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PayPal no longer covers any knives. Just called them.

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r8shell said:
Are you sure this policy pertains to all knives, or just certain types of knives? (ones that are restricted in the buyer's or seller's jurisdiction) I just looked on their site for information and found this:

"What types of weapons and knives does PayPal prohibit?
PayPal prohibits transactions for certain hand weapons or knives that may be illegal or restricted in some jurisdictions.

Weapons – PayPal generally prohibits transactions for these types of weapons:

  • Nunchaku.
  • Brass or other metal knuckles.
  • Leaded canes, staffs, crutches or sticks.
  • Zip guns, shurikens or throwing stars.
  • Hand grenades or metal replica hand grenades.
  • Billyclubs or batons, sandclubs, sandbags or slungshots (also known as saps or blackjacks).
For other hand weapons, sellers must ensure the weapon is lawful in both the buyer's and seller's jurisdiction before completing the sale.

Knives – PayPal generally prohibits transactions for switchblade knives and disguised knives. A switchblade is any knife resembling a pocketknife with a blade that can be released automatically or by use of a trigger. Other names for switchblades include spring-blade knives, snap-blade knives, gravity knives and butterfly knives.

A disguised knife is a knife designed to look like a harmless item. Examples of disguised knives include belt buckle knives, cane swords, shobi-zue, lipstick case knives, air gauge knives and writing pen knives.

Other Related Items – PayPal prohibits transactions for destructive devices and the sale of military equipment or supplies that violate laws or regulations in the buyer's or seller's jurisdiction."

There are a number of things that Paypal prohibits, but there is no mention of items that are allowed to be sold, but buyer/seller protections are nullified. :confused:
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It all depends on how one interpets that first part,
“may illegal in some jurisdiction.” If that means “this knife is illegal in NYC therefore it is illegal in SOME (a) jurisdiction therefore it is not covered,” then that could be one way of interpreting what they are saying.
 
andre1 said:
You are wrong. Call PayPal and talk with management.
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Don't need to contact PP. As shown here by others their policy covers legal knives and so does ebay money back guarantee. It is in their policy and therefore is actionable if they do not offer to cover a knife under their stated policy. It would be a legal matter and they would lose. They are not required to guarantee a knife under friends and family. Until their policy specifically states "no knives" then buyers are safe and have legal precedent if the knife/knives they purchase are within their policy.
 
I am all for alternate means but besides USPS MO or Bank Cashier's Checks I am not sure what is a reliable means currently. I will accept most any funding but I want the buyer to have as much confidence in the security of the funds for themselves as I do for myself with some favoritism for my own security :p. I will say right now this concern is minor as at least here there has been no reported cases of claim issues due to the type of item sold.
 
r8shell said:
Are you sure this policy pertains to all knives, or just certain types of knives? (ones that are restricted in the buyer's or seller's jurisdiction) I just looked on their site for information and found this:

"What types of weapons and knives does PayPal prohibit?
PayPal prohibits transactions for certain hand weapons or knives that may be illegal or restricted in some jurisdictions.

Weapons – PayPal generally prohibits transactions for these types of weapons:

  • Nunchaku.
  • Brass or other metal knuckles.
  • Leaded canes, staffs, crutches or sticks.
  • Zip guns, shurikens or throwing stars.
  • Hand grenades or metal replica hand grenades.
  • Billyclubs or batons, sandclubs, sandbags or slungshots (also known as saps or blackjacks).
For other hand weapons, sellers must ensure the weapon is lawful in both the buyer's and seller's jurisdiction before completing the sale.

Knives – PayPal generally prohibits transactions for switchblade knives and disguised knives. A switchblade is any knife resembling a pocketknife with a blade that can be released automatically or by use of a trigger. Other names for switchblades include spring-blade knives, snap-blade knives, gravity knives and butterfly knives.

