Another way to lose money on pinkbike

We are all aware of the Scammers and of how to spot and deal with them. Lots of us have lost money to these vile creatures but there is another more subtle way to lose money.

This method whilst not a scam will relieve you of your hard earned green stuff.
I would like to share my experience however i will not mention any names.

We are all aware of the method of leaving a deposit for something and if the seller agrees its a good way of securing your item but beware!

Ensure that the seller marks your item as sold. This in my opinion is what you are leaving a deposit for or so you would think as much. If he states that even if you give me a deposit i will not mark as sold, do not give the seller a deposit as it does nothing. Even if you pay by paypal goods you will not be covered by buyer protection as paypal considers deposits and part payments as paying for virtual goods and as such is not covered by buyer protection.

Now you would think that you are entitled to change your mind, which you are but even though the seller has done nothing but accept your money and possibly demand bank transfer. you will not receive your money back.
Neither paypal or pinkbike will back you.

My own stupid fault for still having faith in humanity i gave a seller on here a paypal deposit thinking he would mark as sold. He didn't. he was also insisting that i pay the remainder via bank transfer. this i didn't actually agree to and after paying the deposit started to have second thoughts as paying via this method goes against all the advice given by the mods.


I then apologised to the sell that i had second thoughts and no longer wanted the item and could i please have my deposit returned as it had actually not secured said item as the item was still listed as for sale.
The seller then got miffed and started saying but i had it listed it on ebay and had 2 other people as about it but i have deleted their messages. ( why?)

My reply to this is, ebay has nothing to do with pinkbike and you never informed that it was listed on ebay.

You may think that i was not entitled to my deposit back and if the seller had listed as sold then i completely agree but he didnt so what did i actually pay for?
If the tables had been turned, firstly i wouldn't of asked for a deposit and secondly i would of returned it without any hesitation.

I'm not having a whinge im merely trying to help other avoid the same mistake. Also beware of the small time seller who starts stating " my terms" etc. Its a sure sign of arrogance.

Take from this what you will but remember, paypal will not cover you for items paid in part payments they consider as payment for virtual goods.

Cheers