Can I get scammed this way?

To be honest i'd be more worried about it not working when it arrives than the payment.

I'd wanna see it working and make sure its not damaged, which realistically could be the reason why they only want to send it.
That payment option also sounds dodgy. You already have doubts in your mind or you wouldn't have posted here.

If your not desperate, i'd leave this one and find another, that you can inspect.
 
Unless they will allow you to pick it up and pay on receipt, then it's 95% likely to be a scam..

But there are rare occasions that people just need the money, so work on offering solutions to the problem to allow you to see the laptop working prior to paying.. you could stand outside his house, he could demo it from 2M away and then you could transfer the money, then he could leave it on the step.. No need for physical contact.
 
Have you recommended that you can do a doorstep collection - i.e. you could stand a few meters back whilst they demo the working laptop + anything else you wish to see.

Maybe they feel that someone wouldn't go out of their way for 2 hours to pick it up. Obviously if they insist on delivery only, then i'd walk away and buy elsewhere.
 
I sold a guitar pedal on Gumtree (a while ago) and the buyer wanted me to send it as he couldn't travel.

He paid with PayPal gift and tried to say it wasn't working correctly which I knew was false as I made a point to take a video of the pedal in working order prior to listing it. He kept nagging me for a partial refund as it needed 'repair' and I told him to do one. He threatened to go to PayPal and I just ignored the email.

Tip: don't bother letting him send the laptop, it could get unnecessarily messy when you could knock his door, stand back >2m and do it socially distant.
 
EVH said:
He paid with PayPal gift and tried to say it wasn't working correctly which I knew was false as I made a point to take a video of the pedal in working order prior to listing it. He kept nagging me for a partial refund as it needed 'repair' and I told him to do one. He threatened to go to PayPal and I just ignored the email.
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This is really a lesson in why, as a buyer, any money you send unprotected by PayPal or another service is at risk. PayPal protection (both buyer and seller, which is included when you pay for goods and services and follow their Ts&Cs) is there to cover the "he says she says, we can't work out who's at fault" scenarios. They pay out to both seller and buyer and that's why PayPal charge the level of fees that they do.

Obviously this is a completely separate argument to whether or not a transaction feels dodgy overall, which I understand. I say this as someone who bought a projector off a forum with no proper feedback system for £400, bank transfered and it was with me within 24hrs, perfect and exactly as described. The deal didn't feel dodgy, the price was good but not ludicrous (OP's deal doesn't sound ludicrous either) so I risked it. I've also done deals on Facebook years ago with bank transfer, some great deals and some I never heard from again after I sent the money. You win some you lose some, this is part of doing deals with a level of rism. If the seller is willing to pay fees however... I really don't get the scam.

The hypocrisy of this place is quite interesting, there are probably over a hundred threads on here where people say in droves "eBay's not worth it, you'll get scammed and ebay and PayPal always side with the buyer", yet when someone asks about buying the overall opinion is that this apparently bulletproof protection doesn't exist :confused:
 
the other thing to be wary about is if you do go to him with cash, he could have his mates there who might mug you or something.. (It has happened at least once that i have seen on newspapers)
 
Zefan said:
The hypocrisy of this place is quite interesting, there are probably over a hundred threads on here where people say in droves "eBay's not worth it, you'll get scammed and ebay and PayPal always side with the buyer", yet when someone asks about buying the overall opinion is that this apparently bulletproof protection doesn't exist :confused:
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Wouldn't be selling an HP Omen i5 1060 max q for £400 Inc postage on gumtree would you? ;)

Normally I'd agree with what you said earlier, but Gumtree makes it very clear never to post/pay for goods electronically. I wouldn't recommend OP follow through with this purchase especially when their refusing OP come to collect.
 
.Lethal said:
I agree with what you said earlier, but Gumtree makes it very clear never to post/pay for goods electronically.
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They do this merely to cover their own backs, which means that in the event of any complaint, they can simply say "Nope, you broke our Ts&Cs".
 
Zefan said:
They do this merely to cover their own backs, which means that in the event of any complaint, they can simply say "Nope, you broke our Ts&Cs".
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Yeah I get that, but it would also concern me if things did go wrong and PayPal told me the same thing.
 
Zefan said:
That's why you don't break PayPal's Ts&Cs if you use them...
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Your implying something I'm not meaning to say.

If I purchase goods via Gumtree online and pay via PayPal, only to receive xyz wrong/damaged item. My confidence in PayPal resolving this wouldn't be very high given I'd just gone against Gumtree's own advice. I would assume PayPal would investigate the matter before issuing refunds, based on that I wouldn't expect a PayPal to do anything.
 
.Lethal said:
Your implying something I'm not meaning to say.

If I purchase goods via Gumtree online and pay via PayPal, only to receive xyz wrong/damaged item. My confidence in PayPal resolving this wouldn't be very high given I'd just gone against Gumtree's own advice. I would assume PayPal would investigate the matter before issuing refunds, based on that I wouldn't expect a PayPal to do anything.
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You're wrong, from my experience and understanding at least. The PayPal cover is abstracted from the underlying platform used to advertise the sale.
 
Zefan said:
You're wrong, from my experience and understanding at least. The PayPal cover is abstracted from the underlying platform used to advertise the sale.
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Despite PayPals T&C's regarding cover, I remain dubious that in these instances anything would be done.
 
.Lethal said:
Despite PayPals T&C's regarding cover, I remain dubious that in these instances anything would be done.
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I can only assume you have very limited experience with it, as using it in these sort of circumstances is entirely the point of it. It really is very simple, they don't bother looking in to things too much, they just pay both parties their money and swallow the cost themselves. This is part of the reason why their fees are high.
 
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