PayPal Unverified Address Buyers.

Screwdriver

Screwdriver

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Feb 27, 2010
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Now I know the rules state that I have to let all users have access to my email, which is fine. So I started a sale today and was contacted outside BF through my email. He met my price and I gave him my PayPal address. He sent payment, but it was an unverified address...which does not protect me as the seller. I denied the payment and sent an email to him explaining that I cannot ship to an unverified address. He explained that it was verified and seemed unhappy.

I do not like that a buyer can take a sale off the forum PM and use only my email, then try and have me ship to an unverified address.

Anyhow, what would you do?
 
I registered on this forum four years ago and never posted until the actual day of my four year anniversary.

I registered here exclusively to access people that were selling knives so that I could buy them.

Each time I contacted them it was via email and I remitted payment in the form of a USPS Money Order. They waited until they got the USPS Money Order, cashed it, and only then did they mail my product(s).

One of them, due to the volume of service, now mails my product(s) as soon as I commit to purchase via email, sometimes before I even make it to the Post Office to send the Money Order.

If someone contacts you and there is any reservation about anything then I would say demand a USPS Money Order and then withhold shipment until the payment has cleared and you have cash in your hand.
 
Ugh. My address is confirmed, I told you this. Also you were contacted through BF by your email, click your username or anyone else's that choose to provide their email, as it's my only way of contacting members since I cannot pm.You might actually want to look up that whole seller protection thing and get a little more information. Anyways, I'm all set, thanks though.


You don't even have to wait on a postal mo, you could've waited til the payment cleared through paypal, it's no different. Money is money, if someone wants to screw you they will "verified" or not, the protection is on the buyer with paypal.
 
ill chime in,
I always in my sales threads put please have a verified and confirmed Paypal address in your name with your address. If the buyer is confirmed and in the top corner of the paypal email/reciept it says OK to ship your cool. and covered. I prefer verified but its not a dealbreaker,your still covered via Paypal. the verification means you have went the extra step in the process. If they are confirmed and the Paypal receipt says OK to ship your covered ,meaning both parties.


13 year Paypal member here.
 
MercyfulfateXX said:
ill chime in,
I always in my sales threads put please have a verified and confirmed Paypal address in your name with your address. If the buyer is confirmed and in the top corner of the paypal email/reciept it says OK to ship your cool. and covered. I prefer verified but its not a dealbreaker,your still covered via Paypal. the verification means you have went the extra step in the process. If they are confirmed and the Paypal receipt says OK to ship your covered ,meaning both parties.


13 year Paypal member here.
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^^^This guy knows what he is talking about. My address is confirmed since my debit card is billed to the same address as my shipping etc. My pp account is no longer verified since I switched banks, removed the old account, and have not added my new one, which I have no need to since I don't sell anything. I've had my pp account since 2004 and never had an issue until now.
 
Email is only viewable to another member if you send them an email or if you reply. Since the messages originates from BF, there is no disclosure. Email is requires so moderators and members can send you an email if needed. Personally, I do not ship to unverified Paypal addresses either. There is a gap in protection and people can and have gotten burned. Now, USPS MO works as well and I have no problem sending them or accepting, in fact I've bought a handful of different knives using a money order and everything was smooth. It's my understanding that an unverified Paypal account means that it has not been directly linked to a checking account. It has to do with protecting the identity of the user more than anything else, according to Paypal.
 
And from my understanding the verified part is peculiar to the US ?? As I don't believe us foreigners can be verified (even though I am a member of Paypal Australia ;) ).

Andy
 
rxavage said:
Ugh. My address is confirmed, I told you this. Also you were contacted through BF by your email, click your username or anyone else's that choose to provide their email, as it's my only way of contacting members since I cannot pm.You might actually want to look up that whole seller protection thing and get a little more information. Anyways, I'm all set, thanks though.


