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Buying safely on Kijiji

Bobarino
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Buying safely on Kijiji

I've only bought twice on Kijiji,,, and both times it was from local vendors. We met in a public place,, I inspected the goods and payed the vendor, and all was good. Now, I'm looking to buy a tripod accessory from a distant vendor, and meeting in advance will be impossible, so I'm looking for the safest way to buy., both for myself, and for the vendor.

I'm mostly interested in the shipping aspect,,, and I'm thinking that shipping C.O.D. via Canada Post might be the best alternative.This would cover the vendor, but I'd be assuming the risk. (is the item as described

)

The vendor in this case, has been a Kijiji member for 10 years, and has conducted only three transactions,,, and those transaction reviews were all 5-star ratings from the buyers.

I'm satisfied with the price,,, and I'm willing to pay all shipping costs. As I understand it,,,, the vendor brings the item to Canada Post post-office, and is told the cost of shipping, which he pays. He then adds that shipping cost to the price of the item, and when I receive the article, I pay Canada Post the item cost plus the added shipping cost,,, and Canada Post then pays that amount to the vendor..

We'd probably have an advance email conversation, just so there's a written record of what he's selling and claiming in regard to the item and its condition. I presume that returns would have to be agreed to by both parties,,, myself and the vendor.

Whaddaya think?

Feb 11, 2024 at 02:54 PM

jcolwell
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Buying safely on Kijiji

Bad idea. You need buyer protection. I'd use PayPal for an item. If he wants you to use 'Gift' or 'family & friend', then don't buy it.

Feb 11, 2024 at 06:21 PM

Bobarino
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Buying safely on Kijiji

Thanks for that response jcolwell. I haven't use paypal in quite some time,,,, over 15 years, so I presume I'd have to open a new account. I'm going to continue exploring the Canada Post C.O.D. option, to see precisely how they would protect me. I assume that any vendor fraud would be dealt with as mail-fraud,,, a serious federal offense.

I'm currently having discussions with the vendor, and he seems legit. He's only done 3 transactions in the last 10 years,,, so it's not as if he's "constantly fishing" for someone to prey upon. His price is also very reasonable and realistic. I'm currently witholding my address information until I'm fully satisfied. I'm going to talk to someone at the post-office, to see exactly how they'll protect me. My understanding is; He pays shipping and C.O.D. chages up front,,,,I pay Canada Post, then I open the package. If the item is not "as described", I give it back to Canada Post for a refund,,, and they now deal directly with the vendor. The vendor would also have to pay returm shipping to retrieve his merchandise, That said, I may be over-simplifying things.

Feb 12, 2024 at 02:20 PM

Norm Shapiro
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Buying safely on Kijiji

It seems strange to me that your post office would get involved in this way.

Feb 12, 2024 at 03:44 PM

chez
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Buying safely on Kijiji

Have no idea what a tripod accessory is or what it costs, but it’s seems like you are putting way too much effort into this. I have done many transactions via kijiji and Craigslist and I communicate with the other side a lot, many times speaking to them over the phone. If I am not comfortable with the person, I walk. If I’m comfortable, I try use PayPal if possible, but if not I have used EMT quite often. I pay for shipping and have not had any issues.

The key here is good communications.

Feb 12, 2024 at 04:03 PM

Bobarino
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Buying safely on Kijiji

chez wrote:
Have no idea what a tripod accessory is or what it costs, but it’s seems like you are putting way too much effort into this. I have done many transactions via kijiji and Craigslist and I communicate with the other side a lot, many times speaking to them over the phone. If I am not comfortable with the person, I walk. If I’m comfortable, I try use PayPal if possible, but if not I have used EMT quite often. I pay for shipping and have not had any issues.

The key here is good communications.

I agree with that approach. The guy appears to be legit, and $150.00 "used" is certainly better than $500, "new" (MSRP) He hasn't asked for money up front, and he'd initially be $50. out-of-pocket just for shipping, so he's assuming some risk too...

