Ebay payment advise

sayheykid54 · October 22, 2008 10:32PM

I sold a $150.00 item on Ebay about 3 weeks ago. After a payment reminder email to the buyer in Switzerland I received this questionable response:

Hey there

Thank you for your email. The payment has not been sent out
yet. I need some information from you to transfer the money via
bank:

-Name and adress of your bank
-SWIFT/BIC number
-Your account- or IBAN number

I will send out the payment, as soon i get the missing
informations from you.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely, Gabriel

The auction states that I accept personal checks, Money orders, and Paypal as payment. Is this legit??

craig19 · October 22, 2008 10:34PM

don't touch it!

PoppaJ · October 22, 2008 11:08PM

Hi,

It is very much legit and the safest way to send or receive a money transfer.

We have never had a problem with giving out our SWIFT/BIC or IBAN.

BIC means Bank Identifier Code.

IBAN means International Bank Account Number.

BIC + IBAN is often the cheapest way to transfer money internationally and is now free of charge in much of Europe.

BIC + IBAN international bank transfers are faster, more efficient, and low-cost as they are sent directly through the SWIFT interbank network without using intermediary banks (who deduct charges or fees for their service).

Just call your bank and they will give you the IBAN number for your account.

PoppaJ

onefasttalon · October 22, 2008 11:18PM

Wow... 3 weeks without payment? You're more patient that I am, I would have already dropped the sale by now.

I too have never heard of this sort of request, and my first reaction would have been "YA.. RIGHT!"

PoppaJ sounds like he's had experience with this sort of request and has confidence in it...
then again, he IS insured by the moffia!

stevek · October 22, 2008 11:29PM

PoppaJ seems to know what he's talking about and I'm not disputing that...however, I would not do it. Yes, giving out the info to a legit source is no problem, but who's to say this guy in "Switzerland" is a legit source? In the hands of a scammer, info such as that could without a doubt cause a problem, in my opinion.

Tell the guy to simply open up a PayPal account - if he's that knowledgeable about the other stuff, certainly it shouldn't be any big deal whatsoever for him to open a PayPal account, and send you payment that way.

bziddy · October 23, 2008 12:08AM

...or...if you want to accept payment that way, you could always call your bank and ask them what the harm would be in providing an unknown person that information.

mtcards · October 23, 2008 1:49AM

It could be legit or a scam, but if I am not mistaken, he cannot withdraw money from your account with that info, only send to it. I had a similar problem withdrawing money from an online sportsbook about the time the Neteller fiasco happened and they finally agreed to send me my money via bank transfer...about 2k.

dizzle · October 23, 2008 1:56AM

If you're worried about it I would do as mentioned and just call your bank and ask if there's any type of problems that can arrise from giving out this info..

storm888 · October 23, 2008 3:37AM

Totally legit request.

In almost ALL civilized countries - excpet USA - this is the most common payment
method. Folks in Eurpoe do MOST of their transactions with IBAN.

If your address is printed on your checks, you give out more info about yourself
when you write a check than you do with an IBAN transfer.

The process is scarce in America because the credit-card companies and merchant
bankers who control the system have not figured out a way to make money on it.

If you recall when PayPal was trying to force itself on Australia, the regulators
found - based on details in EBAY's own filings - that only 1 in 30,000 IBAN transactions
involved "some element of fraud," while 1 in 3,000 PayPal transactions involved
"some element of fraud."

It is difficult - but not totally impossible - for a scamster to STOP/REVERSE an IBAN
transfer. The concern about fraudulent "chargebacks" is virtually eliminated.

Ebay payment advise

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