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Risks of Buying with Paypal vs Postal MO

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NoIronMan

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
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Columbia, SC
Is it more or less risk of recovering your money for a deal gone bad using Paypal than with a Postal MO.
I was reading a post about some one who received an item worth less than half of what he ordered. The seller then made false promises and never followed through. The buyer eventually lost communication with him.
It seems that one would have a better chance of resolving this using a Postal MO for payment than would using Paypal. Is once you send payment with Paypal, is your money gone for good? It seems that the seller would have no motivation to ship the goods since he has already received the money?
Anybody have experience with this?
 
I think Paypal makes it a bit too easy to get a refund. If I sell something, and I receive the funds, but the buyer decides they don't like something about the item they can simply enter a complaint to Paypal and they pull the funds until the dispute is settled. Even if you don't have the funds in your Paypal account the seller get their funds returned and Paypal deals with getting the funds back from the seller.

I sold a guitar that was in mint condition. I saw no blemishes or dings and in my opinion was like new. If you've ever bought a new guitar you know having a few blemishes is not uncommon. With this thing being so nice it was, in my opinion, like new. That was the problem. Like new is a personal opinion. This guy got the guitar and loved the guitar but said he wanted to teach me a lesson about using the term "like new" so he told eBay it was not as described and so Paypal charged back my account the funds until the dispute was settled. He said he was going to keep the guitar because he loved it, he just wanted to teach me a lesson.

It took 2 weeks before he told them he was happy and was keeping the guitar and they released my funds.
 
Detector said:
I think Paypal makes it a bit too easy to get a refund. If I sell something, and I receive the funds, but the buyer decides they don't like something about the item they can simply enter a complaint to Paypal and they pull the funds until the dispute is settled. Even if you don't have the funds in your Paypal account the seller get their funds returned and Paypal deals with getting the funds back from the seller.

I sold a guitar that was in mint condition. I saw no blemishes or dings and in my opinion was like new. If you've ever bought a new guitar you know having a few blemishes is not uncommon. With this thing being so nice it was, in my opinion, like new. That was the problem. Like new is a personal opinion. This guy got the guitar and loved the guitar but said he wanted to teach me a lesson about using the term "like new" so he told eBay it was not as described and so Paypal charged back my account the funds until the dispute was settled. He said he was going to keep the guitar because he loved it, he just wanted to teach me a lesson.

It took 2 weeks before he told them he was happy and was keeping the guitar and they released my funds.
Click to expand...

At the point where you had no money, and no guitar, you should have filed criminal fraud charges, just to teach him a lesson...

I have refused to get involved with PayPal since the beginning, since they started out as a marketing firm, and the way they do business, I really didn't want my personal purchasing preference shared with anyone interest in buying those statistics, or receiving a lot of spam. I'm sure things have changed, and privacy is assured, but I still avoid them like the plague. Anyway, I'm sure there is a time limit either way, for which you must file a claim, maybe a month or two. Someone running a scam, can still string a buyer along, past that limit, and where is becomes very difficult or impossible to resolve. People tend to hope for the best, tolerate delays, trust that everything is going to work out. Most people are too busy, lazy, or just intimidated by the paperwork, to pursue resolving a claim. Scammers know that the worst that is going to happen in most cases, is they'll have to return the item, or pay the money. They also know, their chances of getting away with it, is much greater. Most of us don't want to falsely accuse anyone, and will patiently wait it out, hoping for a peaceful resolution

Best advise, is for the buyer to beware. It's a gamble, only bet, what you can afford to lose...
 
Using paypal can be the safer bet when dealing with people who are unknown and have little or no feedback to rate them, but only if you use the regular paypal method. If you use the gift option, it's just like you are giving them the money with no strings attached and trusting that they will make good on the sale. Using the regular paypal method means that paypal takes a percentage of the sale as their fee for playing middleman in the case of a sale gone wrong. That's why you will see some people state in their auction that they prefer paypal gift or add the 3%. They don't want to loose the money from the sale to paypal when they know they are good for it. So, if you want to be safe during a sale with an unknown person then always use regular paypal and they (paypal) will back-up the sale to make sure it goes through with no problems. I personally have never had a problem as a buyer or seller, but maybe I'm just lucky. : )
 
As a seller on Ebay I can tell paypal is "pro" buyer and make it easy for them to get their money back. To the point that many people refuse to use it.
 
Just a note- if you use Paypal "off Ebay" and you send someone money or payment using the gift option so they avoid incurring Paypal fees, then you have no recourse for filing a claim if something goes wrong. It was a "gift" and you can't file a claim with a gift. So if it's something of value and you're worried a bit, it's better to send the payment marked as "goods".
 
I swear by paypal (every time I see their charges I swear).

But when ive paid for something on them and it doesn't arrive I simply get in touch with ebays customer services and they send me my momney back..which is a shame that its happeneing more and more since the recession started...it seems people are more likely to con people, try and sell them gold plated junk or stuff that is missing bits, etc.

I get MO's from my tennents but I don't mind that (cos I know where they live :laughing:) and even pay my contractors with them so I know the money is out of my account and not about to all hit at once so my bank can charge me overages (they have done that again and again and denied it but I have proof).

I prefer the expensive paypal to MO's and both of them to cheques (I have had companies hold onto cheques for more then three months before cashing them...that pissed me off.
 
flyin-lowe said:
As a seller on Ebay I can tell paypal is "pro" buyer and make it easy for them to get their money back. To the point that many people refuse to use it.
Click to expand...

I quit Ebay (Red Star Seller) after PayPal was bought by them. The fees went sky high, and they froze $3,000.00 for a high end collector knife that I sold to a fellow in Wisconsin. He apparently suffered "buyers remorse," and told PayPal it was not the knife he thought it was. The whole thing took almost a month, and when I got the knife back it had been used!!!!

