Advice for new Knife Sellers on safe selling

I think a scammer would just upgrade his membership level if he wanted to steel your knife. It doesn't cost that much, if the return is a free knife.
 
Do your research on the member looking to buy your knife.
Check his feedback. Lots of members will not sell to people with less than a few positive feedbacks.
Some sellers refuse to sell to people that haven't been a member for at least 6 months.
Check in the GB&U sub to see if a buyer is headlining his own thread.
Ignore low ballers.
Use Goods & Services with Pay Pal.
Good luck!!
Joe
 
palonej said:
Do your research on the member looking to buy your knife.
Check his feedback. Lots of members will not sell to people with less than a few positive feedbacks.
Some sellers refuse to sell to people that haven't been a member for at least 6 months.
Check in the GB&U sub to see if a buyer is headlining his own thread.
Ignore low ballers.
Use Goods & Services with Pay Pal.
Good luck!!
Joe
Click to expand...
Great advice Joe.

Some small things I would add are technical stuff like:
- If a knife has been taken out of the box and handled a few times, but never used to cut something, it is still a Used knife. Knives in this usage category should be listed as Like New in Box (LNIB).
- For a knife to be considered New in Box (NIB), it should pretty much be relegated to taken from the box once or twice to check for centering issues, photos taken, uneven bevels, and anything worth noting in your sales ad. Then replaced and not touched or used.
- I would also go so far to state in the sales ad that it has been removed from packaging (X) amount of times for photos and inspection, then returned.
- Honesty, Integrity, a keen eye, and the willingness to "over-describe" an item will go a Very long way in gaining you a reputation as a good seller.
- Check the G, B & U regularly for folks that scam, current hot topics, good buyers and sellers, and possible issues that folks have with sales ads (like asking for F&F or having the buyer add "X"% for fees or insurance).
- If you do not pay for the insurance from the post office, realize that you may be paying out of pocket to replenish funds for the buyer if something goes south. As the Seller, you are responsible for all fees, insurances, and other monetary liabilities, unless it can be proven otherwise.
- Package your items like you are shipping bars of gold. Once the item is paid for, it is not yours anymore. You are now holding someone else's knife. Care for it as such.
- I will often wrap the factory box in a plastic bag or zip lock bag, then tape that bag to the bottom of the box in the dead center. Then I will wrap around the knife/box with packing material, to ensure that the box will not slide around, make much noise, or be easily taken out of the box.
- Use a USPS Flat Rate box if possible. Tape up every seam and every corner. Tape over the factory adhesive.
- This may seem overboard, but remember, this is not your knife anymore. You already took payment for it. You can't have the funds and the knife while being honest. You only own one at a time. Sure, you may be in possession of both, but only one truly belongs to you.
------
Ok, so it wasn't just a few short things, but I feel that this all should be adhered to. If you do, you will have a long line of folks that are willing to deal with you.

I just sent an bow (archery) to Montana (from NJ), and I am sure that it will arrive safely unless the box is dropped from the plane taking it there.

Best of luck!
-----
Edited for grammatical reasonings.
 
Last edited:
NJBillK said:
Great advice Joe.

Some small things I would add are technical stuff like:
- If a knife has been taken out of the box and handled a few times, but never used to cut something, it is still a Used knife. Knives in this usage category should be listed as Like New in Box (LNIB).
- For a knife to be considered New in Box (NIB), it should pretty much be relegated to taken from the box once or twice to check for centering issues, photos taken, uneven bevels, and anything worth noting in your sales ad. Then replaced and not touched or used.
Click to expand...

I would also add that you should not sell a knife as NIB if you are the second owner, as there is no way to know what previous owners did with it. Be up front and descriptive- you can say that it was sold to you as NIB, and that you have done nothing with it other than inspecting it upon arrival, and then let your pictures speak for themselves.

The only way I ever consider a knife NIB is if I am the original owner and can detail the provenance of the knife and I have only handled it for inspection purposes in a manner similar to what a dealer might do when he receives a shipment.
 
Good advice so far. Trust your gut.

If you have a larger collection, make sure you can keep up with the communication, so don't lob them all in, rather start at the lower end, and work up. Feel free to set your terms per knife. As much as some hate it, the insurance both from the post office and paypal are worth the price paid. Keep your communication clear, and if you are able to keep it to PMs here, its easier for a Mod to confirm communications in the event of a dispute. I know that is not what they are here for, and they don't nanny the exchange, but if you are open and honest, that comes across. The GBU is full of sellers who get cagey and then get shredded.
 
BVO85 -

Don't get too paranoid about selling a knife on BF. Get the money up front. Ship it well wrapped and protected in taped up USPS small priority box with insurance ( it automatically comes with $50 of insurance0 and tracking (which is free with priority mail). Tell the truth about the knife in your listing. Give the buyer good feedback after he received it; I have never had a problem with a Blade Forum buyer. Don't be afraid to dicker around if someone makes an offer. Just respond with maybe a small discount if payment is made promptly. PayPal works for both buyer and seller and allows you to get the knife in the mail asap once paid. Speed counts I have found. There are many good tips in this thread. Take the advice seriously.
 
