With all private sales you need to apply some common sense when arranging payment to another forum user. Paypal is the most popular method of making payment for a private sale but be aware that there are different services offered by Paypal with different associated risks. Sending a payment via Paypal is usually not cost free. Paypal take a commission from one party or the other. This commission payment does offer a limited amount of protection for the payer in the result of a dispute over the transaction. You can however, make a commission free payment by sending payment as a ‘Gift’. be aware that in the case of a dispute Paypal will offer no protection at all if you choose this method of making payment.

Unless you know and trust the recipient we strongly advise against using Paypal Gift as a way of making payment to a seller. Paypal Gift transactions offer NO PROTECTION in the case of a dispute over a sale.

Still safer than sending cash in a CD jewel case as I have seen some people request!
If you do pay pal gift the payee has to pay the commission rather than the recipient.

Simple answer – NO.
Slightly more complex answer – still no, because the few people I’d trust enough to pay via paypal gift I’d trust enough to pay via bank transfer.

If you do pay pal gift the payee has to pay the commission rather than the recipient.

Are you sure..?

Did we need another thread on this?

On the flip side if you dont do paypal gift rather invoice the seller, make sure you post signed for, or equally the purchaser can claim not to have received and then get a PP refund and have the goods.

Swings and roundabouts innit.

Ive bought and sold umpteen items on here inc full bike, ppg and bank transfers bin used all the time, although i do insist on, full adress home and work, and a landline that they answer, and i also sen the same to put their minds at rest, although once from another forum the seller didnt realise how good google earth can be!!!!! ; ) lol

you are talking like we are all idiots who don’t know the perils of using such a payment method!

You joined to ‘enlighten’ us with that? Thanks.

PayPal Gift has NO fees for either side BUT no protection of any kind.
It’s sole purpose is for sending funds to “friends/family” as a GIFT (b’day, etc)
Hence there being no charge and no protection.
ANY kind of transaction has a charge and rightly so. They are taking someone’s else’s money, processing it and then giving you the rest.
People are just greedy and want the service for free.
I still think there should be a sales template, feedback and no PP gift on here.

I’ve sold stuff on other forums, non-bikey, where it is the norm for the buyer to pay the fees if they don’t want to pay as a gift – seems reasonable to me.

ANY kind of transaction has a charge and rightly so.

WhoTF do you bank with?

They are taking someone’s else’s money, processing it and then giving you the rest.

It is an automated process that costs them about F all to do

People are just greedy and want the service for free.

Where as Paypal are amongst the most generous folk on earth 🙄

Ah Naomi you are back. Jamie has missed you so much…..

Gift does have fees if you don’t have a balance in your account, and it needs to take a payment from your card. (thats how I understand it anyway!)

I have never had a problem with it on here you do need to apply some common sense to buying from STW. If I am selling little bits and pieces then paypal gift is fine, I wouldn’t buy something that cost a lot of money with it or expect folks to pay for something I was selling that was expensive. Check their history on here. I tend to only buy stuff from forum regulars.

Personally, if I am selling I just allow for the fees when I set my price. That way I get the money I want aftyer the fees are paid. Cost of selling, like paying to put an advert in a magazine used to be.
As a buyer, if someone is selling something I really want and they are being tight arsed & requesting I use gift I don’t. I pay ‘for goods’ and tick the box to pay the fees myself. Costs me a few quid more maybe but I get the protection from Paypal. A bit like buying insurance.
Is it really that hard?

As far as I’m concerned, as a seller I just want the money in my bank account. I’m happy for the buyer to pay directly into that account if they want to avoid PayPal and the fees.

It is an automated process that costs them about F all to do

yes – it just happens magically – there were no costs to join or use the payment infrastructure, or for the hardware/software required to interface with it.

& of course those lovely Paypal folk do it as a hobby: they don’t need to make any money out of it.

& of course those lovely Paypal folk do it as a hobby

and many of the staff only get paid minimum wage, because so many people choose to fraudulently indicate that their payment is a gift.

If you do pay pal gift the payee has to pay the commission rather than the recipient.

Are you sure..?

/me looks for dictionary…

edit: or was that just unfortunate wording?

Can’t even use “gift” here. I tried once when sending money to someone I know, and had the goods in my possession already, but Paypal wouldn’t have it.

I use it whenever I feel safe to do so (a tiny bit of digging required).
When I haven’t felt safe to do so, I haven’t even bought the item.

Normally I’m only paying <£40, but so far I’ve had 4 or 5 positive experiences and no bad ones.

YMMV

I do believe that if the payment from paypal is fully funded by a credit card payment then it can still be subjected to a “chargeback” so receiving money by paypal gift may not be as secure a method of receipt as many think. I had cause to try this out the other week but had forgotten to empty my paypal account before making a purchase so was unable to try it out 🙄

I see no problem in paying the fees.

As has been said, Paypal is a BUSINESS, and the purpose of a business is to make money.

By using the proper process, you gain protection as a buyer. It’s not rocket science is it:

Sending (frequently in the case of bike bits) significant sums of money for something you haven’t seen, to someone you don’t know, who may or may not be a long way away, where you don’t have the same consumer rights as paying retail.

Way I see it, you pay the fees for the protection, if you make the decision to take the risk, you have no right to complain because you knowingly cut yourself out of the protection loop.

there are a few sellers on here that I ‘trust’ as they have been contributors on here for years and don’t see them goign any time soon so with those I don’t mind. Any others will get normal paypal and I’ll sort it so I add on the difference. Not worth taking chances

On here, I usually use gift. Reason being, it’s only gone wrong once, and I’ve saved more on fees than that cost me. And I’d sooner be the sort of person that trusts people and gets ripped off once in a blue moon, than the sort of person that trusts nobody.

On Pinkbike, I don’t use gift, because everyone on there is either a criminal, a 12 year old, a mentalist, a fantasist, or a scouser.

On Pinkbike, I don’t use gift, because everyone on there is either a criminal, a 12 year old, a mentalist, a fantasist, or a scouser.

And the difference between Pinkbike and here is?

less Scousers ?

This could be the next STW Poll:

Would you consider yourself to be:
1. A criminal
2. A 12 year old
3. A mentalist
4. A fantasist
5. A Scouser

NB Multiple selections are allowed

1 and 5 for me.

footflaps – Member

And the difference between Pinkbike and here is?

All mentalists and fantasists on here. Except Realman obviously.

1. A criminal – define “criminal”
2. A 12 year old – Guil;ty m’lud, I was 12 once
3. A mentalist – As 1
4. A fantasist – As 1
5. A Scouser – What percentage of bloodline being scouse makes you a Scouser?

5. A Scouser – What percentage of bloodline being scouse makes you a Scouser?

If you need to ask that question, you’re not one.

@andytherocketeer

If you do pay pal gift the payee has to pay the commission rather than the recipient.

Not in my experience. In fact, just as I’d seen your post I’d just paid someone with a PayPal gift and, no, I (the payee) had not been charged any commission – I went into my account and checked.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-fees

It’s free when you use your PayPal balance or your bank account linked to your PayPal account. There is a charge of 3.4% + £0.20 GBP for debit or credit card payments (either the sender or recipient can pay this fee).

It could be that your PayPal account isn’t linked to your bank account..?

1 and 5 for me.

They’re essentially the same question, aren’t they? 😉

PPG doesn’t charge either side…..

binners – Member

1 and 5 for me.

They’re essentially the same question, aren’t they?

Goes without saying 😉

PPG doesn’t charge either side…..

depends how it’s funded

So, who is “We” exactly ?

What a strange way to speak for an individual posting on a forum 😐