[AlanHo]

I sold a laptop on Ebay auction a few months ago and it went for £183 plus £10 postage. I set the reserve at £100 and was hoping for £150 so I was chuffed.
 
The guy who bought it lived in a London suburb. I sent it via a courier who allow you to drop the parcel into a local Spa shop - which is for me very convenient. It was insured for £200 and was signed for.
 
I checked the tracking and saw it had been delivered and signed for a few days later. However, the buyer contacted me to say he had checked the tracking and was amazed to see it had been signed for. He claimed he had not received it and he was not at home the day it was signed for. He more or less demanded his money back.
 
I contacted the courier who accepted the complaint and promised to follow it up with the London Depot. Meanwhile the buyer had reported the matter to Ebay and was demanding a prompt refund.
 
A few days went by and the courier phoned me to say that the driver had been interviewed who was adamant he had delivered it to the correct address and it was signed for. The courier added that their vans have a tracker and they had checked the records which confirmed the driver's story that their van had parked in a side road near the address (because the buyer lives at a busy main road junction). They were confident that the parcel had been delivered and asked me to contact the buyer to check whether a neighbour had received it.
 
This argument went back and forth for a further week or two with the buyer claiming he had taken his family away on the day it was delivered, no neighbours had accepted it and accused the delivery driver of nicking it.  I reported the matter to Ebay but nothing came of it
 
The end of the tale is that the courier company sent me a cheque for the cost of the computer etc and I reluctantly refunded the buyer.  I am convinced he had received it and probably knew the courier company would cave in. I'm still furious about it - even though I am not out of pocket.  I guess it was cheaper for the courier company to send me the insurance - rather than take any other action.
 
A similar thing happened to my wife recently - she sold something on Ebay and it didn't arrive. There was much tooing and froing about it and she smelled a rat. She looked on Google Earth and discovered that the address given by the buyer was a large warehouse employing a lot of people. The delivery was signed for, but the scribble could have been done by a monkey. Her parcel, worth £12 was not insured and she came off £12 the lighter.
 
I have had other bad experiences - such as when selling a phone.The buyer claimed to be on holiday in New York, said it was a present for his father in Nigeria and gave me the African address to send it there. He kindly offered to pay the extra postage. Stuff that for a game of soldiers - I reported it to Ebay and this time they were helpful and no harm was done.  The Ebay rep said that it was a regular ploy - the buyer would deny receipt of the phone and claim a refund from Pay Pal who would then debit my account.
 
I guess I am not alone with these experiences.
 
I still use Ebay - as does my wife - but we now always check on Google Earth the buyer's exact location and Email them to ask which day they will be at home to receive the goods
 
Is there anything else one can do to protect one's self?

[Dazzler]

I've only sold a handful of things on Ebay. By the time they and paypal take a cut and you factor in postage and the possibility of a delivery hiccup, I can't be arsed anymore! I have since tried to sell a few things on Gumtree with pickup only with mixed success.

I love buying stuff on Ebay though and out of about 300 items have only been out of pocket once ($50) and had a couple of other minor hiccups.

[mickd]

Only drama has been a couple of items taking 3 weeks longer  -  Chinese New Year.
All good otherwise .

[The Gonz]

I've really taken to eBay but for items costing less than $8 and with free delivery from retailers. It's how I can put together car electronic solutions for peanuts.

I've never tried selling and don't see the need.

Recently over the Christmas break my Linux desktop's monitor died and Gumtree was a great way to pick up a bigger one for $10 from about 5km away the next morning.

[eye30]

I sold a laptop on Ebay auction a few months ago and it went for £183 plus £10 postage. I set the reserve at £100 and was hoping for £150 so I was chuffed.
 
The guy who bought it lived in a London suburb. I sent it via a courier who allow you to drop the parcel into a local Spa shop - which is for me very convenient. It was insured for £200 and was signed for.
 
I checked the tracking and saw it had been delivered and signed for a few days later. However, the buyer contacted me to say he had checked the tracking and was amazed to see it had been signed for. He claimed he had not received it and he was not at home the day it was signed for. He more or less demanded his money back.
 
I contacted the courier who accepted the complaint and promised to follow it up with the London Depot. Meanwhile the buyer had reported the matter to Ebay and was demanding a prompt refund.
 