A disguised knife is a knife designed to look like a harmless item. Examples of disguised knives include belt buckle knives, cane swords, shobi-zue, lipstick case knives, air gauge knives and writing pen knives.

Other Related Items – PayPal prohibits transactions for destructive devices and the sale of military equipment or supplies that violate laws or regulations in the buyer's or seller's jurisdiction."

There are a number of things that Paypal prohibits, but there is no mention of items that are allowed to be sold, but buyer/seller protections are nullified. :confused:
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This really puts a damper on my idea for a custom hand grenade business. o_O
 
007Airman said:
Don't need to contact PP. As shown here by others their policy covers legal knives and so does ebay money back guarantee. It is in their policy and therefore is actionable if they do not offer to cover a knife under their stated policy. It would be a legal matter and they would lose. They are not required to guarantee a knife under friends and family. Until their policy specifically states "no knives" then buyers are safe and have legal precedent if the knife/knives they purchase are within their policy.
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OK, I decided to go up the ladder one more time. I just hung up the phone from talking with another supervisor in seller protection department. I was told that every knife on eBay or elsewhere is now considered a weapon and is not covered. Even a kitchen knife they said is considered a weapon. I know what the rules say but I wouldn't want to try to get into a legal mess with them trying to get my funds back. Probably would cost more for an attorney than the knife is worth.
 
andre1 said:
OK, I decided to go up the ladder one more time. I just hung up the phone from talking with another supervisor in seller protection department. I was told that every knife on eBay or elsewhere is now considered a weapon and is not covered. Even a kitchen knife they said is considered a weapon. I know what the rules say but I wouldn't want to try to get into a legal mess with them trying to get my funds back. Probably would cost more for an attorney than the knife is worth.
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Wow. Don't know what else to use. I've heard of Venmo but idk if it offers similar protection. And most folks are established with PP already
 
22-rimfire said:
I would just go USPS money orders they are not tracked as income such as the way Pay Pal handles things. These are hobby expenses for most of us, but I seldom have saved receipts to document purchase price.
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I paid via USPS money order for a knife deal in December. Long story but PO lost the MO, you pay to file a claim, they wait 60 days before they make sure the MO hasn’t been cashed anywhere else, and then a week later you get a check. Of course you also still have to make sure your buyer is paid, or return the knife, in the ten week lag time. Or you can pay twice, at which point you will send it certified (which you should have done in the first place).

So, yeah, a MO is an option, but you are paying for the MO, need to pay for it to be sent certified ($4-5?), if it gets lost it’s $7 to open a claim, then you need to either pay you buyer again (and pay for more certified mail) or pay to ship the knife back ($4-7?).

Having been through it, YMMV but I’d much rather use PP or similar
 
Coyja said:
I paid via USPS money order for a knife deal in December. Long story but PO lost the MO, you pay to file a claim, they wait 60 days before they make sure the MO hasn’t been cashed anywhere else, and then a week later you get a check. Of course you also still have to make sure your buyer is paid, or return the knife, in the ten week lag time. Or you can pay twice, at which point you will send it certified (which you should have done in the first place).

So, yeah, a MO is an option, but you are paying for the MO, need to pay for it to be sent certified ($4-5?), if it gets lost it’s $7 to open a claim, then you need to either pay you buyer again (and pay for more certified mail) or pay to ship the knife back ($4-7?).

Having been through it, YMMV but I’d much rather use PP or similar
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Why would you use certified mail when you can get tracking on things? I have had good luck with the post office. Use a small Priority Mail box.... includes tracking.....

I was looking at PP from the seller's point of view, not the buyer. I assume the USPS stuff makes it in some predictable fashion.
 