The item by the way, is a center-column for a Systematic tripod.

Edited on Feb 12, 2024 at 04:34 PM · View previous versions

Feb 12, 2024 at 04:24 PM

Bobarino
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Buying safely on Kijiji

Norm Shapiro wrote:
It seems strange to me that your post office would get involved in this way.

You're right. I just went to the post office, and it turns out that Canada Post will not help me if I'm buying from a private individual. That said, I'll try to find some alternative solutions. One way or another, I'd like to get this done.

Feb 12, 2024 at 04:31 PM

CanadaMark
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Buying safely on Kijiji

Bobarino wrote:
The vendor in this case, has been a Kijiji member for 10 years, and has conducted only three transactions,,, and those transaction reviews were all 5-star ratings from the buyers.

It's probably a lot higher - I've been on Kijiji for 10+ years as well and of my hundreds of transactions, only a handful are recorded. Only 5 people have bothered to review me. If you don't go out of you way to tell Kijiji you sold the item (or opt not to tell them) nothing gets recorded. The moment people have to go out of their way or put in effort to do something that has no real benefit to them, 99% of people won't bother.

Frankly if the item only costs $150, I would not be going through much hassle to protect myself. Depending on how you value your time, it won't take long before it's not worth worrying about. Can you talk to them on the phone? That's usually a quick & easy way to get a sense for what kind of person they are. Given that it's a rather obscure item you are buying and the guy does have some positive feedback, I think it's pretty low risk.

Feb 12, 2024 at 05:19 PM

Bobarino
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Buying safely on Kijiji

CanadaMark wrote:
It's probably a lot higher - I've been on Kijiji for 10+ years as well and of my hundreds of transactions, only a handful are recorded. Only 5 people have bothered to review me. If you don't go out of you way to tell Kijiji you sold the item (or opt not to tell them) nothing gets recorded. The moment people have to go out of their way or put in effort to do something that has no real benefit to them, 99% of people won't bother.

Frankly if the item only costs $150, I would not be going through much...Show more →

I agree. I gave him my phone number when I first contacted him, but he replied via email. Still, I agree that talking over the phone can add that little bit of confidence. I even told him that I'm a long-time member here, and at DPRiew, and gave him my user I.D.'s so he could check me out. If I, or Canada Post, was not on the up n' up, he could make my life miserable. In fact, he may already be a member here... I just don't know at this stage.

Feb 12, 2024 at 05:36 PM

Bobarino
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Buying safely on Kijiji

The deal is off,,, he's decided to sell locally and I can't say I blame him. That said, the column hook was not visible in his pics, and that part alone costs $95 CDN on Gitzospares. 2-way communication was not his forte. If only he had called me when I gave him my number, things might have turned out differently.

Feb 12, 2024 at 07:57 PM

paul weston
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Buying safely on Kijiji

I have a like/hate relationship with kijiji, it can be a gong show. A few red flags in your description of the potential sale for me.

Feb 13, 2024 at 10:11 AM

Bobarino
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Buying safely on Kijiji

paul weston wrote:

I have a like/hate relationship with kijiji, it can be a gong show. A few red flags in your description of the potential sale for me.

I've been quite lucky,,, so far, but in both cases I bought locally, so I had the opportunity to examine the goods before commiting.

Odds are that this guy was completely honest,,, but there were two lingering issues,,, 1. He didn't answer a couple of questions regarding the condition of the item, and 2. was the "what if" factor. "What if" the hook was missing and I had to spend an additional $95. to replace it? I would have been out $295. with no guarantee that the item was in working condition. That same column was recently on sale,,, "brand new" with full 10 year warranty, for $389. at Henry's Cameras.,,, with free shippiing included.

Over all, Kijiji can be great for finding local deals. Whoever buys his column locally will probably have a smoking-good deal at $150..

Feb 13, 2024 at 11:35 AM


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