Prepay!?

I have some questions for other buyers, business owners AND customers, scrappers etc. Everybody is welcome to respond, I do appreciate the response and advice.

So these are my questions.

1. Under what conditions would you prepay for an inbound shipment?

2. If you would prepay, would it be for for well established customers only or have some other conditions?

3. If as a customer, would prepay even if a percentage of the estimated value have influence over who you do business with?

Any advice?



A little history here, I have advanced payment before and had some issues arise that caused me to stop, however I am willing to explore this option again.

I think the risk to reward ratio is too great for buyers to take a chance.
It would have to be for the most well established customers who (in your case) regularly send in large loads, where a high percentage of the items test good for more than scrap value.
I have come to accept the fact that if I sell to various buyers where I need to ship items, there will be a delay in getting paid. That is just the nature of the beast. If I need to get paid right away, my sale is going to be made locally and is going to be for scrap value only.
Bottom line is that if I want more than scrap value and more than the local yards are paying, then I need to wait. Would I be tempted to try a buyer that offers pre-pay, yes. But I think any buyer that offers that would probably have to lower prices a little to make up for the risk they are taking.

I've been burned by people I have had business relationships with for years. Prepayment has to be an "arrow in the quiver"... it is a little less risky than putting it all on "black" at the casino.

I can understand the concerns. I think the current system exists because you have no idea what material you will be receiving. That makes sense. But as far as risk goes ... where else does a buyer get product before payment? With the current setup, the seller is taking all the risk. So it is just a matter of flipping the risk.

when I do ebay I am always pre-paid for product

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mikeinreco

when I do ebay I am always pre-paid for product

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The risk of buyer fraud still exists.

Fraud is just something we all have to deal with at this point if we send anything thru the mail........The only method that has very little potential for fraud is meet someone in a parking lot hand them item and they hand you cash........Unfortunate those days hardly exist anymore as most people don't want to get off the couch they just want everything delivered right to their door

If you pay in advance, I would only do so with Paypal.

I think if I accepted prepay as a method paypal invoicing would be the only way. There is backstory here, I have been burned in the past by customers I've had since I started, as a result for one reason or another they decided to not be customers any more rather than own up to less than 200 bucks. And there is always USPS adventures in mishandling or losing packages to worry about too.

The other side of this is that after 600+ transactions since 2014 I have not missed a payment yet. Batting a thousand (tis the season?) isn't hard for me to do and it's a managed reputation as I have every reason to do my job whereas what's the worst that can happen to the seller? They don't come around here any more? Change their user name...etc. The risk is heavy on my side only.

At least in the worst case scenario if someone tries to run with my prepay I would have a valid invoice to chase my money down with, it adds time to my day doing something like that and that's my only real risk there. My prices reflect usual fraud on the other side of the door, not the inside. I get a regular marching band of issues on the sell side and it does affect how things are priced obviously, but that's business and not the concern of the seller when they do business with me and the main perk for them, deal with one person, one time, get paid.

In my opinion, the customers you would gain by prepaying would not be customers you that would keep long term. The risk/reward ratio, and the additional time required when the shipment that arrived is not as presented, would not be worth it. You have more profitable things to do with your time than to try to collect on a $200 prepayment. The current method of business - we send material, you grade and sort to your specifications, you pay according to either the weight or the each price, you send payment, we jump up and down for joy that we got paid - is probably the best for the time being.

With all that being said, I have sent to material to a buyer (who is no longer on this threat), received confirmation that it was received, and never received payment. Did I pursue it? A little bit, until I realized that if I worked a bit faster I would recover in a few days and not be irritated anymore. From three other buyers (yourself included) I have had great experiences, with loads from a small box of processors to multiple gaylords of scrap. Sellers need to work with buyers with whom they trust either thru personal dealings or solid testimonials from other sellers.

The Chinese love to pre buy your stuff if you own a scrap yard specially there beloved precious red metals,if you open a yard usually within a couple of weeks they will be calling you or showing up offering you a boat load of money up front so you can buy them there Coppa!

In your case, since you buy so much for more than scrap value, is it feasible to offer a prepayment of the scrap value? That seems like it offers incentive for them and some protection to you.

As a small seller, I can say prepayment is a serious boon I would not take lightly. Even getting shipping comped from the top of load value is appreciated.