Paying by Paypal

[G7MOF]

Beware when buying goods with Paypal.
If you're asked to pay using the (Friends and Family) Option you have NO comeback against Paypal if something goes wrong with the transaction. You are basically sending the money as a gift to avoid the 3.5% charge, Its safer to pay the charges than lose it all.

[mandroid]

Isn't the seller to pick up that 3.5% Banks via the usual card issuers take a chunk out of card purchases anyhow ..

A friend sells goods at weekly street fair, Smart Phone, add-on,swiping the card with a pay pal processor,
vs Visa/MC is lower cost to the seller .

[Explorer]

Yeah, sending any of the non-purchase money transfers for a purchase is a violation of the agreement you sign when enrolling.

Seller is not allowed to ask you to buy the percentage. You have the option of contacting PayPal and sending them documentation of a seller doing that to you.

[brunello97]

Beware when buying goods with Paypal.
……. Its safer to pay the charges than lose it all.

That's what I know. Oh, what a tangled web we weave…..

Mick

[slimt]

Just don't send via Gift.. send towards the purchase of Goods. then you are kind of protected..

[Ivan Kelsall]

Personally,i steer clear of any website that asks me to open any type of account,inc.Paypal. I don't know what's going on in the US,but over here we're having a rash of website's hacked into, & account holders are fearful of having their details hi-jacked. The streaming TV provider 'Netflix' is the latest one to be hacked. If i want to order anything,i always phone my order through - firstly to make sure they've got whatever i want in stock. The only things i've bought in a very long time actually via the I/net,were some strings from a German Co.,
Ivan

[Tavy]

Personally,i steer clear of any website that asks me to open any type of account,inc.Paypal. I don't know what's going on in the US,but over here we're having a rash of website's hacked into, & account holders are fearful of having their details hi-jacked. The streaming TV provider 'Netflix' is the latest one to be hacked. If i want to order anything,i always phone my order through - firstly to make sure they've got whatever i want in stock. The only things i've bought in a very long time actually via the I/net,were some strings from a German Co.,
Ivan

There's no easy option here - I use paypal for almost all my transactions and it's very convenient, and seems safe so far (!)

I haven't signed up for internet banking though as I'm still paranoid about having my main accounts details on my PC.

BTW I've never been asked for a transfer to be "gifted", nor would I ever ask for it. Once or twice with sellers I know I've gifted them the money just 'cos I know it helps them and that they're good reliable guys. Similarly folks have done that for me when I've done them a favour or something... grey area but probably not again PP's terms and conditions if you're going "above and beyond" for someone you know rather than selling to a random stranger - in that situation it should always be logged as a commercial transaction - safer for both parties that way.

[Ray(T)]

I receive emails almost weekly from paypal telling me that my account has been compromised. I might even be worried about them if I had ever had a paypal account

[Dan Co1e]

I had a guy pay me using the Paypal friends and family feature one time. He also sent me a prepaid overnight shipping label.

When I went to ship, the lady at the counter said, "interesting, there is no signature required".

I think you can connect the dots..

[barney 59]

There is a site called fiver.com --people will do stuff if you pay them 5 bucks. If I see a small purchase on my account I think that my wife bought a book or something and I just overlook it --it's only 5 bucks! Someone hacked into my paypal account and was snaking me for little 5 bucks at a pop transactions and on a regular basis. I was on the computer one day home alone and all of a sudden this $5 transaction shows up. If I didn't do it how did it happen? When I checked into it the person -someone in Israel-had ripped me for $45 before I caught on. I contacted paypal and they refunded my money but I had to go through a whole bunch of stuff to reset up my account. Identity theft is rampant ,too many places have your information. Hackers or an inside job either way. Twice my health insurance company has notified me that they have (I have)been compromised! They know everything about you inside and out! There are a lot of people with substandard pay --you know the person on the phone when your dealing with almost any account that must be able to see all your information to be able to ask you to identify yourself. What none of them have a drug problem or financial problem and all of them are dead honest? Traveling to China going through immigration recently I handed over my passport and was standing where I wasn't supposed to be standing and could see the computer screen. They typed my name/passport # into the computer and my passport information page with my photo popped up on the screen. I had just renewed my passport and my guess is they could have been able to access that information before I even had it! The laws to protect us is way behind the technology. I hate how everything wants your social security number as a form of identification! With that number it's possible for someone to find my money! Other than burning your credit cards burying your money and building a log cabin somewhere near the arctic circle to live like a hermit there isn't much you can do. Never going near a computer might help though!

[Canoedad]

I had a guy pay me using the Paypal friends and family feature one time. He also sent me a prepaid overnight shipping label.

When I went to ship, the lady at the counter said, "interesting, there is no signature required".

I think you can connect the dots..

I'm afraid I'm not connecting the dots. How would such a scam work? Using the friends and family option the buyer wouldn't have any recourse, right?

[Capt. E]

I have never had anything to do with Paypal that wasn't connected to a sale or purchase on eBay. I have never had a problem except for the one time with an item I purchased that was never sent. It just took way too long to get a refund, but it did eventually happen.
I would never use Paypal to send or receive money. The USPS works pretty well for that.

[jaycat]

A guy had a guitar I wanted. He insisted I pay via PayPal. I gave it a try. There are two ways to do it: link your account to your credit card; or to your bank account.

No way am I giving out my banking information. Plus you have certain protections with your credit card.

Only one problem: when I went to make the transaction, it wouldn't go thru. The seller told me, oh you have to link it to your bank to make it work.

I found a guitar somewhere else. And paid with a personal check.

Other than burning your credit cards burying your money and building a log cabin somewhere near the arctic circle to live like a hermit there isn't much you can do.