Last edited:
I'll say again what everyone else has said... DO NOT use PayPal F&F. Accept G&S only or refund the buyer's $ and tell them to send it G&S. You can also ask for a USPS MO. Quite a few members here don't use PP. They ask for MO instead.

Now here's a pet peeve of mine (and some other folks as well)... put the entire, finished, final, shipped, and insured price in your thread. Do the math for your potential buyers and add PP's 3.5% so that your thread shows the total price. A thread that lists a knife price and then says "add XX% for G&S" just seems to me like the seller is asking me to use F&F without actually saying it. I'm not gonna use F&F to buy any product and I'm not gonna buy from someone who wants me to. PP provides a service. Whether I like PP or not, if I use their service they deserve to get their cut for providing that service.

Another thing... take some good pix of your knife for your sales thread. If you're a gold member you should be able to post your pix directly from your own PC after you edit them for size and do any cropping you want to do. Take pictures of the knife in the shipping box before you seal it up. This doesn't "prove" anything, but it puts a bit more weight in your corner if you can show that it was boxed, packed, and sealed well before going to the PO. I think I remember a couple of threads from years back where that actually helped determine that the buyer was, indeed, trying to scam the seller out of his knife.

Like GatorFlash1 says... be cautious and cover your butt... but don't be paranoid. 98.5% of us on BF are honest to a fault and will bend over backwards to help out a brother or sister knife knut. If something does happen that you don't think you can handle on your own, G, B, & U is a great resource for getting help from the entire community.
 
I agree on the Add "x"% or F&F stuff...

Within the last two weeks, I have outright passed on 4 knives in the exchange due to this. Three of which were asking for me to do them the favor of doing some math for them, and adding the 3.5% to their price.

You are selling the knife, You do the math. The Buyer is the one doing the Seller a favor. Give them the courtesy of doing "X" × .04 and add that to your asking price, or just bite the bullet on the $2.

The other one was asking for F&F, which screws me out of any protections and insurance if they choose to not ship, or even their car was broken into and the package was swiped before they went to the post office.

Whether it was their unscrupulousness or bad luck, I would be out of funds...
 
In fairness, the above points, while I agree strongly with them, are something of a contentious issue here.

That being said... Some people will refuse to consider a sale if you make them do the math to figure out the price or ask buyers to use F&F when you're not. Nobody will refuse to consider a sale for people who offer a flat price and request G&S, so there's that.
 
palonej said:
Do your research on the member looking to buy your knife.
Check his feedback. Lots of members will not sell to people with less than a few positive feedbacks.
Some sellers refuse to sell to people that haven't been a member for at least 6 months.
Check in the GB&U sub to see if a buyer is headlining his own thread.
Ignore low ballers.
Use Goods & Services with Pay Pal.
Good luck!!
Joe
Click to expand...
This.
I would also advise that you list 'First "I''ll take it", followed by quick payment, get's it'. Ive had ppl say "I'll take it, and then disappear for days, only to complain when you moved onto another seller! :rolleyes:

In general, start a private dialog in the PM's, and you'll get a good read on the person. Ive had a lot of great experiences here, and just a few bad ones. Just remember, you have to earn your positive rating, one deal at a time. Don't feel bad or offended if people don't feel comfortable dealing with you if you don't have a lot of transactions.
 
It's your sale. Sell to whomever you want. There will be dissent, but this doesn't negate the fact that it is your sale.

You don't like the feedback score of the first 3 buyers telling you "They'll take it"? Then pass on them... It's your sale.

I have a "7" feedback score. You don't want to sell to me, I'm cool with that. I've been here long enough to have dozens of successful transactions under my belt... I've been here longer than the feedback score thingie... but if you only see 7 and that's not enough for you, then don't do business with me and I'm cool with that. REALIZE HOWEVER... there will be any number of butt-hurt folk who will cry foul. But it is your sale. Sell to whomever you wish.

If you are doing PayPal, specify PayPal goods and services only. You put down "PP F&F only" and you'll lose a buttload of buyers, me included. Be an honest enough seller to afford your buyers the protection they deserve. And be an honest enough PayPal client to give them the fees they charge for offering you their services.

SHIP THE DAMNED KNIFE! If you have been paid for the knife, then ship it to the guy who paid for it. Promptly. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes.

COMMUNICATE!!!... If you got a flat tire on the way to your dog's funeral and your Post Office burned down the same day, COMMUNICATE THAT! If you can't ship until Tuesday because you happen to be on a 48 hour shift that starts Saturday night, COMMUNICATE IT to the buyer.

I can't believe I am in this thread stating the obvious, but here I am. Please act responsibly when selling on this great site.
 