You don't even have to wait on a postal mo, you could've waited til the payment cleared through paypal, it's no different. Money is money, if someone wants to screw you they will "verified" or not, the protection is on the buyer with paypal.
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You address was not confirmed....says so in the PayPal Transaction. Gave me the option to Accept or Deny, which it only does with an unverified addy. You might want to look at your account a little closer. I'd be happy to post a screen from PayPal showing unverified, who it came from etc.

BTW, I did not call you out by user name, I was just asking others opinions. You can argue all you want, but PayPal said your address was unconfirmed.
 
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I can also post screen shots showing my address is confirmed. Unverified has already been explained to you. There is a difference between the two. In your email you weren't quite sure and just assumed it was the address. Anyways, it's no big deal, I got a lnib southard cheaper, and you get to find a verified buyer, win-win.
 
I really do not know why it shows confirmed for some sellers and uncorfirmed for others.
I'm 100% sure my address is comfirmed.
But when I've paid somettimes and seller sent papers included paypal receipt from me it show "unconfirmed" on it. Strange.
Maybe you US buys sjould ask Paypal directly.
 
you see, I have paypal acc and verified adress on it, but since I live in Serbia all my purchases are shipped to US to a friend of mine. Most of the reselers won't shipp to my country so I had to find workaround.

problem is that when I pay, shippment adress is not same as my verified one which results in statement from paypal: "adress not confimed". Further more, adding new adress that is not in your country of origin is also not possible. vary same problem I had recently when I was purchasing from swissbianco website.

bottom line, if you as a seller receive payment as agreed, what kind of "protection" you need?
 
Andy the Aussie said:
And from my understanding the verified part is peculiar to the US ?? As I don't believe us foreigners can be verified (even though I am a member of Paypal Australia ;) ).

Andy
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Andy - my Paypal address is Verified. If you are a member of Paypal Australia you are also a member of Paypal US, AFAIK. Verification is easy and gives sellers peace of mind. Hope that helps.
 
I keep expecting to have that problem here - I no longer have a usable personal account. After many years, I changed banks, and the credit card that used to be attached was paid off and cancelled...therefore, there is no source of funds from which to draw. I know I could jump through the (small) hoops to get it back on track; but I really don't care to do so. So I can't initiate payments for a private transaction (I have to be sent a payment request) - that's a minor nuisance, but I'm okay with it; and it gets in the way of those gift or +4%ers. I would understand if a seller balked at my current unverified status; but I would gladly point them at a site where I have done business for many years - my name and address are listed there for easy confirmation. If that isn't good enough, it would depend on how badly I want the knife. I don't buy if I don't have the money; but I prefer to use credit cards because those protections are better than PayPal's anyway. I almost never make a purchase funded from my bank account; and only use the PayPal balance if I forget (or don't have time) to move funds before making another purchase.
 
I will almost always send to an unconfirmed address - I just make it a point to send a message to the email directly linked to the PP account if contact has been through PMs or a different email address. PP tells you right on the confirmation page what you can expect for seller protection. Proving something was delivered is my biggest concern and generally still protected with an unconfirmed address. It is the possible account theft where you can be screwed. Again, helps if you contact them through their email and just get a sense for who you are dealing with.
 
Ludwig said:
I will almost always send to an unconfirmed address - I just make it a point to send a message to the email directly linked to the PP account if contact has been through PMs or a different email address. PP tells you right on the confirmation page what you can expect for seller protection. Proving something was delivered is my biggest concern and generally still protected with an unconfirmed address. It is the possible account theft where you can be screwed. Again, helps if you contact them through their email and just get a sense for who you are dealing with.
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That is the thing.....When I clicked on the amount sent, It asked me to confirm of deny the payment. It had a warning that said, that if I accepted, that I would loose seller protection, with a link to the rules. I know rxavage thinks he knows what he is talking about....but, I just went with the warnings from PayPal. PayPal did update and redesign the site.....so, who knows. I am just relaying what I got from PP.
 
