PayPal and You

Personally, I've had really good experiences with Paypal. They recovered my money once when an E-bay seller did not ship an item. Plus, it's nice to be able to transfer funds instantly when buying and selling here on the forums.
 
As others have noted, PayPal does protect the seller against fraudulent buyers if the seller takes the appropriate steps to make sure they are protected - Only ship to the confirmed address linked to the buyer's account and use signature or delivery confirmation.

I once had a hold placed on my account because a buyer claimed that their account had been hacked and had not, in fact, ordered the item :rolleyes:. I contacted PayPal by phone - they asked me if I had proof of delivery which I provided to them (delivery confirmation to the buyer's confirmed address) and they released the hold/returned the funds to my account almost immediately.
 
EMT_Lee said:
Personally, I've had really good experiences with Paypal. They recovered my money once when an E-bay seller did not ship an item. Plus, it's nice to be able to transfer funds instantly when buying and selling here on the forums.
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PP is one of the best things in making payment especially for international buyers. As simple as clicking a few buttons.
 
It think it sucks. For international shipping, you must be able to track all the way and conveniently ONLINE. Otherwise its the fault of the seller. The best part is that if the buyer were to claim that it is something else like a stone or a wrong and cheaper knife, the goods is gone and the best thing is that you shipped it there for free.

Forget about thinking that weight is your trump card, say its 1085 grams, it can be just a stone and sand to get the exact weight.

This I think provides an avenue for scammers to cheat honest sellers. It depends on honesty of the people to work.

Theres once where I shipped a few items to a seller and it was sealed triple layers with duct tape. When he received it, he told me one item was missing. I just refunded him. There no use justifying something that I would not win. It he file a dispute, my funds would be frozen and no transaction can be made. well, that was how it was previously. I was grateful he didnt claim all was missing.

I think that using paypal is treading on thin ice. Can you imagine what if a buyer claims your sebenza is fake and have a fake one to show them? you just given it to the buyer and I bet paypal wont help the seller.
 
So i guess when customs open the box expecting to find a knife and sand comes out, they do nothing, the customs officer just pours it back in and sends the package on its way?

Dude there is so much that is wrong with your statements....you clearly have not read PayPal's rules or user agreement policy.
Do you just make this up?
 
I sold a pair of swarovaki field glass's 3 days later he files a claim that item was not as advertised, paypal held and returned his funds , he returned the glasses with lanyard and screws missing, and messed up the other side on the tension, 4 years later I still am out
 
There will always be ratbags out there who manage to rip people off via a good system.

Personally I think paypal works as good as an online system can. Only draw back is that the fees are a little high IMO. But I still use them and have not had any problems to date.
 
wizzard1717 said:
So i guess when customs open the box expecting to find a knife and sand comes out, they do nothing, the customs officer just pours it back in and sends the package on its way?

Dude there is so much that is wrong with your statements....you clearly have not read PayPal's rules or user agreement policy.
Do you just make this up?
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No, I am quoting you an example. Lets say its an expensive knife, would custom verify its authenticity? The buyer could just put another cheap knife in and some packaging material inside to have the weight matched and claim that its not what they ordered? It would work in a perfect world where everyone is honest but if a buyer decides he wants something for cheap and do cheats the seller, do not expect a lot of help from paypal. In paypal world, it pays to be a buyer not a seller and ironically its the seller that pays all the fees.
 
The seller pays the fees to PayPal but he can charge the buyer enough to cover the item's cost, shipping & handling, insurance and delivery confirmation, and any other (PayPal) fees in a unified price.

One way we avoid getting ripped off by crooked buyers is to deal with people with some reputation, people we know from Bladeforums or other websites, people with a history of reliable communications and transactions. You can't win them all, but doing your research before closing a deal will shift the odds way over in your favor. Ever see a sale with "I reserve the right to refuse to deal with anyone for any reason" ? Don't sell if you get bad vibes.
 
its not easy to charge the fees to the buyer. How much would a USD 200 item cost if we were to factor in all these? The selling point sometimes is the price.

There are also buyers who turn "bad" so they hinge on their many good ratings to convince paypal they are the honest ones.