In my experience, the average supervisor is not familiar with the intricacies their company's rules and is not competent to interpret them.
I'd go by the written rules rather than an off the cuff opinion from some minion.
 
knarfeng said:
In my experience, the average supervisor is not familiar with the intricacies their company's rules and is not competent to interpret them.
I'd go by the written rules rather than an off the cuff opinion from some minion.
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Thats why I called three times. I just don't have the extra funds to loose. Thanks though and I hope your right.
 
knarfeng said:
In my experience, the average supervisor is not familiar with the intricacies their company's rules and is not competent to interpret them.
I'd go by the written rules rather than an off the cuff opinion from some minion.
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Agreed. If it's in their policy then they are legally bound by the contract. If they don't abide by the contract then it is actionable. It's not up for interpretation, they do not clearly identify knives as not covered so they must cover them until the wording is changed.
Obviously it is not worth a legal battle, so much easier to just insure the item through the shipper.
 
007Airman said:
Agreed. If it's in their policy then they are legally bound by the contract. If they don't abide by the contract then it is actionable. It's not up for interpretation, they do not clearly identify knives as not covered so they must cover them until the wording is changed.
Obviously it is not worth a legal battle, so much easier to just insure the item through the shipper.
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I agree. Im not worried about loosing them in transit. I fully insure everything I sell. Its the scammers I'm concerned with. I remember reading way back here on the forums of a guy that received the package but said no knives were in it but instead some metal bolts. It was a legit seller that sent them. It's those type of cases that I'm concerned with.
I actually worked it out with buyer to use my attorney. Money goes to attorney by check or money order and when payment clears he sends knives out for me insured and pays me. This is a rather large amount of money I dealing with so the PayPal fees I save goes to attorney.
thanks
 
This, like all payment policies doesn't just lie with Paypal, nor is it new at all. There are also processors like Stripe, credit card companies, and banks. All of which have nearly the same policies. Who's checked if their bank will accept a charge dispute on a check for a gun, or if their credit card will be all in for them buying ammo. The fact is that 99.9% of the time, they don't care, but they need the legal protection in the case that they are unwitting facilitators of a crime. This is a very old story, so before you get your pitchfork ready, make sure you are heading in the right direction. The reality is that these policies have to cover all manner of situations, and international laws, so are they going to say "yep, knives are okay"? Heck no, because they can't promise that you are not committing a crime, and even at 3% they are not making enough to check your legal standing.
Way back an escrow service was discussed, and who knows, maybe someone could make that work, but otherwise, what else are you going to do?
 
andre1 said:
I agree. Im not worried about loosing them in transit. I fully insure everything I sell. Its the scammers I'm concerned with. I remember reading way back here on the forums of a guy that received the package but said no knives were in it but instead some metal bolts. It was a legit seller that sent them. It's those type of cases that I'm concerned with.
I actually worked it out with buyer to use my attorney. Money goes to attorney by check or money order and when payment clears he sends knives out for me insured and pays me. This is a rather large amount of money I dealing with so the PayPal fees I save goes to attorney.
thanks
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I have 4 years of flawless paypal transactions and have read all the GBU threads during that entire time, I don’t let imaginary worst-case scenarios get in the way of proven success. It seems like you’re trying to convince everybody to stop using paypal, why? Is it so you can feel validaion about not using it too?
 
It will interesting to see if PayPal really enforces that all knives are weapons, and without seller protection, although it seems very foolish.
Most knives are just tools. Screwdrivers, Ice picks, hammers, baseball bats, and axes can also be used as concealable deadly weapons.
Good to have a heads up though, knowing that it could be a potential problem, before selling a really expensive knife. More sellers might start asking for money orders.
 
andre1 said:
I actually worked it out with buyer to use my attorney. Money goes to attorney by check or money order and when payment clears he sends knives out for me insured and pays me. This is a rather large amount of money I dealing with so the PayPal fees I save goes to attorney.
thanks
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Seems to me you overcomplicated it. He could have sent you the USPS money order priority with a signature with the understanding you were going to wait until it clears to mail the knives. Or you could have cashed or verified the authenticity of the money orders at the PO. No real need for a middleman IMO
Your way works , but seems a bit more than needed.
 
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