Have you used an escrow service??

[zachd73]

I mentioned a recent bid I made in the projector forum but I thought I would bring my issue to a more general forum to get some feedback...

Have you ever used an online escrow service like escrow.com to buy audio or video equipment?

Is it completely safe for the buyer??!

My situation is I came across a Sony VPL-VW100 projector on videogon. THe bid was $300 and it had a day left. I looked it up and they usually sell for $2000 on ebay. So I put in a $500 bid and the next day I had wont it for a bit over $300.

The reason why it did not go up was because seller had no prior sells and was not very informative about the item. THere were nice pictures displayed but not much text, something like "This projector is next to new!"

After it closed I told him I knew it was unlikely he was not going to sell it for $300 but let me know for sure. He said he needed to sell it as he was moving and needed some money. He said he would sell it for $800 and was OK with using an escrow service as he said he couldn't use paypal.

I'm undecided if he is some kind of scammer or just a rich guy with poor communication skills.

Anyways, if an escrow service is a sure thing, then I will most likely go for it and buy this projector from him. I actually already bought a projector in the meantime but I figure either I'll sell that one and use this really cutting edge one or I'll sell this one on ebay and make some money.

[Beta Man]

Escrow service OF YOUR CHOICE is fine...... just pick a reputable one..... if he says "I want to use XYZ" for an escrow...... then it's a SCAM.

If he does anything else fishy, I'd run from the deal too..... He doesn't have to honor the $300 bid though? I'd be curious as to why not.

[zachd73]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Escrow service OF YOUR CHOICE is fine...... just pick a reputable one..... if he says "I want to use XYZ" for an escrow...... then it's a SCAM.

If he does anything else fishy, I'd run from the deal too..... He doesn't have to honor the $300 bid though? I'd be curious as to why not.

Well it was for a sony ruby projector which is usually worth $2000 or more.
I knew he would not sell it for $300 but I thought maybe he was just a clueless guy who thought it would sell without having any feedback or without really writing up many details about it.

Yeah he did not want to use escrow.com so I have stopped pursuing it.

[Beta Man]

If it walks like a duck.... and quacks like a duck......... then..... it's probably.....






A witch?????

[Blu-Raider]

Sorry....I thought the title said escort service.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by zachd73

Well it was for a sony ruby projector which is usually worth $2000 or more.
I knew he would not sell it for $300 but I thought maybe he was just a clueless guy who thought it would sell without having any feedback or without really writing up many details about it.

Yeah he did not want to use escrow.com so I have stopped pursuing it.

Escrow.com is very reputable. Never had an issue with them. But, yeah, a seller has NO reason to demand a particular service be used. If they do demand something like that, it's almost always a scam.

Originally Posted by Blu-Raider

Sorry....I thought the title said escort service.

Good to use an escrow service in that case too. Charges don't appear on your credit card, and no chance of her running out with your wallet while you sleep.