I know its hard to weed all these problems, but what I sometimes do is I would call the buyer to confirm his address, contact and talk to him to see if he is interested in others I may be selling and at the same time try to find out if this is a real and sincere buyer expecially when the price go into many hundreds or 4 figures.
 
masa said:
its not easy to charge the fees to the buyer. How much would a USD 200 item cost if we were to factor in all these? The selling point sometimes is the price.
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With a little practice, and a basic understanding of math, I'm sure you will get the hang of it.
Assuming you pay 3.5% + $.35 per transaction to PayPal and you want to "clear" $200:
First add the $.35 to the $200 and you get $200.35
Next, divide $200.35 by .965 and you get $207.62 (if the fee were 5% you would divide by .95 here, get it?). This is the amount you charge your buyer.
Then PayPal will keep 3.5% + $.35 of $207.62 which is $7.62 and you will be left with exactly $200 (actually you will lose 1/3 of a penny, but that's just how it goes).

masa said:
There are also buyers who turn "bad" so they hinge on their many good ratings to convince paypal they are the honest ones.
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This is not a PayPal problem, but a people problem.
 
try ioffer.com they big just like ebay but you can get your money any way that you want to. I had a credit card machine for about 10 years and had only had 2 chargs backs.
 
FLymon said:
With a little practice, and a basic understanding of math, I'm sure you will get the hang of it.
Assuming you pay 3.5% + $.35 per transaction to PayPal and you want to "clear" $200:
First add the $.35 to the $200 and you get $200.35
Next, divide $200.35 by .965 and you get $207.62 (if the fee were 5% you would divide by .95 here, get it?). This is the amount you charge your buyer.
Then PayPal will keep 3.5% + $.35 of $207.62 which is $7.62 and you will be left with exactly $200 (actually you will lose 1/3 of a penny, but that's just how it goes).



This is not a PayPal problem, but a people problem.
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you have forgotten to factor in shipping & handling,before your calculation and because paypal would not protect the interest of sellers insurance and delivery confirmation cost.
Yes, its a people problem which paypal would not help, doesn't seem like much a problem until you realise its the sellers who are paying them, well, at least half.
 
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I have no problems with paypal, but then I've never actually had any problems with paypal, or somebody trying to screw me through paypal. I'm not exactly a power seller though, and I've only purchased off eBay, never sold. BTW, all those that complain about eBay fees should see what a real auction house charges. 20-30% is typical, depending on the type of auction. But I agree it's ridiculous to charge both a ebay fee and a PP fee, seeing as how they're the same $%#ing company.
 
I think a lot of the bad blood (at least mine anyway) comes from the older users of the eBay system who remember back in the day when ALL purchases were made by MO or cashier's checks. PP was a great convenience at first and it was free to both sellers and buyers. Heck, they even GAVE me $5 to sign up! Their promotional literature indicated they were making their money on the 'float' or the interest earned on the funds during the time they were in PP's possession before going to the buyer.

Then eBay bought them, and apparently the 'float' wasn't enough. Still, there was a choice to use them or not. Once eBay figured out they were too big to compete they mandated PP for all sellers. That's when I stopped selling.

Someone mention that eBay is cheaper than a real auction house, and that's certainly true. It's also not the equivalent of a real auction house either, because you don't see the buyer face-to-face and aren't forced to accept money that can be electronically revoked at the whim of a third party based on a fraudulent claim. You also don't get to physically inspect the item, or even verify it actually exists.

You pay less because it IS less.
 
jill jackson said:
In fact it says only CERTAIN knives regulated by law:

You may not use the PayPal service for activities that:
1.
violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation

2.
relate to sales of (a) narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety, (b) drug paraphernalia, (c) items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity, (d) items that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance, or the financial exploitation of a crime, (e) items that are considered obscene, (f) items that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction, (g) certain sexually oriented materials or services, or (h) ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (i) ,certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law
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Which ones ?

How do you, or I, or Paypal know which ones are safe or not?

Which law? Your country or mine, or some other?

If everything is open to interpretation, I'm not very hopeful that I would win that interpretation.
Especially on a high value transaction.

It's not my site, I've got no stake in it - it just makes me nervous that they can seize your $, never give it back & are unregulated they way banks are.
 
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