I'll never, ever, use PayPal again. Personal check, or USPS money order Only!
 
I 100% disagree with the Paypal haters

I receive Paypal payments well over 500 times/year, and have never had a problem

I would not buy anything from a seller that does NOT accept Paypal, because even with the flaws/fees, it's still the BEST(most secure) internet payment method

ANY paper payment method (personal/cashiers checks, Postal Money Orders etc) can be counterfeitedm and that's a chance I'm not willing to take

I used to say "in GOD we trust all others pay cash"

now I say "in GOD we trust all others pay with Paypal" LOL
 
If you're talkin' ebay you'd better use paypal. Their "buyer protection" bunk doesn't cover any purchase made with USPS M.O.s. I bought a lapidary saw for almost a grand, paid with a USPS M.O., got an e-mail message from the seller (through ebay's message system) saying he received payment and would ship in a few days. I never received the saw, and ebay said since I didn't use paypal they would not refund my money under the buyer protection policy. Lost almost a grand.
 
I only use paypal.

If I bought the key to the pearly gates from St. Peter, I would still use paypal and pay the additional fee for protection.

It has helped me more than once...even with a terrible seller on this forum. 'Differences of Opinion' can't be settled by the USPS. PayPal will settle it based on both sides argument.

Caveat: Yes...it is more buyer friendly but this encourages the seller to properly describe their wares.
 
Paypal heavily favors buyers. If you are a seller, you have to protect yourself by shipping everything with some means of delivery confirmation and you need to save that paper work for at least 3 months.

If a buyer engages paypal return policies without contacting you, they are going to try to screw you somehow. Buckle up and fight (with one hand behind your back).

Top
 
I have used paypal since 2000, 13 yrs now and have logged thousands of transactions on ebay and with many other personal buyers such as the auction site here etc.....I have never had one single issue as a seller OR as a buyer with paypal. I think it is extremely convenient and cannot imagine internet buying and selling without it!!!

I also have a paypal debit card and use it everywhere I go, it just pulls funds from my account, I use it like a credit card, plus when you do this paypal GIVES you BACK 1% on everything you buy. So each month paypal makes a deposit into my account called "cash back bonus" pretty nice if you ask me!
 
ga5150 said:
Just a note- if you use Paypal "off Ebay" and you send someone money or payment using the gift option so they avoid incurring Paypal fees, then you have no recourse for filing a claim if something goes wrong. It was a "gift" and you can't file a claim with a gift. So if it's something of value and you're worried a bit, it's better to send the payment marked as "goods".
Click to expand...

Not just off eBay, but any transaction where you exchange goods for money using PayPal you should not mark it as a gift. Recently bought an etrac and paid the $27.50 PayPal fee because it's the right thing to do and it offers protection should something happen.
 
NoIronMan said:
Is it more or less risk of recovering your money for a deal gone bad using Paypal than with a Postal MO.
I was reading a post about some one who received an item worth less than half of what he ordered. The seller then made false promises and never followed through. The buyer eventually lost communication with him.
It seems that one would have a better chance of resolving this using a Postal MO for payment than would using Paypal. Is once you send payment with Paypal, is your money gone for good? It seems that the seller would have no motivation to ship the goods since he has already received the money?
Anybody have experience with this?
Click to expand...

Legally fraud is fraud no matter which method of payment. With paypal you at least have a chance recovering your money.

As for selling, I don't think tracking information is a hassle at all. Delivery confirmation is free when I print out a shipping label and the tracking number is automatically uploaded. You also get a discounton shipping. Signature confirmation costs $2.50 and is required (at least by ebay) for transactions over $250
 
I have had an experience or two as a long time ebay seller.
What I do when I sell is try to under describe the item so there is no over realistic expectations and I do not spend the money I have made on an item until I know that the item has been received and the buyer is happy. Kind of like holding it in "escrow".
If a customer has a complaint and wants a refund I just give it to him/her as soon as I receive tracking info that the item is n its way back to me. That way I do not have to worry about having my Paypal account "frozen"
I recently as a buyer had to use the "Buyer protection" when I bought a search coil off ebay that did not work. I informed the seller and asked for a full refund since the item was faulty. The seller offered me a refund for the purchase price only. I explained that the item was faulty and I should not have to pay for him to ship me a non working item. I did offer to cover return shipping.
They would not budge. I them filed a "item not as described" complaint. This is the funny thing here, the SELLER themselves escalated the complaint.
Ebay sent me an return shipping label so I did not have to even pay return shipping. I sent the item back and upon proof of delivery I was given a full refund including shipping.
Now if the seller would have worked with me to begin with the result would have been the same except they would have gotten a glowing positive feedback as a trustworthy seller BUT since they fought me tooth and nail they received a big red dot. And I can count on one hand the number of negatives I have left out of over 1000 purchases.
 
Maybe it's just me but i just don't like using PayPal,I sell alot of traditional archery things and always request payment in the form of a postal m/o,ya i might lose alot of sales but have never had 1 complaint on any item i have ever sold.I feel keeping the customer informed about any and all information they need to know goes along way with gaining their trust as a buyer,another thing is to provide a phone # so they can reach you if they need to.PayPal may work for high volume dealers but for the lower volume i feel a Postal M/O shouldn't be to big a deal.
 
Like others have said, it is easy to get your money back if you use Paypal.

Just be cautious using it to sell stuff...and never accept "gift" as payment from those you don't know.
 
I'd be far more leery of sending someone i don't know a postal money order...
At least with paypal you've got some record and protection of sorts....
 
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