I am just curious how safe to buy from a seller in seabreeze. I usually do a lot of online shopping as they are cheaper. Mostly use ebay or Paypal as they provide buyer protections.

Recently wanted to buy a kite and harness from another state and I preferred to pay via Paypal and also agreed to any fee occurs. But the seller wanted only bank transfer. I am not sure if it would be safer to send money before seeing the item or if the item really arrives/posted. Didn't make the purchase at the end though.

I had the same question a while back. My research suggested paypal does not protect buyer unless buying through ebay. There is no simple answer. I checked the sellers profile - how long member, posts and prior sales, and made decision.

I've used COD with Australia Post a few times, has tracking and Aust Post acts as the go between, the purchaser doesn't get the article until they pay, Aust post then pays you. Haven't had a problem with it.

Bobby555 said..
I am just curious how safe to buy from a seller in seabreeze. I usually do a lot of online shopping as they are cheaper. Mostly use ebay or Paypal as they provide buyer protections.

Recently wanted to buy a kite and harness from another state and I preferred to pay via Paypal and also agreed to any fee occurs. But the seller wanted only bank transfer. I am not sure if it would be safer to send money before seeing the item or if the item really arrives/posted. Didn't make the purchase at the end though.

2day most posters re regulars..
i buy on SB based on just that..
part of the community volunter help and opinions 24 months on.. = tick

else it is like gumtree
caveat emptore
so far so good..
cheers AP
BTW 1will be selling shortly.. + descripion + phtos plus video if asked looking 4 win win

johnskom said..
Evo $1000 just posted phone number prefixes 04800 joined January are ads by scammers. Previous 2 ads have been removed for switchblade 12m 2017 and rpm 9m 2019. How do I know ? I sent money and got caught out. Buyer beware when it comes to direct deposits these f$%kers are out there

Go to your bank Johnskom.
Sometimes they are able to recover money.
They paid back money that was "stolen" from me for a service I didn't receive.

I've bought and sold a few no issues ever

If you buy from me 100% reliable track record.
Items mostly receive better than expected comments.
I am not a shop just change my gear a bit so most items are still like new.

bought and sold many an item here and used EFT no issues, most are regular kiters

Check profiles of sellers if they have just joined with no forum posts or selling history that should ring alarm bells, also if the item is priced well below equivalent kites on the market is another red flag, if they refuse to answer phones and the bank account name does not match theirs etc there are a million checks you can do.

if I'm a bit wary or low on cash I will use paypal, at least if paypal doesn't play ball, then credit card company can step in but paypal when you pay for a service generally covers you (as why they charge an exhorbitant fee)

johnskom said..
Ozone reo v5 10m $1000 just posted phone number prefixes 04800..... joined January are ads by scammers. Previous 2 ads have been removed for switchblade 12m 2017 and rpm 9m 2019. How do I know ? I sent money and got caught out. Buyer beware when it comes to direct deposits these f$%kers are out there

John has contacted us (Seabreeze) via email. Thanks to his help, we managed to catch this person each time they've returned, and are building additional anti-scam based on what we've learned.

This scammer is really the first we've had in 15 years, which is a pretty good run. We've managed to detect/catch all others prior to this.

In my experience, these Scammers are generally overseas, and these days can do VPN's, can get Aussie bank accounts and use stolen Aussie credit cards... they appear like they're in Australia, but are actually in some sketchy country OS.

So, if in doubt, a verbal phone call is always good. It's old school, but can be worthwhile if you smell a rat.

And always, please do let us know so we can take them down... thanks ..

(We've submitted all the details we have to www.cyber.gov.au/report and suggest you do as well.)

As I'm living in rural Tassie I can only buy gear online (no local shops or enough kiters around to get a second hand gear) and I was never scammed fortunately.

One time however, I bought a kite where a seller claimed he has "spares" for the kite which I haven't found with it. That was a bummer but there isn't much you can do, at least the kite was as advertised which is more important.

In my humble opinion it's most fair for both sides to agree on "cash on delivery" where the courier company collects the cash from the buyer and sends it to seller. The buyer will never get the shipment if they don't pay so there is really no downside to that.

Good option for buy n sell seabreeze to set up holding account for a reasonable fee, Joe buys kite, Jim receives kite Laurie goes into hiding, all jokes aside wouldn't be a bad idea

LoL, I would love to be "the guy" people send the kites to for holding... Easiest job in the world!

Some good suggestions in this thread. I've bought from inter-state via bank transfer and had no issues, but I make sure I can contact the seller and speak on the phone to them first.

I bought an 18m foil Last year from up north through SB.
Described as no marks tears holes or damage.
Paid with pay pal.... kite arrived with 4 holes in canopy....

Seller went quite after I asked if i could return it.... and did not reply to my request.

Pay pal made the decision to return my payment nearing 1k.

Even after the other party lied in an appeal attempt.

Pay pal DOES offer protection on all purchases except family or friends transfers.

Commbank is good at recovering your money after a scam if you pay by master card also.

KBGhost said..
Another way is you can ask for pics of ID before sending a large bank transfer. Drivers licence + credit card with paper stuck over numbers + Medicare card is a pretty hard combo to fake but easy for a genuine guy to take a pic and send.

Sharing ID and Credit Card pictures with a random people over the internet? xD That's probably the worst idea I've ever heard of. It's against the basic internet safety rules...

Great to hear you "on the job" Laurie, active and reactive ....