PayPal doesn't want you to buy knives

I've been blocked due to putting the word " damascus" in the comments.. Just avoid any word related to that part of the world.. I even avoid the word knife. Just "micarta D2 tool" or "camp tool" or "thanks for 4-18s posting"

They are anti terrorist.. which is very broad/vague and includes many key words they scan for.

I still will continue to use Paypal, and be happy to pay the fees when selling.

gl
 
Given how much I've saved because paypal has reversed charges and provided returns that sellers refused to, I'm happy with them. You have to know the policies, and you have to understand that they are not under any safe harbor laws regarding transactions. So they will err on the side of caution because they can be liable for those transactions.
 
Take a step back and think about the big picture: PayPal handles hundreds of billions of dollars worth of transactions every year, and has (according to them) 179 million active customer accounts in nearly 200 different countries. That amount of volume, added to the fact that they're required to abide by all sorts of laws and regulations and face potential liability across that many jurisdictions, means that (a) they're going to act conservatively, and (b), perhaps more importantly, they're going to rely on robots or algorithms or whatever to catch potential red flag transactions.

They have no practical way of knowing what your individual situation is all about, so it makes sense for them to instead rely on the advice of whatever automated red flag came up with your transaction and to react accordingly. You would probably do the same in their situation.
 
Brummie - I am so glad you posted this, PayPal just did a very similar thing to me last week, again, while I was trying to send payment to an overseas (Poland) custom fixed blade maker here on BF. They sent me an email asking me explain my purchase and thoroughly explain my comment. So, I read the comment I had written to the maker, and I realized that my phone had double typed the word "is", so part of the comment read "...my shipping address isis Scott Sherman, ....". I emailed PayPal explaining that I'm not a terrorist, & to their credit they emailed me back less than 12 hours later to say that my account had been returned to normal status & the payment has been processed. I'm sorry to hear your story has a crappier ending, best of luck brother!
 
There are a number of words that are triggering this with PP. Persian is one, Damascus is another, Cuba will do it also, I would have to look up the others. Don't put anything in the message area that could possibly trigger this, or leave it blank and you will be OK.
Others to avoid
Middle eastern names
No gun talk
auto knives
Tobacco
Cigars
Cigarettes
Source was a thread on another forum.

You will have to call PP to start resolving this. It is a real hassle. One guy I know spent a couple Hrs. and a couple days to resolve and started the thread. Another came in and had been working on it for 11 days. They told him his money had been turned over to a gov. agency and he had to file certain forms. He called them again and they wanted written and verbal information again. Then all of a sudden they released the funds. Knife was long gone. The buyer couldn't wait for the movie to come out.
Best of luck, hopefully yours will go to the easier side of things.
 
Last edited:
Czechmate said:
In past, I heard not to use the Damascus anywhere in a paypal transaction because it was a flagged word... Not sure if it was true but regardless; I always just leave the comments section blank LOL; no issues in many years of using PP for knife purchases.
Click to expand...

Yep. My one and only hiccup so far with PayPal resulted in me using the word "Damascus" in the description. It took a few days to straighten out once I called them and explained.
 
It's like USPS.
If you mail wine they refuse.
If however you declare it as fermented grape juice all is good.
 
mknopfler said:
Leftist card huh ? I'm speaking from firsthand experience. When I was naive I also used paypal. What a mess and mistake. They held up payment on an item that i was paying with a debit card to my bank account which had suffecient funds. In reality there was no reason to use them in the first place, that same debit card would be accepted by the place i was purchasing from. No need to insert some third party corporation and their policies, whatever they may be, into my purchases. I stupidly let them mess with my finances(lesson learned) and will tell anyone that paypal absolutely sucks.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone has an issue with you advising them against using PayPal...in fact, I think it's pretty cool of you to try and save some of your fellow Bladeforums brothers the same heartache you endured. The part I don't agree with is all of the extra stuff you throw in....the fundamental judgments you make about anyone who currently uses PayPal. People should not be considered poo simply because they utilize a service that is in your eyes poo (play on words, I did that on purpose...ok, it just happened, & then I took credit).
 
Agreed, the time it took to post this on social media, could have been used to rectify this problem, the answer is very simple if for any reason you are unhappy with Pay Pal you simply DO NOT USE IT-Period!!
VanDammet said:
I don't think anyone has an issue with you advising them against using PayPal...in fact, I think it's pretty cool of you to try and save some of your fellow Bladeforums brothers the same heartache you endured. The part I don't agree with is all of the extra stuff you throw in....the fundamental judgments you make about anyone who currently uses PayPal. People should not be considered poo simply because they utilize a service that is in your eyes poo (play on words, I did that on purpose...ok, it just happened, & then I took credit).
Click to expand...
 
I've used PayPal to buy knives, multiple saps, and porn.
No issues whatsoever. :)
The only comments I ever put is to make sure they got my address correct.
 
A few weeks ago i had the same. I bought a Spyderco Red Persian from a member on this forum He living in Canada and i in the Netherlands. The payment was blocked and we both were asked for some information, documents et cetera. In the mean time the case was investigated by the United Treasury something something...
In the end the transaction was approved.
 
Peter Hartwig said:
There are a number of words that are triggering this with PP. Persian is one, Damascus is another, Cuba will do it also, I would have to look up the others. Don't put anything in the message area that could possibly trigger this, or leave it blank and you will be OK.
Others to avoid
Middle eastern names
No gun talk
auto knives
Tobacco
Cigars
Cigarettes
Source was a thread on another forum.

You will have to call PP to start resolving this. It is a real hassle. One guy I know spent a couple Hrs. and a couple days to resolve and started the thread. Another came in and had been working on it for 11 days. They told him his money had been turned over to a gov. agency and he had to file certain forms. He called them again and they wanted written and verbal information again. Then all of a sudden they released the funds. Knife was long gone. The buyer couldn't wait for the movie to come out.
Best of luck, hopefully yours will go to the easier side of things.
Click to expand...

My account was put on hold 3 times because of my username. Every time I called and explained the situation, and they would return my account to normal. Now I don't use them if I don't have to.
 
Interestingly, I encountered a similar situation with PP involving the same P-word. They put a hold on a transaction but it apparently resolved itself over a weekend with no input from me. It was for a credit card purchase and I hadn't used my PP account in some time.

I no longer use the space to write comments, other than my terms of the sale.
 
TommyGun56 said:
No you are paying from your account in which you have sufficient funds-You do use a Bank Correct? I am amused when something does not work correctly how people play this leftist card, you may actually want to investigate how Pay Pal works before making unfounded allegations-Pay Pal works very much the same way any Bank works, if they think the transition is a risk to you the customer, they may deny the sale for YOUR PROTECTION-The item in question may be illegal to import because of U.S. Sanctions or Laws!-I have had only one problem with Pay Pal in the years I have used it, and that was a problem with my computer
Click to expand...

This, pretty much. I buy almost all of my knives using Paypal so it can't really be against whatever their policies might be... just my two cents, from someone who uses it for almost everything including knives.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Paypal is pretty much all I use. Never had a problem. Ever.
Click to expand...

They're sneakily trying to get me to spend more as they recently increased my Paypal Credit limit, though I have no idea why they would. Even the small credit card I keep that I hardly use has never deigned to offer me a credit line increase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top