When selling gis, or other expensive items online, as a seller you need to protect yourself. When a buyer pays you by PayPal’s Goods & Services (G&S), they have “buyer protections” that give them some security from unscrupulous sellers. But as a seller what do you have?
You have control of the sales process. So use it.
First, be honest with what you are selling. If there are
flaws, point them out to the buyer (in writing and photographs). The buyer should receive what
he expects to receive, and not something less than he has paid for.
Document everything in writing. Be it Facebook PM, email or
other it doesn’t matter. Even on eBay using their internal chat system.
Document all communications. Send photos. Be clear on what the buyer is buying.
Use an invoice to document the sale and to outline
expectations and responsibilities. If the buyer wants to pay by PayPal’s G&S
this is perfect. They have an internal invoice system that I use all the time.
If they are paying any other way, such as by PayPal’s Friends & Family (“F&F”), Venmo, crypto, or sending you cash in the mail, still use an invoice. Just
send it by email or Facebook PM or however you are communicating with the
buyer and get his acknowledgement before accepting his funds.
The invoice that I use has some key points to keep in mind.
Here are a few bullet points.
Note: This is for a BNIB gi. For a used gi, this process is much more intense. I'll cover that in a future blog post.
- There are no cancellations, exchanges, returns or refunds.
- Any damage or loss suffered during shipping is not Seller's responsibility.
- Seller is relying on the Buyer to provide Seller with Buyer’s complete & accurate mailing address.
- Once tracking is active online, ALL LIABILITY passes from the Seller to Buyer in the event of damage, loss or theft. (That’s what the insurance is for)
- Buyer has seen numerous photographs of the Kimono he is purchasing, has knowledge of & access to the Shoyoroll size chart & is fully aware of what Buyer is purchasing.
- Buyer is aware that Shoyoroll’s "cut" & "sizing" varies from time-to-time & batch-to-batch. As such, Seller shall not be held responsible if the Kimono does not fit as well as Buyer anticipates and/or desires, and the Buyer has NOT relied on the Seller for advice as to the "fit" of the Kimono.
- That the Kimono was manufactured in Pakistan by unskilled labor & as such there are occasionally flaws within kimonos such as: missed stitches, hanging threads, grease marks, missing patches, upside down patches, dye bleeding & the like. Just because it is a Shoyoroll kimono & expensive does not mean it is flawless in its manufacturing over other kimono brands made in the same factory. Buyer understands that Seller does not thoroughly inspect every BNIB kimono that he sells (nor does Shoyoroll for that matter). As such, Buyer agrees to hold Seller harmless from any & all imperfections in the Kimono. Seller is ONLY representing is that the Kimono is (a) an AUTHENTIC Shoyoroll Brand kimono as described herein & shown in the photographs provided to Buyer, (b) in BNIB (Brand New, In Bag) condition, unworn & unwashed, & (c) contains both pants & jacket that are of the same size & as represented in this Invoice.
Once you receive the payment and are ready to ship. Here is
what I recommend.
Print the postage as well as two separate address labels. I print
my postage from USPS thru PayPal and save a few $’s in doing so. I also print
out a single page that has two address labels on it. By labels I don’t mean the
fancy, sticky ones you pay an arm and a leg for at Office Max. I print from an
MS Excel file that is formatted properly and prints a single sheet of standard 8.5”
x 11” paper that I cut up into two labels.
Once you’ve printed those, take the following photographs
and send them to the buyer as evidence that you are mailing him what he purchased.
A photo of the gi in bag.
A photo of the gi pants showing size tag.
A photo of the gi with the address label and postage label
on top.
When you pack up the gi, insert one of the address labels
that you printed into the shipping box (or bag). Just in case.This is recommended by USPS and is simply best practices.
Once it’s packed up, tape the address label on the back, and
properly affix the pre-paid postage label on the front. Take pics of both of sides
of the now sealed and ready to ship box or bag, clearly showing the labels.
Send ALL OF THOSE PHOTOS and the tracking link or tracking number to
the buyer and get his thumbs up/approval before you ship. If you have the wrong
address or pulled the wrong size gi from storage or whatever, better to know
NOW than after it’s been shipped.
If you do all of that, and I do for virtually every sale,
then you as a seller are best protecting yourself.
Only one time did anyone ever try and screw me over when
they bought something from me. It was on an eBay transaction and eBay froze our
deal and my money, over $1,000. The onus was on ME as the seller to prove that
(a) she ordered the item, (b) I shipped what she ordered, and (c) she received what
I shipped. Well, because I documented all of that with photos and screenshots
of conversations, eBay quickly ruled in my favor and released the funds to me.
Otherwise, I’d have been SOL for that $1,000 sale.
As mentioned earlier the process of listing & selling a USED gi (or used item of any kind) is more intense. And I'll cover that in a future post.
If you have any questions, send me an email by clicking here.
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