Any cons from getting a paypal payment from an international buyer

I was in your shoes and a little leary in doing an international sale.

Wire transfer worked for me. Paypal will charge you 3% for the transaction. MOST banks do wire transfers for free. Call them and see.

I'd advise using an savings account will a low balance so if things go south, you're checking account is safe and you didn't lose much.

Good luck,

 

I have shipped literally hundreds of international shipments and I take Paypal for them every day, never had a problem yet. Sure you could get conned, but not any moreso due to the international part. Scammers are working people for laptops and Ipods and shit like that, old car guys seem to be very good to work with no matter where they are on Earth, in my experience.

 

Funny, the car hobby does seem to have some really straight up folks. I've never been burned yet.

Of course, now that I say that I'm going to get ripped off big time. Damn you jinx!

 

The buyer can file a claim with paypal. He can also file a claim with his credit card company thats his funding on the payment to his paypal purchase. I got burned on the second. paypal is fair on disputes except when the credit card company is involved. If you loose you are out the part and shipping cost also. I ship international and have been paid with US postal and other money orders from abroad. The money orders clear fast and then I ship. Seperate banks accounts for paypal are good when you pull the money out. I pay all paypal with my credit card for secondary protection.clear as mud? I have never had a problem with japan or europe but for some reason canada has burned me twice.
I shipped some cal custom air cleaners and valve covers to canada $41 shipping. It was returned 2 months later with postage due of $41. My kid paid the $41 thinking it was a delivery for me. The buyer moved and gave me the wrong address. I told the guy it now cost $82 to send the parts again. The $41 my kid laid out and the new $41 to ship to his new address. I lost the paypal dispute. The $210 for the parts and $82 in shipping. I got the stuff back but still took in the ass for all my time and the return shipping money.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

Ok well I told the guy Ill only sell if he does wire transfers the fund from his bank to mine.

I talked to my bank and they said this is the only way it should be done.

They charge $20, but you know atleast Ill have some peace of mind. The bank actually told me they will call me and tell me when the funds are safe and sounds and there is no chance of refund.

 

paypal sucks

 

x2.

I use bank transfer for anything over $1000, anything under that I will use paypal. The bank transfer is cheaper/safer for larger purchases, my bank charges me $40 to do the transfer and $25 on the US end for taking it out. Paypal will sting you a fair bit for larger amounts.
But I do all the big stuff through a mate, he gets the money and pays when the transaction takes place.

If its parts and over $1000 we get charged tax and all that bullshit, if you can split into 2 parcels each under the $1000 it saves us about $200.

 

No paypal for cars, because the #1 scam is "seller didn't ship my item" and it's hard to produce a tracking number for shipping a car - FedEx, UPS and the Post Office don't accept them.

I don't worry about it on parts up to about $500 or so.

 

If a buyer wants a refund and files with Paypal for an "Item not as described" dispute, Paypal will give a refund for almost ANY reason these days. They say "they just want to keep the buyer happy". For those who talk about setting up a separate bank account for Paypal (not a bad idea), and taking out the money as it comes in, if the buyer gets a refund by Paypal decision, and the funds are not available in the sellers Paypal account, they will now add that amount to your ebay bill for the next month. If you dont pay that bill they will "de-register" you and you will no longer be able to bid or sell on ebay, until you clear up the money owed. If you don't do that, they will set some credit agency / bill collector on you.

A problem that an incresaing number of sellers have run into, is selling an item to an international bidder and after they receive it they find some minor problem (or invent one) and say they want a FULL refund including the return shipping otherwise they will file a complaint (item not as described dispute) with paypal/ebay, and leave you a negative. The Paypal complaint will most probably get them their full refund. The bidder will often end their message with something like: "unless you can think of some other way to fix this". That translates into: IN ORDER FOR ME TO KEEP THE ITEM AND NOT FILE FOR A DISPUTE, I WANT A SUBSTANTIAL PARTIAL REFUND. So then, in order to avoid paying for what would probably be a costly return shipping fee (especially if it was a heavy item), you play "Lets Make A Deal" with the bidder until you reach a refund price you can somehow live with. This is why a number of sellers I know, very rarely open auctions to International sellers. They tell the bidders to find a friend in the US to bid for them, and then the seller will ship it to the friend, and the friend can deal with all the problems associated with International Shipping.

