Selling with PayPal goods & services

Pacifico

Hi, I’ve sold an item (around €300) and the seller has paid via PayPal goods and services. Normally I take payment as friends and family but buyer wanted to send it as G&S which is fine!

Is there any ways to mitigate me possibly being scammed as the seller? I’ve read some stuff online about people selling on eBay and the buyer claiming the box was empty or the item damaged and PayPal just issuing a judgment against the seller no questions asked.

Now I’ve no reason the doubt the buyer but just want to cover myself if there is anything in particular I should do before sending the item?!

Thanks

con747

Sign your name over the seals after taking pictures of the item being boxed. Or something similar.

Corvus Libros

Send it by a fully tracked and signed-for service. That will give you PayPal's seller protection and they will find in your favour if the buyer opens an "item not received" case. You may want to insure the package against loss or damage.

eBay skews towards taking the buyer's word, but PayPal is usually fair to the seller if you follow their recommendations.

You can't completely insulate yourself against being scammed. You just have to trust the buyer. If you sold it on eBay or another site with feedback, check whether they normally buy items of that value. Check the feedback they left for others. If they are belligerent or fault-finding, just cancel the order.

Make sure they're aware of any faults. Go to the extent of almost exaggerating the faults so that when they see it they feel they got better than they paid for. If they think you hid something from them, they might feel scammed and try to scam you in return.

If they message you at any point, take the time to be friendly, helpful and sympathetic to their concerns. That can defuse any problems. A lot of what people call "scams" are mistakes and miscommunication that can be fixed.

Pacifico

Thanks for the replies. Buyer got the item today and was happy so I was worrying about nothing!