Seeing some of the dubious deals happening around us, I was wondering why we can’t have our own PayPal kind of system? Where the amount is held by a third party and is released only after the buyer has given him a green signal or after a fixed span of time, if the buyer has not reverted.

I have a rudimentary operational  plan in mind:

Step 1 : A nominated member (with a long standing membership, good track record and trader feedback) opens a bank account and the details are conveyed to all members on the forum. We will call this member ‘X’ (How  unique!)

Step 2:  Whenever a deal is finalized between a buyer and a seller, X is notified on the open forum and via PM.

Step 3: Buyer transfers funds to ‘X’ account.

Step 4: X acknowledges receipt and informs both parties.

Step 5: Seller forwards goods to the Buyer and keeps X in the loop.

Step 6: Buyer receives goods, inspects and informs X in writing (Open forum + PM) to release payment.

Step 7: X releases payment and transfers funds to Seller.

Few  additional points:

This entire deal has to be 100% transparent. Bank charges for transferring funds have to be included while paying X. X may also charge a nominal fee for the services rendered based on the total value of the transaction. In case the buyer does not revert after a considerable amount of time after he receives the item (say 14 days or so), the money will be automatically transferred to the Seller.

X will also be trusted with the responsibility of reporting any double dealing if it comes to his notice.

What does everybody think about this?

It will be up to the Administrator to decide if this system is made mandatory for ALL deals generated on the forum, or whether parties can opt to complete certain transactions on their own.

Good Idea

The responsibility can be quite overwhelming for Mr. X.

gr8 idea, if he  (Mr X) is going to do this, he should get some service charges for it, which will cover his taxes, time taken for answering emails, sorting out claims if any as well. if ebay is charging 5%, it can be reduced to may be in half,

second thing that comes to my mind is, is it legally covered, Rao, Divay ur thoughts are required

Sunlikestar, not exactly. This person, could log into his bank account once everyday and complete all the transfers that are pending. Unless we are talking about 25 + transactions each day! I don't see that kind of traffic here.

Yes WingCo, 2.5% seems just about right. What about the tax liabilities emerging from having such amounts transferred into and out of an account? I have no idea about this.

Suggestion: 
If the load of responsibilities on "Mr. X" increases. We could choose people (may be 3 to 5 as "Mr. X") to form a committee.
Sorry VC sir coz, then "Mr.X" would not remain "unique" any more but That way we can minimize the load on any particular  "Mr. X".

A question which could rise in anybody's mind after reading above suggestion:

Q.1  It would make it more complicated and confusing. We could not remember all the contact and account details of every "Mr. X" as everybody has a whole set of other things to remember.  How would I choose that which "Mr.X" would supervise my trade?

Ans.   Further we can divide the responsibilities to each "Mr.X" region wise. I mean each "Mr. X" would represent the individual region like South, North, East, West and central India. More briefly, the states Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi would fall under East India Region and the only "Mr. X" who is representing East Indian Region will manage the responsibilities relating to these states. Like wise we can distribute all the states to the appropriate "Mr. X." This way every buyer would not have to remember all the account details of every "Mr. X" and would transfer money in the account of particular "Mr. X" of his region and also this will not create a confusion of "which "Mr. X" would supervise my transaction.


"Our own Paypal kind of system" is by the way a good initiative and should be made operative as well. I don't know if My suggestion would work here or not, But its better to share the opinions than sitting on the last bench in the class. After all we are living in India and everybody has the right to freely speak in public. Sorry if I said something rudely.

Thank you all.
 

It would be simpler to use Paisa Pay (eBay) !!  

Thanks Sumeet. I had mentioned right at the beginning, that this was a "rudimentary operational plan". It is good if others come up with constructive suggestions, such as yours, we can have an efficient system in place.

However, implementing it, if at all, will remain at the discretion of the Administrator.

Those who are suggesting Ebay, should be aware that there is a 5% charge payable there. This point has been raised and negated in an earlier post by Wing Co Augustine.

Pl read the entire thread before posting your one liners.

While I appreciate the thought process behind this, I would not get involved in anything of this sort unless I were to do it or someone I personally know (and trust) is doing it.  Reasons are obvious. 

The tax/legal implications sure need to be studied, especially if the person is making any sort of margin (even if it is a "service charge").

The practicality of this scheme is dependent on the number of high value transactions, so first we have to see if there are many such transactions (especially since we are only trying to reduce a 5% cut to something lower).

It is not only about reducing the 5% cut. It is about creating a system that is fool proof.  Many may not want the hassle of registering with Ebay for a single transaction. Regular sellers / buyers like RCforallin and myself  have registered accounts.

I understand your worries about entrusting this responsibility to a trustworthy enough person. Your concern is entirely justified. That's why I left the dirty work to you.

"However, implementing it, if at all, will remain at the discretion of the Administrator."

Q.E.D.