Screwdriver said:
That is the thing.....When I clicked on the amount sent, It asked me to confirm of deny the payment. It had a warning that said, that if I accepted, that I would loose seller protection, with a link to the rules. I know rxavage thinks he knows what he is talking about....but, I just went with the warnings from PayPal. PayPal did update and redesign the site.....so, who knows. I am just relaying what I got from PP.
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I do not have the PP app so speaking as a desktop user, my confirmation page with the details when receiving a goods/services payment will say clearly that I am covered under seller protection, partially covered, or not covered at all. None of them are deal breakers for me as it boils down to who I am dealing with.

To answer your question. The background as provided: a buyer contacts me through BF email which is perfectly reasonable as not everyone has PM privileges. I look at his history, he is an active poster outside of the Exchange and has positive feedback from two well-established members here. I confirm shipping and order details with his PP-linked email. If all that is good to go, I would really have no issues selling to him.

You chose to pass on the deal and that is your prerogative, but try not to let stories in GB&U color your perception of buying/selling on BF. I would say 99% or more of the deals go smoothly with the 1% popping up here leaving a bad impression as negative stuff tends to stand out in our memories. There is a reason why "bad" threads get so many more replies than the "good" ones.
 
Ludwig said:
I do not have the PP app so speaking as a desktop user, my confirmation page with the details when receiving a goods/services payment will say clearly that I am covered under seller protection, partially covered, or not covered at all. None of them are deal breakers for me as it boils down to who I am dealing with.

To answer your question. The background as provided: a buyer contacts me through BF email which is perfectly reasonable as not everyone has PM privileges. I look at his history, he is an active poster outside of the Exchange and has positive feedback from two well-established members here. I confirm shipping and order details with his PP-linked email. If all that is good to go, I would really have no issues selling to him.

You chose to pass on the deal and that is your prerogative, but try not to let stories in GB&U color your perception of buying/selling on BF. I would say 99% or more of the deals go smoothly with the 1% popping up here leaving a bad impression as negative stuff tends to stand out in our memories. There is a reason why "bad" threads get so many more replies than the "good" ones.
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I use a desktop and a laptop....no phone apps.

Like I said, just trying to get opinions here since this is the first time I have had this issue with a BF sale. I just took the cautious route .....and honestly, if the knife was cheaper I would of went with the deal.
 
If a dishonest buyer wants to screw you, he/she will, no matter how many protection mechanisms you have in place.

I use the reputation on this forum as a means to establish trust - by requiring all folks who email me to state their bf username. Next thing I check bf for their posts and Google for their username or email for signs of red flags. If satisfied, I proceed with the deal, fully aware things can go south. I have never relied on PayPal for protection, but my instinct and so far it has turned out to be okay. :-)
 
choombak said:
If a dishonest buyer wants to screw you, he/she will, no matter how many protection mechanisms you have in place.

I use the reputation on this forum as a means to establish trust - by requiring all folks who email me to state their bf username. Next thing I check bf for their posts and Google for their username or email for signs of red flags. If satisfied, I proceed with the deal, fully aware things can go south. I have never relied on PayPal for protection, but my instinct and so far it has turned out to be okay. :-)
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Your post is the most sensible.

There is a saying, "A lock only keeps an honest man out," because a determined thief will find a way. There is no question.

And then you demonstrate great instinct by investigating the person through cybertracking (stalking) and attempting to judge their character and future behavior based upon previous behavior and conversation or association.

Many people would be surprised what you can find out about someone from spending a half an hour on Google.
 
"Confirmed paypal only" is part of my boilerplate in sales threads. Part of the "verified" status is a confirmed address. IE the address on file is known to have worked in the past and/or the account holder has proof that the address is theirs via confirmation. It's that simple.

Never move forward if a person doesn't have a confirmed address listed with PayPal. It's an obvious red flag. Never work with people who, for whatever reason, don't have accurate and up-to-date PP account info. PayPal will not take responsibility for any failures linked to inaccurate or out-of-date address info. It's in their policies.
 
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