hello,

i saw a piece of audio gear i'm interested in from a seller in Europe.

i logged on to escrow.com , looked good.


anybody have a recommendation here? it's a really good price on the
item, says it's in great shape.

it's not one of those "too good to be true" deals, but it's quite an
excellent deal. "almost too good to be true".

so i'm thinking the only way to do this properly would be with an
escrow.

so that brings up two things:
1)any recommendations on an online escrow service that accepts
international deals?
2)any other things i'm not thinking of?

thanks for any insights

wrote in message
oups.com...
hello,

i saw a piece of audio gear i'm interested in from a seller in Europe.

i logged on to escrow.com , looked good.


anybody have a recommendation here? it's a really good price on the
item, says it's in great shape.

it's not one of those "too good to be true" deals, but it's quite an
excellent deal. "almost too good to be true".

so i'm thinking the only way to do this properly would be with an
escrow.

so that brings up two things:
1)any recommendations on an online escrow service that accepts
international deals?
2)any other things i'm not thinking of?

thanks for any insights


Not that I'm suggesting that you do this 'cause its illegal, but American
military members used to get great prices on audio equipment because they
didn't pay any duty on it.

Know any military people stationed in non-war zones?

"LawsonE" wrote in message
news:t4DId.6615$ry.5042@fed1read05...

wrote in message
oups.com...
hello,

i saw a piece of audio gear i'm interested in from a seller in Europe.

i logged on to escrow.com , looked good.


anybody have a recommendation here? it's a really good price on the
item, says it's in great shape.

it's not one of those "too good to be true" deals, but it's quite an
excellent deal. "almost too good to be true".

so i'm thinking the only way to do this properly would be with an
escrow.

so that brings up two things:
1)any recommendations on an online escrow service that accepts
international deals?
2)any other things i'm not thinking of?

thanks for any insights


will the item work on 120 VAC @ 60 HZ ?

"TimPerry" wrote in message
...

"LawsonE" wrote in message
news:t4DId.6615$ry.5042@fed1read05...

wrote in message
oups.com...
hello,

i saw a piece of audio gear i'm interested in from a seller in Europe.

i logged on to escrow.com , looked good.


anybody have a recommendation here? it's a really good price on the
item, says it's in great shape.

it's not one of those "too good to be true" deals, but it's quite an
excellent deal. "almost too good to be true".

so i'm thinking the only way to do this properly would be with an
escrow.

so that brings up two things:
1)any recommendations on an online escrow service that accepts
international deals?
2)any other things i'm not thinking of?

thanks for any insights


will the item work on 120 VAC @ 60 HZ ?


Just about everything I ever saw sold on-base overseas was multi-volt and
multi-cycle: you just set a switch in the back. 120/60 was *always* an
option for the audio stuff sold to GIs since they would be in Turkey one
year and Alabama the next.

The stuff we could get was "cutting edge." For example, DAT was available
for years and years overseas before people had even heard of it in the
States (a DAT recorder was $1k for GIs in 1983 so I didn't bother buying
one).

it's a used piece of equipment. from somebody in Czech republic.
makes me slightly hesitant, but still willing to mull it over. lots of
internet scams come out of Russia. Czech isn't Russia, but it's kind
of in that gray area where you don't know if someone is trying to pull
a scam to get some US dollars.

I've been to the area when it was Czechoslovakia. Had a great time,
they have great beer there. But it had that communist-lite vibe to it.
Don't quite trust the idea as much as I would a Londoner selling off a
Neve module or something like that.

wrote in message
oups.com...
it's a used piece of equipment. from somebody in Czech republic.
makes me slightly hesitant, but still willing to mull it over. lots of
internet scams come out of Russia. Czech isn't Russia, but it's kind
of in that gray area where you don't know if someone is trying to pull
a scam to get some US dollars.

I've been to the area when it was Czechoslovakia. Had a great time,
they have great beer there. But it had that communist-lite vibe to it.
Don't quite trust the idea as much as I would a Londoner selling off a
Neve module or something like that.


