I only read this first couple pages of this thread. Been using PayPal since 2003, and over the years this is what I've learned. PayPal is usually great if you're buying, however, can get ugly real quick if you're selling! I speak from experience. That said, if you pay through PayPal, you are not protected as a BUYER (yes, buyer) on an item IF you pick it up locally. Last, but certainly not least, as a seller, never accept payment for a vehicle through PayPal, not even just the deposit, even if the buyer is willing to pay the seller's fee! Especially if it's through that one auction site! I've read about horror stories of how buyers get their money back for the car and keep the car as well!
I've had a few buyers try to rip me off through ebay and paypal..Having a stellar reputation helps ones cause and being determined to fight it to the end always helps.Also,no friends and family, and have an email trail that matches the email address of the buyer.
Best use of PayPal for me has been its use with the first with cash sellers that are 3-4 hours away that I am picking up from. I’ll see something I want and after years of getting burned by sellers who won’t hold a item even after I drive 4 hours to pick it up, I ask if the seller accepts PayPal and send the money, print a copy and while heading up to get check for confirmation it’s been received. If they try the old line of someone got there before me I have proof they got my money and either I get my parts or the cops get involved. No problems yet.
Sorry, I did not read through all 155 posts but I have been using Paypal since it first started before eBay owned it. It has come a long way since the beginning. My main suggestion for anyone just signing up. IMPORTANT open a second bank account strictly for your PayPal account. Why? Because PayPal is not a bank and normal banking rules do not apply for them. By having it separate, a freeze to the account (which can happen with some disputes) will not affect your day to day finances. Ours is free and we have to keep $30 in it to keep it active. The nice thing about paying by PayPal when possible is the vender/store does not have your credit card number they can keep on file only to have it hacked sometime down the road. Ryan is right, PayPal is safest, not perfect, but pretty good.
Not sure how long ago your last bad experience was I have a stellar rep too, and ebay rep said so themselves I ( I talked to 5 ebay reps and they told me they need buyers first )but luckily I got the part back though buyer tried to get a refund NOW and I said not until I got the item back. I am still out shipping . I probably should have called the his local police dept.
To put things in perspective, when you bought parts advertised by manufacturers in HOT ROD in the sixties, you filled out a coupon, got a money order and sent it in. If you used a personal check, nothing was shipped until the check cleared the seller's bank. It could take a couple of weeks for that to happen before the computer era. Never had a bad experience with PayPal as a buyer or seller.
I am in my 70's and still use a flip phone! That being said, I do have a Pay Pal account and it is the best, quickest, and safest way to do business. IMO I just had an experience with a Ford Barn guy that only wanted a USPO check. He has been on the F/B a long time so I did it. The stuff I bought was totally misrepresented. I did get my money back but it took awhile and many emails etc. He was in no hurry. Would it have been better with PayPal? I don't know but I would have felt better with them in my corner. I was still out shipping etc. that I felt I should have received because the guy lied. Anyway first time I have had an issue with anyone from F/B or HAMB. Have met many great people from both sites over the years. I guess there is one in every crowed.
I would imagine that a computer dude could fix it so that the only people able to access the 'Wanted' section are those that have at least 100posts or some other method of establishing bonafides. I figure there are maybe 2 different scammers, maybe just one and all he does is change his name after every scam, that 'Wanted' section is his feeding ground and it should be denied to him. I agree and firmly believe that paypal is the best way to make a transaction but I would make every effort to make the market is as safe as possible, the payment method should be the last safety guard.
Every transaction has the potential to be scammed from one end or the other. To be paranoid about PayPal but trust another like cash or money order is illogical. You should probably just up and quit using the internet if you're that paranoid. I hope you don't have a newer "smart" television. That's not true. In fact, you can see more than a year's worth of past transactions. 1) Log in to your PayPal account via a personal computer, not a phone. 2) Click on the "Activity" link at the top of the page. 3) Click on the icon that looks like a calendar in the box marked "Start" in the upper left portion of the page. 4) Click on the "Last Year" ****on at the right of the dialog that pops out of the "Start" box. Someone other than you cannot withdraw funds from your PayPal account without your authorization/confirmation. If you've provided them with your log-in information (p***word), or if they've somehow else gained access to your account by phishing or correctly guessing your p***word reset questions, then that's a different situation caused by your negligence. A second bank account solely for PayPal usage is unnecessary. PayPal will not (cannot) withdraw funds from your bank account if a payment is disputed. In order for PayPal to withdraw funds from your bank account, you must initiate the transaction. PayPal will, however, put your PayPal account balance in the negative if it does not have sufficient funding to cover the disputed amount or freeze your PayPal account entirely, which will prevent you from sending any funds via PayPal until you've rectified the negative balance. Should you decide that you'll simply never pay the negative balance, PayPal will then try to obtain the amount using a collections agency. PayPay cannot "freeze" your bank checking account and prevent you from normal day-to-day usage of said checking account. Without a doubt. I'd guess the Pro-PayPal vs. Never-PayPal delineation age is somewhere in the early/mid-40s, corresponding with the age group that was the first real users of the internet. Of course, there will be a few outliers in both directions here and there. Put me in the Pro-PayPal (or similar) crowd. Heck, I'd even accept a crypto-currency.
Guess I've been lucky so far on the HAMB but all of my dealings have gone well. However scammers are hard at work out there, I've seen members who have been banned from here because of shady dealings simply change their name and location and they're back in business here. Others ask for strange payment methods. Do your homework and if possible have a conversation with them about the part or payment method before you spend your hard earned cash. Thanks to Ryan for keeping us informed on the scammers!
