PayPal and sale of private goods

SweetCaliber

Hi all,

Need some advice,

Sold an item through adverts a while back, it was a Christmas present. Buyer paid through PayPal. Today the buyer contacts me saying the item is not as described, that parts of the item are not working and has tried to get refund using the receipt but wouldn't work. The buyer is now threatening to open a PayPal case to get the money back if I do not give it back.

My problem is, the item was sent back before Christmas, there was no problems with the item, I never sell anything that is in bad condition unless I state in the description and I most certainly would never sell something that doesn't work. But it's only now the buyer is contacting me?

I obviously am not going to refund the buyer, maybe if this was brought to attention back around Christmas when the product was received, but what will PayPal do in this case?

Any advice is welcomed. Thanks!

stronglikebull

Paypal will almost always side with a buyer, as sellers have pretty much no protection. If the buyer files a dispute, which they have 180 days from date of sale to do, then Paypal will ask them to return the item to you. If it's not in the original condition that you sold it in, then it would be up to you to prove that the buyer broke it. This could be difficult, or impossible. Once returned to you, the buyer will be given a refund by Paypal and there's pretty much nothing you can do to stop it.

Spocker

So who has the item? If the buyer sent it back unannounced, and you say it's fine, why did you not get in touch with them to see what the problem was?

If you have the item and it's OK (and thus the opportunity to sell it again) who not refund the buyer the cost, perhaps minus an inconvenience fee?

L1011

If they just sent you cash personally through PayPal it doesn't have buyer protection

A Dub in Glasgo

Always insist on Paypal gift payments for this kind of stuff

stronglikebull

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

Always insist on Paypal gift payments for this kind of stuff

As a seller, that's the only way to protect yourself, but as a buyer, I'd never pay with a gift payment. Paypal makes it too easy to scam in either direction, if you know what you're doing.

Stravos Murphy

PayPal has moved its direction thankfully, they are backing the seller a little more and rightly so. We pay them enough commission, sick of people opening cases to item as not described.

D0NNELLY

I'm selling a something on adverts at the minute. Buyer asks would i take credit card as he's no cash.
I told him no, but that he might be able to load his PayPal from his credit card and pay that way..
He comes back with offering the full €1650 through PayPal, but has no feedback or history on adverts..



Is this dodgy as fuk?

nava

D0NNELLY wrote: »

I'm selling a something on adverts at the minute. Buyer asks would i take credit card as he's no cash.
I told him no, but that he might be able to load his PayPal from his credit card and pay that way..
He comes back with offering the full €1650 through PayPal, but has no feedback or history on adverts..



Is this dodgy as fuk?

For that amount of money I would ask cash or bank transfer.

If you decide to use paypal you will have a pay the commission for receiving money on Paypal so you won't receive the €1650, make sure you post the item register item with tracking number or get him on paypal to send cash to friend (he will have no protection so he might not want to) he pays the commission but could not open a dispute on Paypal.

A Dub in Glasgo

D0NNELLY wrote: »

I'm selling a something on adverts at the minute. Buyer asks would i take credit card as he's no cash.
I told him no, but that he might be able to load his PayPal from his credit card and pay that way..
He comes back with offering the full €1650 through PayPal, but has no feedback or history on adverts..



Is this dodgy as fuk?

I would not do it unless it was Paypal gift. If not, you are the one playing the commission and you are the one taking the risk, not paypal or the buyer. With that kind of transaction, I would insist on meeting up and accepting cash only / bank transfer

stronglikebull

D0NNELLY wrote: »

I'm selling a something on adverts at the minute. Buyer asks would i take credit card as he's no cash.
I told him no, but that he might be able to load his PayPal from his credit card and pay that way..
He comes back with offering the full €1650 through PayPal, but has no feedback or history on adverts..



Is this dodgy as fuk?

If that's a stolen credit card, or Paypal account, there's nothing you can do to stop them taking the money back when the fraud is uncovered. Whether that's a gift payment or not, it'll be taken back from you. That's unless you are covered by Paypal's seller protection, which as far as I understnad, is not great.

https://www.paypal.com/ie/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security

• To get covered by PayPal’s Seller Protection, your transaction must be marked as eligible in your PayPal account and in the confirmation email.
• You must have shipped the item to the buyer's address provided by PayPal in the transaction details and the payment for the item must have been made in full in one payment from a PayPal account.
• For unauthorized payments, you'll have to provide a proof of shipment, and if your buyer claims he didn’t receive his item, we'll ask you for a proof of delivery.
• Additionally, you must maintain a certain standard of performance to benefit from the seller protection, which includes a low number of complaints and chargebacks in relation to the number of payments you have received.

So I'd be very careful about Paypal payments for large amounts of money from someone with no feedback history. Cash is king in this case. Meet in person with the product. For large amounts of money, it would be worth the bus fare, or drive.

Cian_123

L1011 wrote: »

If they just sent you cash personally through PayPal it doesn't have buyer protection

Does this mean through friends and family?

ED E

Cian_123 wrote: »

Does this mean through friends and family?

Exactly.