A few days went by and the courier phoned me to say that the driver had been interviewed who was adamant he had delivered it to the correct address and it was signed for. The courier added that their vans have a tracker and they had checked the records which confirmed the driver's story that their van had parked in a side road near the address (because the buyer lives at a busy main road junction). They were confident that the parcel had been delivered and asked me to contact the buyer to check whether a neighbour had received it.
 
This argument went back and forth for a further week or two with the buyer claiming he had taken his family away on the day it was delivered, no neighbours had accepted it and accused the delivery driver of nicking it.  I reported the matter to Ebay but nothing came of it
 
The end of the tale is that the courier company sent me a cheque for the cost of the computer etc and I reluctantly refunded the buyer.  I am convinced he had received it and probably knew the courier company would cave in. I'm still furious about it - even though I am not out of pocket.  I guess it was cheaper for the courier company to send me the insurance - rather than take any other action.
 
A similar thing happened to my wife recently - she sold something on Ebay and it didn't arrive. There was much tooing and froing about it and she smelled a rat. She looked on Google Earth and discovered that the address given by the buyer was a large warehouse employing a lot of people. The delivery was signed for, but the scribble could have been done by a monkey. Her parcel, worth £12 was not insured and she came off £12 the lighter.
 
I have had other bad experiences - such as when selling a phone.The buyer claimed to be on holiday in New York, said it was a present for his father in Nigeria and gave me the African address to send it there. He kindly offered to pay the extra postage. Stuff that for a game of soldiers - I reported it to Ebay and this time they were helpful and no harm was done.  The Ebay rep said that it was a regular ploy - the buyer would deny receipt of the phone and claim a refund from Pay Pal who would then debit my account.
 
I guess I am not alone with these experiences.
 
I still use Ebay - as does my wife - but we now always check on Google Earth the buyer's exact location and Email them to ask which day they will be at home to receive the goods
 
Is there anything else one can do to protect one's self?

Now why not try this and see what reply you get..

Contact the buyer and inform them you have requested an IT security company to trace the laptop using its unique  ID.

On receipt of information this will be passed to the Police.

Wait and see what happens........

[neptune]

Always have tracking number and signature on delivery is what we do now and have had no problems since we got a few dodgy customers who tried to pull the "I did not receive "....

[AlanHo]

The problem is that upon delivery you sign the screen of the mobile device which is sent back to the tracking centre.

There is no way that I can sign one of those screens properly - even I would fail to recognise the scribble. In my case the buyer refuted it was his signature on the system and there was bugger all the courier company could do to prove otherwise.

The only crazy solution I can think of is for the drivers to take a photo of the recipient.

[eye30]

Sonetimes i'm asked for my last then first name before i sign.

The courier types my name in his gizmo.

Next time i'll use 30 then eye   

[AlanHo]

@eye30 : I can't see how that would be fireproof. It probably gives your name on the parcel which he can copy from. The only purpose it serves is for the delivery driver to confirm who you are.

In my case the delivery driver swore he delivered it and it was signed for by the buyer - the buyer has toughed it out and denied it.

I'm not out of pocket but it grieves me to think that some dishonest scum bag has my computer for free. Whether this is the delivery driver or the buyer is anybody's guess.

[Dazzler]

@eye30 : I can't see how that would be fireproof. It probably gives your name on the parcel which he can copy from. The only purpose it serves is for the delivery driver to confirm who you are.

In my case the delivery driver swore he delivered it and it was signed for by the buyer - the buyer has toughed it out and denied it.

I'm not out of pocket but it grieves me to think that some dishonest scum bag has my computer for free. Whether this is the delivery driver or the buyer is anybody's guess.

We might be 20 years apart in age, live on opposite sides of the world, have different heritage, background and experience, but I would feel exactly the same! 

[beerman]

My wife and I have the same initials so we deliberately order with first initial and last name. Not that anyone seems to care. Most just walk up to the door ask for a signiture and walk off.

I have had a couple of packages that normally would have been signed for left at the front door when we are out.

A friend moved out of a share home and forgot he had a package to be delivered there. A few days later he remembered and went back to discover there was no package. Everyone in the house denied receiving the package. Called Aust Post to ask about the signiture which looked like no ones who lived there. 'It could have been signed by the courier on your behalf and left at the door' was the helpful response. 

As to your laptop, the delivery driver could have seen that the package had insurance and decided to sign a scribble and take it.