Bon Soir,
Does anyone know how to buy from Le Boncoin?
I've seen an item I would like to buy but there doesn't appear to be an option to do so.
Would welcome any guidance.
Merci,
Jk
like that: "Apply some psychology to the way the question is answered." as we came few times and then there was suddenly no carte d' grise... (LBC is still a good source when looking for old timers in the South, not totally eaten by corrosion etc.) When it comes to trailers its easier. When it comes to Cameras its helpful to be careful and have the serial # with high end devices to check before if it hasn't "fallen from the truck" as Nikon and Leica are informing the registered buyer when send for service. But generally I've had more good experiences with LBC then any other sales platform.
Good point Theo. But you get more choice near a large conurbation, though items sell quicker there. If you have some experience of looking at LBC ads you can often read between the lines. When going any distance, we always ask the seller if they would not sell to anyone else until we have had a chance to see the item and if there is anything we should know about it that could save us a wasted journey. Apply some psychology to the way the question is answered.
Carl is right, once the money changes hands, there is no return and no refund. In that respect, eBay is better. I have always had refunds when the item had been mis-described. But with LBC you can actually inspect the item, so it's your own problem if you buy something you are not sure about.
Did a 100km round trip for my trailer. Nice ride in the countryside. Very pleased with the purchase. Didn't even try to haggle, it was a very fair price.
All depends as you say. We drove 7 hours to get a 406 estate car with genuine super low Km's. Worth it for the car plus we got a night away which is a sort of holiday I guess,but some stuff is awful it's true.
I sold a little old powered wheelchair on LBC and the dude rang up over 3 months later saying it was "not charging very well" and he (seriously) wanted a full refund.
When we explained that he had to be kidding we started receiving threatening phone calls from various members of his family.
It only stopped when my son told him that unless the phone calls stopped we were going to the police.
It's a funny old world.
Just want to add here: the goods are sometimes in a pretty bad shape, so if you don't get something close enough, counting travelling e.g. 200 or more km, its worth to wait. There is always something coming up. Never go for the first occasion.
Just a little update on LBC.
I have been looking for a trailer. As with any auction, it pays to do some research before plunging in. So, over about a week, I watched what was going on, taking note of prices and how long trailers took to sell. My conclusions were that the smallest trailers are hard to shift, but anything around 1.5 metres long is much in demand by bricoleurs and tradesmen and a good one can go for around 400€. So, when I saw one on LBC offered for 220€, I got on the phone straight away. The lady who answered apologized and told us that someone was towing it away at that very moment.
An hour later, the same trailer appeared on LBC (with a better set of photos) priced at 420€! It seems that a good living can be made, looking out for under-priced items.
So be warned, find out what other people are getting for similar items, before putting anything up for sale.
I finally got a trailer at a very reasonable price, but not such a bargain as the one I just missed.
LBC tends to cover quite wide areas and firewood suppliers don't like delivering over long distances.
Best bet is to ask around locally. If the supplier is any good, he probably doesn't need to advertise.
I have used it and successfully .... Anybody know if its a good place to buy wood for the our woodburner ?
Yes, Kirsten, sold a couple of weeks ago ;-)
Did you sell it Andrew? I clicked on the link and it said the announcement had been taken down.
Yes, bought a car for well below dealers' price. But, like any business transaction, you have to take reasonable care.
I am now looking for a cheap trailer and will probably find one nearby on LBC.
The great advantage is that the vendor shows a picture and states his selling price. Not always the case with small ads. which can result in a lot of time wasting.
I sold my MGTF using Le Bon Coin, it's brilliant and if you use their online site you have the option to link to any area in France. The buyer for my car came all the way by train from Bourges. Over the years I've bought and sold many items.
Have purchased quite a lot of things, never have had a problem but I always was picking up the product myself. "Listen to your guts" has absolut priority... You will figure it out when you talk to the seller if something is fishy and you actually have a time waster. If you are not sure don't purchase!! You must stick to this rule because its basically impossible by law (sales private to private) to return the goods. But there are often lot of really very good deals on Leboncion.
Celine Dion...........I'll give you a quid but will expect the change!
On a more serious note, I found a car for my son and it was a good, but not too good to be true price. I replied saying I was interested but did not provide my e-mail as requested but preferred to go through the website. When I got no reply, I investigated further and found the same car in almost every department in France!! Goodness knows what the scam was?
no more difficult getting a mortgage in France than in the UK, I've hed them in both countries. The lending rules are rather different although I've heard the UK is now far more like France with far tighter lending requirements.
Have bought and sold numerous times using leboncoin - 5 sales, 6 purchases - all but one were french.
I tend to be very suspicious of some contact details and people with no avatar ;)
I found a scam with renting apartments for my student son, which happily we didn't fall for.
They say they are not local to the flat they are renting so to avoid the disappointment of broken rendez vous they ask for a deposit of the 1st months rent which they will return to you when you turn up at the RDV!! Yeah like that's going to happen. They often don't even own the flat they are trying to rent they just use photos from estate agents websites and place the rental price slightly under the norm to make you think it's a great bargain.
Also beware of Rental agents who say the one you want has gone but if you come in and sign up they can sell you the list of available properties to rent
Is there not a phone number for or button to email the seller somewhere on the posting? I use them often. Just bought a great Godin stove for 450 euros and a new Mantis rototiller for 300 on Le Bon Coin.