I was buying something through eBay, and it came to a point where the Buyer would sell it to me in private if I would just pay him using PayPal. He said he would save some eBay fees.

But, the amount is for a significant amount ($500+), thus I am not sure if I could get my money back in case something happens, or if I don't get the item etc.. help...

Can I get my money back if I pay for something through PayPal without eBay verification?

8/8/2006 5:11:43 PM

its a scam man. Ebay and paypal offer certain security and protection. At the very least you should look at the seller as having questionable ethics if he is basically stealing from ebay. What would keep him from stealing from you as well?

8/8/2006 5:15:34 PM

that is true but ebay kinda take too much for selling products.
if the product is $500 then ebay will take about $15 plus listing fees
so he's just trying to stick it to the man.
if he sends you an invoice thru paypal then paypal may cover you in case he rips you off.

8/8/2006 5:23:41 PM

Quote :

"He said he would save some eBay fees."

i hope he's at least paying for free shipping then.

i've sold directly to people before, but never on very expensive items. so it might not be a scam, but i wouldn't take the chance.

side note, ebay is such a rip off these days. i sold 1 item for $130 and had to pay $6.50 to ebay and $5 to paypal.

[Edited on August 8, 2006 at 5:25 PM. Reason : spelling]

8/8/2006 5:24:17 PM

makes me wonder how much money they're making

8/8/2006 5:38:15 PM

^^ combined they are bad, but alone neither is that painful. the security of having the two together is pretty helpful though considering if the seller meets certain requirements you can get every last penny back if they scam you (50+ feedback, 98% positive, via paypal). the exposure is pretty good as well.

i only sell certain things on ebay, but sometimes you can get much more than you would elsewhere so the fees are worth it.

paypal alone will not get your money back. in fact, if he plans to scam you, you likely won't get a penny back from paypal. they'll say "oh we ruled in your favor, but he took the money out already so you are screwed. sorry." then you have to go through the same avenues as anything else (though they will provide you with the address he had id imagine).

[Edited on August 8, 2006 at 6:05 PM. Reason : .]

8/8/2006 6:04:44 PM

yeah i don't like the fees associated with paypal, but i was selling concert tickets so i didn't want to wait for a cashier's check or money order. my friend sells a lot on ebay and states in his description that the seller is responsible for making up paypal's % if they choose to pay through it.
that's off topic though, sorry.

no one has ever tried to rip me off through ebay/paypal.

8/8/2006 6:26:45 PM

Quote :

" in his description that the seller is responsible for making up paypal's % if they choose to pay through it."

if you mean seller, then duh. if you mean buyer, it is against TOS and subject for suspension.

8/8/2006 6:28:28 PM

Quote :

"side note, ebay is such a rip off these days. i sold 1 item for $130 and had to pay $6.50 to ebay and $5 to paypal."

where else you gonna sell shit? CL is cool but for most things you'll have MUCH more buyers on eBay. I don't mind paying ~8% in fees when things sell for as high as they do on eBay )if you do it right of course)

Quote :

"I was buying something through eBay, and it came to a point where the Buyer would sell it to me in private if I would just pay him using PayPal. He said he would save some eBay fees."

but to answer your question, no you are not protected. I would finish win eBay auction, and then pay thru paypal to ensure you're protected. And why would he sell to you thru private anyway, why wouldnt he want to wait for the auction to end to see where he gets the most money. Smells like a scam, stay away.

8/8/2006 7:02:01 PM

500+ fuck him

8/8/2006 8:06:00 PM

Quote :

"if he sends you an invoice thru paypal then paypal may cover you in case he rips you off"

research this option, if you're protected then buy, if not, then don't

8/8/2006 8:21:01 PM

I've debated this before and always come close to "aw he's legit" but never go through with it.

It's not worth it man, split the difference with him. Close it on eBay, split the extra costs. There's your security.

8/8/2006 10:28:33 PM

the way people make up for ebay and paypal fees is just to charge more for shipping

you could also send meails to people he's recently done ebay transactions wiht, paypal on it's own does have recourse, so the whol "having both ebay and paypal secuirty" isn't holding water with me. For all you know, this guy could be doing a one time scam under his sn. You can register a lot of times

[Edited on August 9, 2006 at 5:29 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2006 5:27:33 PM

^ yeah...that pisses me off to no end

8/9/2006 5:29:18 PM

i just got a chargeback from someone who is in durham.
im thinking of driving down there and getting my stuff back.
i know its sounds dangerouse but the guy's name is greek, it cant be too bad.

8/12/2006 1:12:29 PM

if it's fraudulent and you can prove it, why not just call the police on him. sure you dont get to look like a macho man, but it'll screw him a lot worse and you know you can go down there and persue it if need be.

[Edited on August 12, 2006 at 3:59 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2006 3:59:26 PM

Quote :

"if you mean seller, then duh. if you mean buyer, it is against TOS and subject for suspension."

yeah i did mean buyer. it doesn't seem any worse than the people who charge $40 to send a small item UPS ground. or the ones that list an item for a very low BIN price and put all the cost of the item in the shipping (eg $10 item with $100 shipping). my friend says right in his item description about the extra charge for using paypal. although you're right, it would not surprise me to know it's against ebay TOS... just like how they've already banned using google's paying service.

8/13/2006 2:48:59 AM

Quote :

"if he sends you an invoice thru paypal then paypal may cover you in case he rips you off."

Unless things have changed, paypal provides no protection. I ordered some software last year, but not a CD, just a link from where I could download the software. I bought it from their website, and paid using paypal ($25).

I NEVER got an email from the company, even after sending them multiple reminders that I had bought something from them and asking for an explanation. NO email from them.

I went through paypal's procedure of reporting shit like that, and they did their own shitty "investigation", and the company told paypal that they delivered the product. So, it was my word against theirs. I got no compensation.

8/14/2006 8:55:52 PM

i wouldnt trust the invoice thing, only ebay transactions.

8/14/2006 11:55:34 PM

anyone understand the rules concerning when PayPal charges you to send payments?

Most of the time they take their cut, but sometimes when I get paid via PayPal (for surveys + such), they do not take any money out.

What's the diff?

8/15/2006 9:09:39 AM