect payment. They then pass the payment to the seller. They do charge a fee. The only draw back is that you cannot check the item before you pay. You can check their fees etc on the Australia Post web site.

You may be able to get a local in WA, me for instance if nearby, to inspect the goods on your behalf to ensure it is as described.

Cheers Neil

Jeannie - If you're buying from interstate on Gumtree, you're virtually taking a punt.
You can't inspect the item, so you have to rely on photos and the sellers word.

I've bought 3 items off Gumtree from interstate, and worked on writing off the money if the seller didn't come good.
In all cases, the sellers were honest and the deal was successful. The amounts involved were between $50 and $250.

I made sure I contacted the person by both phone and email and spoke to them at length to get a feel for their character.
Not a 100% way of ensuring someone is honest, but it all helps.

I then got all their personal contact details (and gave them mine), and I also got their bank account details, so I could transfer the funds.
If someone is happy enough to send you their bank details, that's another indicator of a degree of trustworthiness.

I then cross-checked their personal info on the 'net to ensure that I was dealing with someone who were who they said they were. 98% of people have left a trail on the 'net. You can use this following site to find that trail.

http://www.matespotter.com/

Note, that finding a record of a person on the 'net is not 100% guarantee that they're honest - but you'll often find signs in internet records that possibly indicate a person has been dishonest.

If the purchase is over $250, you're better advised to send a friend/family member to suss out the offer.
If it's a serious amount, fly there in person and inspect it personally.

Sellers suburbs are often a good indicator of trustworthiness, but not always. There's at least 4 suburbs here in Perth I wouldn't trust anyone in! However, sellers can list a different suburb to where they live, too (see "cross checks").
This might be O.K., if the seller has the item located at another address.
However, I list my home address as my suburb on Gumtree - but I let people know in the ad, if the item I'm selling is located at my workshop, which is 4 kms away in another suburb.

If I sell anything on Gumtree to an interstate seller, I let them know my eBay username, so they can check out my eBay feedback to guarantee my honesty.
You could ask the seller if they sell on eBay and request their username to check on their selling record.

Many hobby sellers have left eBay and gone over to Gumtree, because eBay only wants large-volume sellers of new products for its clients, and their fees are too high, anyway.

PayPal is O.K., but many people aren't interested in dealing or registering with PayPal, because PayPal fees are always sneaky and sizeable.

Cheers, Ron.

Really don't want to rain on your parade! just beware of scams, gumtree is full of them, even tho it's pretty much a hassle, the only way I would be doing a transaction when there is large sum of money involved is face to face, fly over and have a shakedown trip on the way back, that way you won't get ripped off and you get a short holiday on the way back! that is if time allows, good luck

I use something similar to the "Ron N" method.
If I really want the item......and the seller seems trustworthy from my communications....and doesn't have a gmail or Hotmail address.... and if the value of the item won't break the bank if it ended up being a scam...and if the seller has a decent rating on an aussie forum.... yep I'll take the risk. I'll so the right thing - either send the goods or arrange the freight and hope for the best. In my limited experience I haven't been stung....but if I do get stung I'll put it down to experience.

Jeannie - I can probably assist you, if the wheels aren't too far from Perth central.
Email me, and I'll give you further contact details. ronash13 (at) iinet.net.au (replace the 'at' with the @ symbol).

However, keep in mind that the transport cost for wheels is high, because they're bulky - and it's 3500kms from Perth to Melbourne.
Loads are calculated on weight or cubic measure. Bulky items such as wheels are costed on cubic measure for transport.

The cubic measure is 333kgs per cubic metre, so your wheel transport costs will be calculated on that basis.
You'd probably be looking at around one cubic metre for 4 wheels. This means you'll be paying for 333kgs on a weight basis for 4 wheels.
You need to get a firm transport price set before you proceed with the purchase. I can more than likely assist with transport and strapping.

Cheers, Ron.

I hope you are looking to put these wheels on a 2.7 D4 and not a 3.0 D4 as 17s will not go on a 3.0.

Garry

I recently bought a boat from out west, sight unseen.
I got quote from a local cartage mob to help, then agreed with the seller that he'd have to get the boat to them. I transferred the funds to the cartage mob, and the nice lady transferred the funds to him (with a little handling fee off the top of course) once she confirmed it looked somewhat like a boat. I had heaps of photos sent through before hand from the seller, so unless he was hiding something I knew what I was getting.
In your case, I'd sort out transport first and do a deal with them to have a quick squiz before sending them on.
I find if you are straight up, speak English, give proper contact details, name etc during the initial encounter with the seller, you can soon sort out what their motivation is. Likewise when I am selling something, I general just want it gone and price it accordingly. If a human contacts me with a name and a proper question I'll reply. One liners from freaks and 'offshore oil workers' get short shifted unless I'm really bored or drinking.....