Paypal question (security)

[jussi]

How secure is paypal for the seller. I placed an ad on CL and someone out of state emailed me saying he'd like to buy it. It didn't sound like the normal scam and he had a sig with his name, job, phone number etc. He said he could pay paypal or money order. Scams I've seen are usually done with personal checks. My question is, if I go ahead and ask he pay via paypal and I verify that the funds are there, is there any way for the funds to magically disappear in a couple of days. That's how I hear the scam works with personal checks.

Or would it be safer to ask for a USPS money order?

[LCHIEN]

i would think paypal is pretty secure for the seller. The seller just has to wait for confirmation from paypal that the buyer has paid, Paypal is reputable and reliable that you'll get your money after that. The buyer has more at risk, he has to trust that you will send the item even after he has paid. He has some avenues to get his money back, but its a pain if he has to do that.

If I were selling something, I'd be happy that the buyer has offered to use paypal. The only negative woud be the commission, you pay. If he buys a money order, you get all the transaction amount, but he pays the MO commission/fee.

[cgallery]

You aren't selling a Delta 10" bandsaw by any chance, are you?

[MikeMcCoy]

I do quite a bit of sales via paypal and haven't had a problem. I won't ship till I get the confirmation though (unless it's someone from BT3 )

[Uncle Cracker]

Once the money hits your Paypal account, that's pretty much it. They are pretty diligent about that, particularly if the buyer has not tied a bank account to their PP account. There are some fake MO scams out there, though.

[Schleeper]

I have a lot of experience using Paypal, both from the buyer and seller side, and I've never had any problems. It's the most convenient way to do business online, by far.

Sellers who've been "scammed" are ones that have had funds in their Paypal account held pending resolution of a buyer dispute stemming from items damaged or lost in transit. If a buyer says they didn't receive an item, and the seller can't prove it was delivered, Paypal returns the buyer's funds and deducts it from the seller's account. I'm not a big fan of that policy, myself, but I've never had to deal with a chargeback to my account.

If a buyer requests that you ship to an address other than the one on their Paypal account, that's a possible red flag. The buyer may have gained access to someone's Paypal account.

Bottom line: Only ship to the confirmed address on the Paypal account, make sure you get some form of delivery confirmation, and you'll be fine.

[Alex Franke]

I sell and buy a lot through PayPal, too. Not a single problem so far.

[jussi]

You aren't selling a Delta 10" bandsaw by any chance, are you?

Nope, not my ad.

[jussi]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll probably hold out a little longer for a local buyer but I feel safer about using Paypal now.