Many sellers I know will no longer ship anything to some countries (Italy, Spain, Eastern Europe, Russia, China, parts of South America, Malaysia) as so many packages sent to those countries never arrive at the bidders home. It may be the bidder lying about it not arriving, or maybe the neighbor steals the package, or maybe customs or postal workers are stealing the packages, but too many sellers I know have had packages to those countries disappear, and in a good number of cases, Paypal gave the bidder a full refund and the seller was out the money and the item.

 

sometimes scammers ask to pay by paypal just so they have your correct paypal email address and send you phishing emails either saying you have been paid or asking you to log in to your account for some problem. The link in the email sends you to the wrong site that looks like the right site and they steal your log in info and your money.

I tell all my relatives: never use a link in an email to go to the paypal site. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS type in "paypal.com" in a browser and then log in. If you get an email saying you have been paid, its easy enough to verify by opening a new browser window and logging in normally, dont click through. same with an email that tells you your account has been suspended, dont rush, open a window and type in paypal.com.

If they used screwed up grammar and call it an "item" instead of what it actually is, and want to pay full price no questions asked, be very apprehensive. I listed a daughterboard for a megasquirt system on craigslist and got three phishing responses that said they would take it and what is my paypal, without even asking what version it was for. You kind of need that info to make sure you get the right one.

The age of caveat emptor is OVER. Seller beware.

 

its too bad some guys f* up for the rest im using pay pall for years as buyer and seller no problems and yes im european...

 

It works both ways though aye,I have bought alot of parts both on here and however I can bay and I also have to trust the seller doing the right thing by me also.Paypal and bankcheques seem to work for me as a buyer and as others have said most guys do the right thing.Only a couple of times has crap turned up roughly of what the desription was,almost always car guys seem to do the righty by car guys.We don't have the access to gear we need to build our cars down here so why anyone would shit in their own nest makes me wonder.
Doing the right thing is easier than being an arsehole.
My thoughts anyway.

 

paypal sucks, I sold an $800 item overseas years back.
4 MONTHS LATER, paypal determined it was fraudulent, and suck $800 out of my account without saying a word.
then treated me like I was dumb for not knowing about it.

 

Really? Not sure how much leg work you want to do, but give a few banks a call to see if they charge. Most banks have free checking and if they don't charge set up an account with $10 in it jsut for this.

Just a thought or split the difference with the seller, something. That bugs me that it is costing you $20 for the bank to do this.

 

This post is definitely one of the best in a long time. Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that currently you cannot open any EBay auctions and accept any payment other than PayPal. If that is their current policy, how do you get around it?

And for all you readers of this post who are not currently EBay sellers, don't be put off by all the horror stories. The suggestions in this post are all very sound. Once you get set up and list your first auction you will see it is very easy for a little bit of work. Plus you will clear out the garage and free up those $$ for your projects.

 

I sell on eBay and use other means outside of paypal...

 

This is alittle off subject, but I was sent an e-mail requesting my pp info. for updates on my account. At first I thought ok because it looked just like their home page, then I thought I better do some checking. Back tracked the e-mail, wast'nt pp, only a sight under construction. Alerted pp, heard back about a week later from pp, saying thanks that thousands of the e-mails were found to be sent out. I guess it was my good deed for the day because all I got was "thanks" for alerting us. Hell probally saved them thousands of dollars!...........

 

Most banks charge or don't charge for wire transfers according to how they rate you as a customer. Bank transfers are handled at bank level and you shouldn't send any bank numbers to the sellers. Bank to bank only. Talk to your bankers, up one step from the teller.

 

you can sell on ebay and get paid via cash, paypal, cashier check, wire transfer, money order, western union etc.

some sellers may require payment by paypal only, yes.
ebay however does not require payment made only via paypal.. although I'm sure those greedy scum sucker will befor long

only way I will sell outside of the U.S. now is by a bank check, money order, western union, once I have CASH in my hand, then ship out the item.

 

No sales to Maylasia, Nigeria.
No sales where he pays you extra for shipping and you refund the difference.
No sales where the item goes to a different address.

