Just wondering how much Paypal police this method of payment…

It seems some folk are asking for paypal payments to be “gifted” to avoid fees…..

Anyone been nabbed yet? or do the buyers know to put “HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATE” in their messages.

It isn’t policed and the money isn’t linked to any purchase. All about trust my friend!

does this ‘gift’ method remove all possibility of claim if the sale item never arrives or is broken etc??

does this ‘gift’ method remove all possibility of claim if the sale item never arrives or is broken etc??

Paypal don’t cover it IIRC – you may still have some protection if you use your CC though

does this ‘gift’ method remove all possibility of claim if the sale item never arrives or is broken etc??

You’re not covered when you use paypal outside ebay anyway IIRC.

For samller amounts it’s free, but if the amount gets larger you can still gift it, but the sender pays the fees.

So paypal outside of Ebay is no safer than just transferring money to a seller bank account – unless a credit card company is willing to back you up?

I think someone mentioned in the famous ‘Plymouth thief’ thread that their credit card company had supported them in the case of non-postage of goods. In that scenario I think they would likely want some strong evidence but with all the reported bullsh*t emails received from the vendor in that case I guess it was sufficient. In the case of no post sale communication (email or written) from the vendor I expect you would be on your own?

Its only free to send cash as gift if you have the funds in your paypal account, if not the person sending pays the fee .

Paypal do offer some protection outside ebay, I got 95% back from a scam on STW on the old forum. The paypal account was funded by CC though, so that may have had a bearing.

If you use “Gift” you’ll have no comeback. What would you report to Paypal anyway, since you’ve asserted that there’s no purchase taking place?

It looks as though you can claim money back through paypal outside ebay, but it’s not guaranteed and will only work if they have money in their paypal account. Think you have a bit more of a guarantee if you did it on a CC through Paypal.

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/terms-outside#consumer_protection

Scottchegg – you can send any amount, so long as you have the funds available in Paypal or in the bank account linked to your Paypal.
Gav – you get the choice to pay fees yourself or defer them to the recipient.

You’ve said it’s a gift so you’ve undermined any possibility of claiming if you get skanked really.

I won’t do it again after being ripped off by Snaps, of this parish.

Its only free to send cash as gift if you have the funds in your paypal account, if not the person sending pays the fee .

Not quite true. If you have a direct debit to your bank account, it’s also free.

I think I’d be wary of using it if I got “skanked” too. Haven’t yet, so will continue to trust folks.
Just as likely to get skanked with a cheque really though.

I think pay pal has a nerve holding funds, i just got a big wedge for an amp i sold, ebay decided the payment should be on review for 24 hrs, and then they said the payment was ok but i cant have it for 21 days or til i’ve posted the item, which the buyer collected. Its funny but even tho its on hold they’ve still taken their fees. Robbers. I might go into a shop take something and pay for it 21 days later. What right do they have to keep my money?? This has happened on my last 3 sales even tho im 100% feedback. Sorry for the rant.

Personally I’d not use it unless I trusted the person implicitly – ie either it’s somebody I actually know, somebody with a very good reputation, or to pay somebody when they’ve already sent stuff (cheers trout :-))

FWIW I’ve used it every time I’ve bought something off here or elsewhere and never had a problem.

If its a gift theres no fees
OK,I use the gift system on retrobike,i have sent £120 with no fees,i think this is because i have the premium paypal account,as i seem to remember paying fees when i had the standard account.
And as far as im aware ,you dont have protection when you send ‘gifts’
so its really all down to trust between members