A Paypal Offer - Is This Secure?


Hi All,

I am selling a CAT amplifier and have a paypal offer from a buyer who has very little feedback (only one transaction) and does not speak english well and communicates only small bits of information at a time. I am nervous about this. I spoke with paypal and they told me that as long as:

1) I am selling something of substance
2) I ship to the paypal address, no other address
3) I can document the shipping of the product

I am protected as a seller. If this is true, I should be able to accept his offer and make sure that I am shipping to the address listed in paypal, and I should be fine shipping pilot air insured (with tracking and all, including photos of packing, etc). What do you guys think? Is this too much of a risk, or not really a risk at all?
peter_s
That's why if you are a seller, a pure bank transfer or cash is best. If you are a buyer, you want paypal in order to have recourse in the event of a problem.
Gpgr4blu

LOL,
So if you are a seller, for safety, you should not use Paypal.
If you are a buyer, for safety, you should use Paypal.

Makes sense to me.... LOL.
You must keep a small seperate account for paypal and never leave any money in it. Ship the item after the funds post to your account. You may lose a case with paypal but they can't take money out of an account that has nothing in it. Just be careful. I'd never pay for something with a check or money order unless it was sent C.O.D. If the seller doesn't ship, you may lose out. I have a good amount of transactions on ebay but I'll be the first to say that the buyers have way too much power when it comes to just changing their minds about a purchase. There needs to be an all sales are final (except D.O.A.) option and if it is not checked by the buyer, they are blocked from bidding or buying. In other words, if the unit works, no buyers remorse or excuses for finding an item that is being offered for less a few days later.
You must keep a small seperate account for paypal and never leave any money in it. Ship the item after the funds post to your account. You may lose a case with paypal but they can't take money out of an account that has nothing in it.
03-20-13: Polk432

Polk432,

but,.....

Muzikat posted,

03-19-13: Muzikat
Paypal is my preferred way, however it is not foolproof. I recently had
trouble with a buyer, he wrongly claimed a piece of gear I sold him did not
work several weeks after receiving it. It did work.
Well he started a dispute on Paypal. They usually take the buyer's side.
Long story short, Paypal put my account into a negative balance for two
months until all was sorted out. I got the piece back and just as I said,
worked perfectly. Paypal just took his word that it didn't.
It appears Paypal can get blood from a Turnip.
.
Indeed, I keep a separate bank account for Paypal only. I also keep a very small balance there until I need to make a purchase.
The thing is, after a dispute Paypal deducts amount of sale from seller's account. If it is negative, then you must bring your account up to zero, then ad funds if you want to make a purchase elsewhere while this is going on. That was over 2 months in my case.
I also keep a seperate account just for Paypal. I transfer funds from Paypal into that account, and then from that account to another account. I keep a zero balance in the Paypal account. Yes, as Muzikat shows, you can let Paypal bully you into using their services, but you don't have to.
Depending on how much $$$ and what I thought of the buyer, I could live with a negative balance on Paypal, and just stop using that Paypal account if I had to. Maybe set up another Paypal account with a different e-mail address and bank account if I was desperate. Leave that negative Paypal account rot into eternity. :)