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Identification

JarJarBinks

Limp Gawd
2FA
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Messages
300
Is it acceptable to ask for a person to send say a picture of there drivers license with
everything but their name and address blurred out before doing a transaction with them?
What if you are willing to provide the same for them?

If not, for some of these high dollar transactions, what is another possible way for
identifying people that a generally good person wouldn't mind sharing in order to
show good intent?
 
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I would say that for a high end transaction asking for full ID and what ever other info (phone number, possibly place of work, etc) is not out of the question at all.

Also, just to save yourself headache, on high dollar items I will usually only accept USPS Money Order or PayPal Gift payment.
 
Amazon payments is an excellent way to send and receive payments now because they require a full SSN.
 
Whatever buyer and seller agree on (as long as it's within the law) is acceptable. It is important, however, to be aware that different people have different views of what's very private and what's Ok to share, so working out a mutually acceptable and safe way to completing a trade may not necessarily be an easy exercise.
 
Tacohunter, I think that's why joeuser said that. In high value transactions you want to protect yourself from being scammed. (like the guy getting the package and then reversing the CC charge.)

I'm not sure DL licence is something I'd agree to. "Real" email address (@ sbcglobal, comcast, cox, etc), phone numbers for both home and work, and perhaps some form of payment that would protect me like USPS MO. MAKE SURE YOU CALL BOTH NUMBERS AND GET A REPLY EMAIL FROM REAL EMAIL ADDRESS. Don't just get them and say "I've got them in case this goes bad". Call him. Have him send you a funny pic with the email address. That way you know you are dealing with that person and not a pretender. (I'd also look up the phone number to make sure the name matches with what you've been given.)
 
Amazon payments is an excellent way to send and receive payments now because they require a full SSN.

That is why I won't do Amazon Payments. There is no need to give a SS number. A credit card number is more that enough. Giving them access to your SS number can cause any number of issues if this gets mishandled.
 
Also, just to save yourself headache, on high dollar items I will usually only accept USPS Money Order or PayPal Gift payment.

Anyone who sends you a gift payment on a high dollar item is an idiot, and USPS money order fraud is huge.
the bottom line is that a gift is not safe for the buyer , and a USPS money order is not really safe for the seller.
 
Anyone who sends you a gift payment on a high dollar item is an idiot, and USPS money order fraud is huge.
the bottom line is that a gift is not safe for the buyer , and a USPS money order is not really safe for the seller.

An USPS m.o. is safe provided that when u go to the p.o. with the mailable item and cash it at the same time they can quickly verify if its a good or fraudlent m.o. Thats the only way i will handle it.
 
I personally think driver's license is a little bit irrelevant. When I sold one of my two 6950s, the buyer got my phone number and sent me a text message, which confirmed that I am the same person. I don't quite know how this made it more secure, but it proved something for him obviously. But the thing is, even if a person shows you his driver's license or tells you his legit phone number, doesn't mean (s)he won't scam you.

I think if you're buying from someone who is not well established or you just want to be safe, send your payment with PayPal or Amazon Payments or Dwolla or Serve or *insert service here*. Or just use your credit card and you can file a chargeback if the deal is bad.
 
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I've traded phone numbers, photo ids, and signed bill of sales for high dollar items (some of the xeon procs i've sold were $1000+ trades).

Nothing says you're serious more than willing to exchange formalities such as these, and I will always insist on such measures when dealing with trades that fall into the 'if you rip me off it's a felony buddy' range.
 
I should think that any person who INTENDS to rip you off, won't want you to know ANY information that could be used to identify them... thus the idea behind the sharing of real information.

Personally, depending on the trade/purchase, I would consider the photo ID... IF the other party was willing to share theirs also. :)
 
I do when I'm trading high end guitars, it also includes several personal calls on the phone and a bit of research, i got burned on a $900 guitar once.
 
Tacohunter, I think that's why joeuser said that. In high value transactions you want to protect yourself from being scammed. (like the guy getting the package and then reversing the CC charge.)

I'm not sure DL licence is something I'd agree to. "Real" email address (@ sbcglobal, comcast, cox, etc), phone numbers for both home and work, and perhaps some form of payment that would protect me like USPS MO. MAKE SURE YOU CALL BOTH NUMBERS AND GET A REPLY EMAIL FROM REAL EMAIL ADDRESS. Don't just get them and say "I've got them in case this goes bad". Call him. Have him send you a funny pic with the email address. That way you know you are dealing with that person and not a pretender. (I'd also look up the phone number to make sure the name matches with what you've been given.)

Not everyone will have a "real" email address. I don't. I rent a room in a house and the internet is included. I haven't had a "real" email address since I graduated from college.
 
All this considered, I think some of these individuals selling stuff need to be aware that it's a risk for both parties and price accordingly. I see threads with $200 items "still in the box" selling for a $5 discount. Like a ssd for $155 that I could buy from a reputable online retailer for $160. As a buyer I'm going to pay the extra $5. After browsing the forums some I feel like sellers feel they should get %100 worth out of said item. The real fact is that if a retailer sells an item and it's brought back, but still new and working, they have to sell it now as refurbished and take a fairly big hit on it. So some advice to the sellers, if your tired of bumping your items over and over... try reducing the cost.
 
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