Ways to prevent theft for online purchases of private gear?

Hi all,

I'm about to make a big gear purchase from a private party and it's scary. It doesn't seem like there's anything stopping them from keeping the money and not sending the gear, other than their personal qualities as a human

Are there any protections that can be used for this kind of transaction?

Any advice would be appreciated!

1) It helps if the seller is on a forum like this one.  If they have a history of participation in the forum they are more likely to be legit.

2) Ask them about the gear being sold.  Ask what the like and don't like about it.  If they don't know any of the details they may not be for real.

3) Use PayPal to make the transaction and pay for the protection.

PayPal Purchase Protection for Buyers – PayPal US

Yeah, Dave's idea about about asking for equipment details is a good one - you can then judge whether they are at least genuine photographers or not.

If they suggest a curious payment route, beware! As Dave suggests, use PayPal not a bank transfer or something like Western Union.

I guess they are not WP members? If they are, the length of time and the number of posts is a good indicator. Happily we have had very few dodgy sales issues here.

A number of options - Paypal is good insurance - insist on it and be prepared to pay the 4% paypal fee.  Insist on shipping with tracking and insurance.  Again be prepared to pay for it.

You could also ask them to list on Ebay and you'll buy off there to take advantage of the buyer protection available through that channel.