Driving back thru customs, into Vermont from Quebec, a light comes on "Welcome Jaycat! (real name of course). Very very spooky. I suppose they read your plates and get the info.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

[choctaw61]

I once was watching fund raiser for our PBS station. I ordered the items from the program to support the station plus as a gift to my youngest son.I used my bank card.They asked did I want to purchase the extra gifts,I said NO!The next month I again had money taken from my account.I called the folks up they assured me they would put the money back into my account.I called the bank also and thought I had it all straightened out. The 3rd month again money taken out of my account.I changed pin number and had a hassle at the bank. NEVER GOT A DIME OF MY MONEY BACK.The bank didn't seem to care. PBS officials wasn't concerned.So now if I order anything online,I just get a pre paid card and go from there.

[CelticDude]

A guy had a guitar I wanted. He insisted I pay via PayPal. I gave it a try. There are two ways to do it: link your account to your credit card; or to your bank account.

No way am I giving out my banking information. Plus you have certain protections with your credit card.

Only one problem: when I went to make the transaction, it wouldn't go thru. The seller told me, oh you have to link it to your bank to make it work.

I found a guitar somewhere else. And paid with a personal check.

I didn't realize that the seller could even tell what your PayPal account was kinked to; I thought he just got the money.

Like you, I won't link my bank account to anything online, and freaked a little bit when my wife used our debit card to pay for something online. I've also heard stories about how PayPal can deduct money from that bank account, usually in conjunction with a dispute. OTOH, I understand that you can't actually get paid by PP without having a bank account linked to PP. This has kept me from selling anything on EBay.

[jaycat]

I didn't realize that the seller could even tell what your PayPal account was kinked to; I thought he just got the money.

I guess he deals with PayPal often enough to know why things go wrong.

[MikeEdgerton]

You don't know the buyers account information when using Paypal. You're totally protected from that. All you know is their e-mail address. This thread has pretty maligned a really decent method of payment that I use all of the time. I would rather Paypal had my credit card information then most online or bricks and mortar stores I deal with and if you buy with a credit card the online retailer gets that information, with Paypal they do not. In other words, one company has your information as opposed to dozens. Honestly, this thread speaks of Paypal as if you are doomed if you use it. Everybody has horror stories about something but things seem to get blown way out of proportion on threads like this. The bottom line is simple, just use the way it's supposed to used, don't do things to work around the system and you'll be fine. Don't want to use Paypal? Want to pay with a check? Guess what, you just gave a total stranger all of your banking information. It's all on the check. If you're going to deal with an online world you have to have some ability to understand it.

[Ron McMillan]

I'm going to be Cap'n Grumpy for just a moment. PLEASE lay off the multiple exclamation marks when you post a new thread. It's almost as irritating as the guys who somehow think it's cool to write long responses without any capital letters.

There, I told you I was grumpy

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Ray(T) - "I might even be worried about them if I had ever had a paypal account..". It makes me wonder where they got your e-mail address from then !. I'd be a bit puzzled if i received such an e-mail from a service that i had no connection with,
Ivan

[Ray(T)]

They usually get it from hacking other people's address books! If they hack yours they get all my addresses, if they hack mine they get all yours.

[MikeEdgerton]

From Ray(T) - "I might even be worried about them if I had ever had a paypal account..". It makes me wonder where they got your e-mail address from then !. I'd be a bit puzzled if i received such an e-mail from a service that i had no connection with,
Ivan

They don't have his e-mail address, that's a spam fishing attempt to get him to enter information. I run a large network. Everyday these and messages from banks all around the world hit e-mail inboxes. They aren't real. A message from Paypal won't address you by your e-mail address in the message, it will address you by your real name. The spammer will only have your e-mail address.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Mike above - "A message from Paypal won't address you by your e-mail address in the message, it will address you by your real name.". I'm fortunate never to have had one so i wouldn't know. It's a bit twitchy out there so my e-mail addresses are on a Flashdrive - plug in,copy & paste the e-mail address,send an email(s) & un-plug. It's a bit tiresome at times,but it seems to work for me,at least i don't get much Spam,except from stores i used to buy from over the I/net before i learned not to,
Ivan

[MikeEdgerton]

Ivan, what you are doing is akin to putting tin foil in the hubcaps of your car to avoid Police radar. It does nothing to protect you. Your email address isn't grabbed off your machine. You're going to a whole lot of trouble for no real effect. Your lack of spam is probably due more to your e-mail providers filtering and your online habits than anything else.

[Austin Bob]

I agree with Mike here. I use PP all the time and have never had a problem. I have only used the friends and family feature to send money to my nephew, I would never buy anything that way. I would much rather one site with a good security history have my CC info than 50 other ones I'm not sure about.

The easiest way to steal your information is not via your email, but from your password. MandoMan (or the like) is not a very secure password, especially if you use it on every site out there. I use secure passwords on any financial sites, and they are different for each one. I use a password manager program to generate and remember the passwords for me, and secure it with a strong password.

I usually advise folks to have at least 3 email addresses. My main one is used for family and friends. I have a Gmail account I use for personal business, and a Yahoo account that I use for sites that I know will send me a ton of spam.

[jaycat]

. . . Don't want to use Paypal? Want to pay with a check? Guess what, you just gave a total stranger all of your banking information. It's all on the check. If you're going to deal with an online world you have to have some ability to understand it.

Except that I didn't buy the guitar from a total stranger. I bought it from a local, well-respected luthier who many members may be familiar with. I am not worried about him engaging in identity theft as I would about PayPal being hacked.

The point is moot as a total stranger would never accept your personal check, and I wouldn't expect him to. If I buy something off Craigslist, it's always cash.

Also my understanding is that Cafe advertisers are vetted to the extent that you would be able to track down any malfeasance.