I just listed something for the first time in 5 months.Why? Because Ebay admitted my last bad experience was their fault.With almost 6000 feedbacks and 3 undeserved negatives since May of '97, I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Ryan: If you want to verify the story, I can give you David's contact info. To all: My friend David has sold more than four-thousand items on ebay. His advice to safe selling is to: (1) Follow the rules, if you try to get around the 3% fee by saying it's a "gift", you lose your ebay protection. (2) If you're shipping the item overseas, use ebay's Global Shipping Program. Once the item is in their hands you're covered. Also, don't undervalue the item on the Customs do***ent, it may get you into trouble if the item is lost or damaged. (3) If you have a problem or question use the "Community" tab located at the bottom of the ebay homepage. Lots of great information there. (4) Never ship without insurance or tracking. I'm going to add one more: (5) Before shipping the item, check the buyer's feedback. If it looks like they are a sack of snakes void the sale, report the buyer and then block the buyer from bidding in the future. Damn, one more (6) In your ad, take the time to describe every little nit-picky flaw , scratch or ding, and follow it up with pictures. Gives the seller less of a chance to complain about the item.
Gahrajmahal has great advice when it comes to setting up an ebay account at the bank. One morning my brother and his wife woke up to find out they were broke. Someone had hacked their Paypal account, which was backed by their checking account which was backed by their savings account. In other words, one account fed the other until all the money was gone. The lesson here is to make sure your ebay account is completely separate from all your other accounts, checking and saving.
well...just maybe the reason I have a hoard of stuff....kinda do like the PayPal thingie even if there is a lot of resistant HAMB'r folks.....usually just do swap meets and not big in to EBAY....maybe a time to start listing here.
I question why anyone would have a PayPal account backed, ultimately, by a savings account. Why have a lot of money in a bank "savings account" anyway but that is another issue, I guess. I think there is more to the story.
lonejackjerry: Apparently you didn't know that most banks and credit unions "tie"your checking and savings accounts together so if you accidentally drain one account, funds can be automatically transferred to avoid an overdraft charge. Because of my brother's experience, when setting up my "paypal account" at my bank I demanded that the account be completely separate from any other account, it helps prevent hackers from getting everything. Now, as far as having "a lot of money in a savings account", would you rather have papal hold your money (an organization with no soul to lose or *** to kick) or have your funds in a local bank?
Pay Pal is awesome. If someone says they do not use Pay Pal when I want to pay it is an immediate red flag! Sometime they do not want to pay the 3 percent charge on the seller side and I can appreciate that. In that case I offer to pay the 3% along with the agreed payment amount so they are out nothing. It is totally worth the 3% for the security of the transaction etc. If they refuse that deal, I basically no I am not buying it and I respectively withdraw my offer etc. Just recently I was referred to a Drag Race DVD sales person in California by the curator of the Shelby America Museum. The guy said he had the footage I was looking for on one of the 3 DVDs he sells but did not know which. He said just buy all three of them at a discounted rate. Eager to finally get my hands on the footage I took him up on it with a payment through Pay Pal. After they arrived I watched all three and guess what....nothing. I had his phone number from the initial contact so I called him and he apologized saying he mis-understood what I was looking for. He said just send them back and he would refund me the $60. He hung up with out giving me the address. I left several voice messages with him and never returned my call. I sent emails to him that were never answered. In my last email I said heads up, since I do have your address I am going to file a claim with Pay Pal. I did. It was crazy quick and easy. And in less than 3 days, he had his videos back I had the money back in my account.
Oh, yes, I knew it and I think it is a bad idea. And I avoid anything the bank wants to do automatically. Savings accounts pay less than 1/2 of 1 percent interest rate. Hence I don't think that is the place for loose money. Paypal doesn't pay any interest at all so why would the money stay there? Your pocket pays about as well as a bank and it is probably safer there.
Shame on you... Even after all this discussion here, I made 2 purchases off the HAMB in the last week, both using PayPal. I do not want to single anyone out but neither HAMB brother recorded their/our tracking numbers on our PayPal transaction. Until those tracking numbers are recorded PayPal is going to be on my side if I were to say I did not receive my parts/package. The purpose of my post today is NOT to rile up any more anti-PayPal propaganda. My intent is to stress your follow through on a sale/transaction, all the way to covering your own **** and record the tracking numbers with PayPal. It is not all that difficult. Log in to your PayPal account, pull up our transaction, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on tracking, record that number. PayPal might not be perfect but really what else do we have for Long-Distance commerce??? BYw...one purchase the seller requested Friends & Family. I asked them to add the 3% and I'd cover that. Cost me $5 for a purchase just under $200. I'd suggest that you just plan that in from the beginning and forget about the Friends & Family...
When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you … you may know that your society is doomed. Ayn Rand I was kicked off E bay as a seller because I wouldn't set up a pay pal account. And I have likely lost sales because I will not pay a parasite even Pay Pal a fee If I can help it. A postal money order has worked great for me. Every sale I have made to Hamb members was with a Postal Money order or cash in person. And when they paid I promptly shipped the item. One deal didn't pan out. The buyer wantd a $100 item. Then we made a deal for a second item. I reduced the price on the second item by 50% because they where buying the first item. They mailed the money order. Then called me and stated they changed their mind and didn't want the $100 item and to ship the $50 item and refund the $100 overpayment. When their letter arrived I did not open it. I simply mailed it back to them. Most of the Hamb members are good to their word.
The Jalopy Journal
