Personal Experiences as an Online Shopper

As a seller

I am an avid online seller, selling on average 1-2 items per month on several online websites (Strictly Supreme, Hypebeast, Superfuture, etc...). The reason why I sell my items online, as opposed to in person or locally, is because living in Regina, there are less than a quarter of a million citizens. Many of the items I sell are for niche markets, and do not appeal to the general population, and so there are very few (if any) people locally who would be interested in these items. However, the Internet connects people from all over the world, and facilitates both communication and transaction between buyers and sellers. The Internet has over a billion users, and with websites that cater towards certain niches and interests, it is easy to find other people who want what you are selling. For example, I often buy and sell hats and clothing of a particular brand that is only has two stores in North America. Due to the low quantity of the items, they are very rare and sought out among collectors and enthusiasts. However, I soon discovered that there was an online BBS style website specifically for users who wish to buy, sell, and trade items of that brand name. So, on this website, when I add an item for sale, I know that all the people who browse through and see my item are seeking that item or similar items, and so it is much easier to sell, and the selling price is much higher than one would expect from a buyer who was not aware of the limited quantities of that item.

The selling process that I partake in involves creating a thread style listing, including a detailed description of the item, at least 2 photos with a “tagged id”, and a price. The thread can be found in sub-forums based on the type of item. For example, there is a sub-forum for pullovers, and one for fitted caps as well. Once the listing is set-up, other users can view it and contact me via e-mail or private message. The website facilitates communication with private messages, and so the buyer will make offers and give information such as payment method and shipping address through these messages. Personally, I accept payments through a PayPal account, which is directly connected to my credit card. Once payment is received for an item, I will package and mail the item to the specified address, and that is the end of my role as a seller.

As a seller, I feel very safe because I won’t ship an item until payment is received. So far, I have not been scammed in any way. The precautions I take as a seller are few: I establish good communication with a buyer, and I wait to receive the payment before shipping the item.

As a buyer

As a buyer, on the other hand, the precautions I take are many. There are many scams and scamming users who take payment for an item but do not ship it to the buyer, or ship a different item then described. It is easy to spot these types of listings if you have some experience. The listings will typically contain photos taken from another website or not taken on their own or prices which are below average market prices. Another give away is the behavior of the user. Generally a scammer does not reply messages quickly (within 24 hours), accepts even very low offers, and is generally in a rush to receive payment and does not ask questions such as “Where are you located?” or “What type of shipping do you prefer?” With these precautions I have been able to avoid being scammed.

Communication Between Buyer's and Sellers

With online shopping, transactions are made in a fluid and dynamic manner. The communication between buyer and seller is surprisingly casual, and the use of very informal language is frequent. To demonstrate this point, I have transcribed the negotiations I have had with other online shoppers, both as a buyer and as a seller (with the permission of the other parties)

As a seller

Buyer: Ill go 40 lmk

Seller: where are u located? So I can check the exact shipping

Buyer: Its [city] tx [zipcode]

Seller: aight, with that I can do $42 + 4% USD on Paypal

Buyer: $40+4% USD, deal or no?

Seller: Cool, send it to [seller e-mail]. Also, lemme know the address exactly as it should appear on the label. I can have it out tomorrow or the next day depending when I receive the payment and address.

Buyer: Alright thats cool i just sent the money over and my info is
[Buyer Name]
[Buyer address]

Seller: Hey, I just sent that out today. From my experience, it generally takes about 3 weeks for the package to get from Canada to USA. Lemme know when you get it.

Buyer: alright cool I’ll let you know

(two weeks later)

Buyer: yea i got it 2 days ago its great thanks man

As you can see, the language used is both informal and full of spelling errors. This may come as surprising to many people, but this is often how communication is handled with online shoppers - especially on listings websites. The item for sale was a red fitted hat:

The hat was listed for less than 24 hours before the offer was made. Key points in my listing was the fact that the hat was listed at average market value. Often times, sellers will list their items at a high price, but will lower it due to lack of offers. This method often does not work, and against common belief, it will resulting in a lower selling price then if you originally list the item at average market value. I generally do not sell an item unless I feel comfortable giving it up at an average market price. This general sales tactic has allowed me to sell nearly all of my items in under 24 hours. In fact, I sold an item for $20 higher then the listed price; the buyer wanted to offer a higher price to ensure that he would be buying the hat, in case others also had offers.


As a Buyer

Buyer: I'd be willing to trade. I have a 8.5/10 red box logo 7 1/4, dotted black/grey camp hat, and an olive ransom camp hat, and black skull x supreme t-shirt collab.

Seller: Thanks for the offer, but mainly looking for cash.

(several weeks later)

Buyer: Yo, you got this? $50 shipped to Canada.

Seller: Sorry for the late response.
YES, I do have it.
Please send the payment (as gift) to [seller e-mail]
Thanks!!!

Buyer: Sorry, $50 sent as payment for goods. I don't send as gift in case there is a problem and I need to dispute it with paypal.

Seller: aight that's cool.

As you can see, communication is casual and informal. Also, notice that I originally did not offer any cash because the item was listed at above market value. As weeks went on without selling this item, the seller repeatedly lowered the BIN (buy it now) price. This act is usually a sign of desperation to sell, so I offered him cash which was a few dollars under his listed price. Of course, he gladly accepted the offer. Also, notice how I remain safe with my paypal transaction by opting to add the extra 4% and send it as payment, rather then risk my safety by sending it as a gift.