If you're not sure what to do, just don't do it. That's the only sensible
approach. There's no need to insult the whole nations just because you're
lacking in knowledge that would enable you to make an informed decision.

Predrag

Which knowledge am I lacking here? Czech Republic is ranked 52, not
exactly stellar. USA is number 16, not at the top of the list either.
Scandinavia shines like a brilliant nothern star.

The linke below is to a study of governments, not the citizenry. But
where do the govt's come from? The citizenry. When you have an
economy that provides only little or marginal economic success for it's
people at large, the potential for scams increases.

I don't know the seller from a hole in the wall. Which means I have to
assess risk in the means I have available to me: my anectodal
impressions of my visit there, stories I've heard, and studies like
below:

http://www.transparency.org/cpi/2002/cpi2002.en.html

here's the latest one. Czech is up from 52 to 49, which coincides
perfectly with my perception that Czech is getting better but is not
there yet:

http://www.icgg.org/corruption.cpi_2004_data.html

and USA dropped from 16 to 17, which to me also makes sense.

a écrit dans le message de news:
...
hello,
so that brings up two things:
1)any recommendations on an online escrow service that accepts
international deals?
2)any other things i'm not thinking of?

-----------------------------------------

Ask the seller his name, address and a phone number you may check in the
yellow pages.
Give him a phone call to verify he's the right person.
Even if you don't expect to do it, ask him if he would agree with a local
pickup.I would smell fish if he does'nt agree.
Pay him only by bankwire to an account with same name and address you
called.
That does'nt mean the gear you buy will not be out of order.
That only means you know exactly whom you bought it.

Regards,

Laurent.

thanks, these are good ideas.

there's no way on earth i could go and pick it up locally. but if i
broached the idea, he/she should be willing to agree to that.

i just emailed him/her explaining what escrow is, and if he/she would
agree to that.

if they don't agree to escrow, it's a no go. escrow protects both
buyer and seller.

the thing about the phone number and stuff like that is good.
all of this stuff helps towards "risk management".

wrote in message
oups.com...
Which knowledge am I lacking here? Czech Republic is ranked 52, not
exactly stellar. USA is number 16, not at the top of the list either.
Scandinavia shines like a brilliant nothern star.

The linke below is to a study of governments, not the citizenry. But
where do the govt's come from? The citizenry. When you have an
economy that provides only little or marginal economic success for it's
people at large, the potential for scams increases.

I don't know the seller from a hole in the wall. Which means I have to
assess risk in the means I have available to me: my anectodal
impressions of my visit there, stories I've heard, and studies like
below:

http://www.transparency.org/cpi/2002/cpi2002.en.html



Well, since you have already established the rules of the game, what's
stopping you from making deals with scandinavian dealers/sellers? What are
you expecting to learn here? To hear more anecdotal impressions/beer stories
or more irresponsible generalizations about the whole country? None of it
will let you know anything about the person you're dealing with, but you're
certain to insult a lot of people in the process. Not only those from Russia
and Czech Republic.

The study you're referring to is largely based on the perception of the
level and nature of corruption within the participants' countries of
residence. It's not even intended to be objective or scientific. Do you
really believe that the integrity of every individual should be judged by
how people feel about the corruption in their country's public services?

Incidentally, a similar research focused on subjective individual happiness
indicates that the happiest people live in some of the most corrupt
countries of the world. So much about perceptions.

Predrag

wrote in message
oups.com...
thanks, these are good ideas.

there's no way on earth i could go and pick it up locally. but if i
broached the idea, he/she should be willing to agree to that.

i just emailed him/her explaining what escrow is, and if he/she would
agree to that.

if they don't agree to escrow, it's a no go. escrow protects both
buyer and seller.

the thing about the phone number and stuff like that is good.
all of this stuff helps towards "risk management".


And how is that different from dealing with a seller from another part of
the U.S.?

Predrag

"Predrag Trpkov" a écrit dans le message
de news: ...
And how is that different from dealing with a seller from another part of
the U.S.?

Predrag


I agree completely with you.
The only problem I had on Ebay was with an English salesman.
Should I conclude that most of English ebayers are swindlers?
Certainly not.

Regards,

Laurent.