Beware of Paypal payments

8 February 2016, 03:55 UTC

So I learned something recently that unfortunately is going to scare people away from selling their used or new boards for anything but cash locally. I had a buyer come and pick up a board and pay me Paypal instant payment on the spot. The payment was excepted so after a few minutes or so I gave him the board. So the story goes his girlfriend thought it was fraud and cancelled it. He had a credit card hooked up with his PayPal account. So stay with me... it all worked out. The guy was on the up and up and sent me another payment through a wire transfer... I dodged a bullet and this is why... I found this out through PayPal. If you don't mail the person the board (with a signature conformation and insurance) you have zero proof they got it. If they want to say I never went over there and picked it up or I'm not the one who signed for it you will get a charge back and Paypal will take the money straight from your account till its resolved! Worse yet, if you mail a new board and they say they got it but its broken and mail you a used broken board back you have zero recourse but to fight it for up to a month or longer. Paypal will just pull the money instantly from you bank account till its settled and they will likely side with the buyer. I only say this because I've had friends who have been burned and it sucks. I am super careful and it almost happened to me. So be careful when selling... These boards are expensive and I would hate to see anyone here get ripped off.

8 February 2016, 06:37 UTC

don't let them pay you with paypal "purchase" an item... have them pay you as "pay a friend or family" - that has no buyer's protection..

8 February 2016, 14:26 UTC

Gift payment still doesn't protect if the buyer calls it fraud. Have a look yourself. Paypal will charge it back instantly and you will be stuck trying to prove to PayPal why they sent you a gift in the first place. Its crazy! @tomtnt

8 February 2016, 15:21 UTC

This post is deleted!

8 February 2016, 18:19 UTC

@Willy from paypal "Payments sent through the Friends and Family option are not eligible for Buyer Protection at this time.

If you are paying for an item, goods, or service, we strongly recommend against marking it as Friends and Family."

8 February 2016, 18:54 UTC

Yep, been there done that, only use PayPal/eBay to sell things you don't care to lose.

There's a lot of scammers out there that use this to get big discounts,as a seller you end up either issuing a refund and hope whatever it was is returned and not damaged or submit to their demands for partial refund..

Either ready you get screwed..

8 February 2016, 19:45 UTC

I've decided to just use paypal for things that are not that expensive or for things actually sold on Ebay. Then you are protected if you do signature conformation. ALWAYS DO SIGNATURE CONFORMATION!

5 November 2018, 00:47 UTC

I'm on the lookout for a OW, and I've been checking craigslist areas out of my state. I was thinking that I would go through PayPal when I find the right sale etc.

Does anyone think this is a bad idea?
How else can I (and the seller) make a safe/secure payment?

I obviously don't want to get scammed and I don't want the seller to be afraid of me.

5 November 2018, 01:39 UTC

@zapp what state are you in? I found a local guy in California selling pretty cheap. I met up with him and used Venmo to pay him.

5 November 2018, 15:33 UTC

@tomfoolery I'm located in MN so there are some sales for the OW, but when looking around online I can usually find a much better deal.

I have venmo, but I'll have to check out their dispute/scam help page.