Paypal Gift! HOW DOES IT WORK??

If you pay but paypal gift are the fees free?

No. PPG is the same except the sender can choose to pay the fees or not. Fees may be slightly different but still lots.

You get no buyer/seller protection either, so it’s like a bank transfer but you get charged for the pleasure.

wrong. if you send as a gift there are no fees but you get no protection or comebacks

actuelly roblerner is right sent £40 yesterday by gift and there was a £1.20 charge to me

Theres a fee if you use a debit/credit card, if you do it by the eCheque which takes 7-9 days to clear there is no fee.

The only time its free

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).

what is the best & safest way to pay for something £500+ from the classified on here.

Cheque?

Depends who it is. If you know they are trustworthy (like me) Paypal gift is ok. Normal Paypal is safe, but incurrs fees. Bank Transfers are good, but again, you need to trust the person.
Basically, Paypal (with fees) or handing over the cash in person are the only ways to get any protection.

how much fees for £650?

Dunno about £650, whos_daddy but sending £500 by Paypal and saying its for household expenses costs us around £2.50