Woman murdered selling on Mercado Libre

[Davidglen77]

Very sadly a woman was murdered yesterday by potential buyers of an LCD television listed on mercado libre.
http://www.infobae.com/notas/604273...a-venta-de-un-LCD-por-internet-en-Flores.html
Last month, when I liquidated the merchandise and items in my store, I used Mercado Libre to sell several items, however I did not accept money in hand for ANY sales. I made everyone PAY PRIOR TO COMING TO "SEE" items by Mercado Pago, and I always let other people I knew that I had potential buyers coming to see things and never would allow anyone to enter with me there alone. Several people protested this but I wouldn't let my guard down and only accepted offers from people who would pay for what I was selling by Mercado Pago. It's risk free for everybody as they don't release the money to you until 14 days after the transaction is completed and if you are selling honestly then nobody should have an objection. Being from New York City and having seen and heard of so many cases of people being robbed and murdered by letting people into their home, I never ever trust this scenario without precautions. Back in the 1980s, 2 young men from my neighborhood in New York were murdered by a potential client for a used car they were selling.
You may end up paying a bank fee or tax having the money deposited in your account however consider this life insurance.
Do not allow strangers into your home for any reason, it's too risky!

 

[French jurist]

Sad indeed. There's a method to reduce the risks if you sell just one valuable thing on Mercadolibre : set-up an appointment in a shopping mall (like on the top floor of Alto Palermo where you have all the restaurants) = it takes more than a minute to exit to the street, plenty of people & security guards. That can make one more serene when it comes to inspect the bills also (go to the US Fed website or whatever to find the details to check out on dollars, too lazy to find the link).

 

[AngelinBA]

I thought my husband was being paranoid when he wouldn´t let me do the ´handover´of my carpet sold on mercadolibre from our own building. I had to wheel the thing in our baby´s pushchair to my work (a whooooole 2 blocks away! Whew!). While I had heard of the risks, I just assumed ¨this wouldn´t happen to me¨. The transaction was fine, of course, but hearing about this woman brings home the reality of the risks of selling online!

 

[rockinkaj]

Am I blind .. I did not see anything saying anything about Mercadolibre only that it had been on the Internet.

 

[CarverFan]

This other article mentions mercadolibre http://www.eldia.com.ar/edis/20110908/hablo-marido-mujer-asesinada-20110908104327.htm

 

[xibeca]

Check if the buyer has good reputation instead. If they don't, then you can be paranoid.

 

[notebook.fix]

Check if the buyer has good reputation instead. If they don't, then you can be paranoid.

It's not just their score & the feedback that you should be checking..also how long they have been a member for... any criminal can rack up a quick score/good feedback in a couple of months.

But most importantly, NEVER allow your physical address or your land line telephone number to show up on the automatic email that goes out to the buyer once they hit the buy button....only your mobile tel number, and make sure the mobile number doesn't list your address either.

Always get them to deposit into your account before they come to get their item & when ever possible, meet them outside in a busy public location like a coffee shop or street corner at least a block or two away from your place.
When you arrange to meet them ask them to describe how they'll be identified without telling them what you will be wearing etc, this gives you that extra advantage of at least being able to check them out before you approach them to complete the transaction....the buyers normally don't take offense & are usually very understanding about it. This is the way most private sellers/buyers operate with mercadolibre.

It's a pain, but you have to follow procedure in order to minimize the risk.

 

[elclandestino]

Noone knows where I sleep. Don't mind strangers with whom I might exchange services or goods

 

[xibeca]

any criminal can rack up a quick score/good feedback in a couple of months.

More witnesses that can pick them out from a line-up. Not even criminals are that stupid.

The reality is that very few people get robbed on Mercadolibre. It happens because there are millions of people living in this city.