Last edited:
I have a high number, all positive, of feedback and haven't lost a knife (yet). I have been scammed once or twice on a give-away "to a member of the military" or "law enforcement" but it is a rare thing. Ask for positive id before you send a gift-knife.
The above posted reco's are all good... Sell and buy using PayPal Goods and Services. The USPS next day Priority small flat rate box will cost over seven dollars, NOT counting any insurance you might wish to use. So charge seven bucks more for the knife instead of requesting payment by Friends and Family (F&F). Don't ask a buyer to send the amount as "net." This means they would have to add 3+ % to the price and nobody wants to do the silly math.
The G&S form of payment using PayPal helps to insure both the buyer and the seller.
Send the knife the next day following payment. Always ask from prompt payment or "It goes to the next in line."
Once mailed, send the buyer a tracking number immediately by email or "conversation."
Leave appropriate feedback...keeping in mind that NEGATIVE feedback is a big, black mark on a fellow's name and will follow him on the
Exchange. There is a section within the Exchange...called the FEEDBACK: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly... in case you feel the need to inform the forum members of a particular person's behavior...(very exemplary or very bad). We don't like scammers here.
Once you receive a knife, examine it to ensure that it fits the seller's description. Inform the seller by "conversation", either good or bad, and work it out, or send the knife back for a full refund. finally, leave feedback.t
It is RARE to have a unhappy transaction. Just do your homework in advance.
Welcome...and have fun.
 
bvo85 said:
I'm planning to upgrade my membership to gold and start selling some knives on the forum to thin out my collection and make room for new grails!!

Any advise on how to safely sell knives? I don't like selling on eBay because it's very anti-seller. I could send a knife to someone, and they could claim I sent them a box of rocks, send back the box of rocks, and PayPal will side with the buyer and reverse the transaction. Then I'm not only out the knife, but out the shipping costs!

I imagine if I sell knives on BF and accept PayPal, it's the same problem where the buyer could claim the box I sent was empty or filled with rocks. I've seen some BF sellers say things like "only buyers with 5 or more positive feedback accepted" which might filter out some scammers. I realize I would have fewer prospective buyers if I put up restrictions like that, but if there's even a 1% chance of a scammer and me losing the entire knife value, then it might be worth listing the knife a little cheaper but limiting to Gold/Established BF members. I get a little less money for the knife, but I won't be scammed.
Click to expand...
I know of people on Bladeforums that have a very good feedback rating that if you search for them you will find that there are alot of problems with that person. Make sure you do that search.
 
bvo85 said:
I'm planning to upgrade my membership to gold and start selling some knives on the forum to thin out my collection and make room for new grails!!

Any advise on how to safely sell knives? I don't like selling on eBay because it's very anti-seller. I could send a knife to someone, and they could claim I sent them a box of rocks, send back the box of rocks, and PayPal will side with the buyer and reverse the transaction. Then I'm not only out the knife, but out the shipping costs!

I imagine if I sell knives on BF and accept PayPal, it's the same problem where the buyer could claim the box I sent was empty or filled with rocks. I've seen some BF sellers say things like "only buyers with 5 or more positive feedback accepted" which might filter out some scammers. I realize I would have fewer prospective buyers if I put up restrictions like that, but if there's even a 1% chance of a scammer and me losing the entire knife value, then it might be worth listing the knife a little cheaper but limiting to Gold/Established BF members. I get a little less money for the knife, but I won't be scammed.
Click to expand...

Read and follow the exchange rules and do not ignore common sense for any reason. That is the best advice I can offer.
 
palonej said:
Do your research on the member looking to buy your knife.
Check his feedback. Lots of members will not sell to people with less than a few positive feedbacks.
Some sellers refuse to sell to people that haven't been a member for at least 6 months.
Check in the GB&U sub to see if a buyer is headlining his own thread.
Ignore low ballers.
Use Goods & Services with Pay Pal.
Good luck!!
Joe
Click to expand...

The downside to that is that SOMEONE has to give the new guy a chance in order for him to have any feedback. Truthfully, I won't do business to this day with a couple folks here who snubbed me when I was new for that reason.

I pay more attention to how they talk to me, to their other posts, etc. I don't put a whole lot of weight on feedback, because I've seen some people build that up enough to pull a good scam. I remember watching the Snowreaper1 scam go down, he had 60something positives.
 
Very good advice given here thus far.

Emphasis is warranted for:

Be very accurate in describing the knife - expect the buyer to examine it closely and to expect what was represented.

Ship the darned knife promptly! This cannot be over-stated. Prompt payment is (appropriately, I might add) expected - but you would be surprised to see the occasions of excuses as to why the knife cannot get out in the mail!

Feedback score is but one indicator. I am quick to give a positive feedback point for a good transaction but oftentimes a good transaction does not always equate to both the buyer and seller each giving the other a feedback point - even though they both may have been very pleased with the transaction; it's just the way things seem to go sometimes.
 
If you have a knife that most experienced enthusiasts would probably ignore, don't post too many rules, or you may scare away the one novice buyer that may want to purchase it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top