 

I have done it a couple of times selling stuff throught the on line auction site. They went smooth with currency conversion and all. Items went to Canada, England, Brazil and South America.

 

Paypal ripped me years ago .....never got my money.....FIRST TIME SHAME ON THEM, 2ND TIME SHAME ON ME FOR BEING SO DUMB, TO PARTICIPATE AGAIN......When I see an ad or Ebay item that says accept only Paypal...I avoid the item and the seller.......I DON'T CARE HOW BAD I NEED THE ITEM...ANOTHER WILL EVENTUALLY COME AVAILABLE !!!

 

I've used Western Union from Int'l buyers, they put the cash in at that end and give you a transaction number and you go to any Western Union place give them that number and name and you get cash. Buyer has no way to stop the funds after you have the cash. Best part... no PayPal handling fee.. so you get the full amount of cash...

 

send those sellers an email saying you dont have paypal and will pay by postal money order. my auctions say paypal only but if a guy emails me I will take a money order. I have really nothing to lose, paying with a money order there is no leverage to reverse the transaction because he is unhappy about something.

 

Also, the Post Office now requires a copy of the eBay receipt, to prove what it sold for. No more calling it a 'gift', and saying it is worth only $20.

 

actaully money orders are easily reversed or stop payment. maybe not after you cash them, but they are easy to stop

a cashiers check is the one you cant stop , without a bond.....

also those guys are right, ebay cant as yet require pp for payment. i accept all kinds of payments on my egay stuff, but i have to admit i do like the speed at which you get paid with pp


skull

 

Ive sent bank cheques, money orders and Paypal for the last 8 years from New Zealand to USa and never once had a bad deal with the financial transaction
Paypal suits me as the seller gets his money as soon as I hit the "pay" button and to me thats important because it signals my honestly and integrity. fFrom my point of view my rating on Ebay and the like is very important to me as it says I am a reputable trader and that has a higher importance for me down under than anything else. Some guys will not deal with over seas buyers yet on looking at my feedback etc I've been allowed to "do the deal".
I suppose its like everything else - there are those who are genuine and then there are those who are a darker shade of dirty grey

 

Also, the Post Office now requires a copy of the eBay receipt, to prove what it sold for. No more calling it a 'gift', and saying it is worth only $20.

wrong. the post office has no way of knowing what is or is not an ebay sale or the value of any particular item.


From my point of view my rating on Ebay and the like is very important to me as it says I am a reputable trader and that has a higher importance for me down under than anything else. Some guys will not deal with over seas buyers yet on looking at my feedback etc I've been allowed to "do the deal".

buyer feedback means nothing since they can no longer get a neg from a seller. all buyers are 100%... or is it different overseas.?

 

direct transfer into your account is #1 way to do it. paypal blows. they have been forging all types of money orders these days even usps ones. most people i have spoken to have seperate account for these types of transactions because the "cybercrooks" are getting better on a daily basis.

 

NO! NO! NO!

I don't care what PayPal tells you, or what other less-experienced people tell you. You have a huge risk.

eBay Powerselling for ten years has shown me many of the dangers that they deny exist.

For overseas shipping you will receive a different kind of tracking number that PayPal computers do not recognize as a tracking number.

YES, I have had that happen. Don't let your buddies say it doesn't.

Insuring it does NOT get you your money back if the shipper says it got there, but the buyer says it didn't.
You still lose. YES, that happens even when your buddies say it doesn't.

ESPECIALLY when a credit card is involved.

That is exactly why PayPal will no longer allow the seller to know if a card, or which credit card, is involved.
You used to be able to decline certain payments if you think the info makes it sound risky. They changed that into NOT allowing you to know anything you can use to make a judgement call as to whether it is a safe payment or not.
You can still get a chargeback months later, even if you think you have withdrawn the money and have safely put it in your pocket.
There is little or nothing you can do to get your money or parts back.

I know there will be many who say it is safe because they didn't get hit yet.
Just because someone tells you "ok so far" doesn't mean they won't get hit.

That is why I only accept PayPal payments for things I can afford to lose.
There will always be a percentage of people who will steal from you no matter how "nice" you are.
More often than not, that type of person will head straight for those services or situations where they know the seller is bent over a barrel.