question about pay-pal

[None2Slow]

I'm helping a friend sale a car. I have somebody interested in the car, but wants to pay by PayPal. You hear of all the scams with money orders, Western Union and the likes, but how safe is PayPal? Not a fan of eBay and have heard of negative stories with PayPal so I'm asking here. Any help is appreciated.

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[Mootang]

PayPal sucks if you are a seller. If there are issues, no matter what proof (solid hard evidence) you have, they will always side with the buyer.

Then again, I never sold a car through PP, just products. PayPal and eBay are now separate too. So eBay have their own payment and claims section separate from PP. I would just through a financial institution or something.

Just my $0.02 experience.

 

[tritus]

It is a scam do not waste your time.

 

[mnmike59]

have the money wired direct to the account.

 

[SoCalTim]

I wouldn't use PayPal for a car sale. Advise your friend to steer clear if that is the only option the buyer is willing to pay by.

 

[SWETRID]

He probably wants to buy car with credit card through paypal.

 

[None2Slow]

A coworker sold an engine tuner on eBay and after the buyer got it, complained and PayPal reversed the fee. The co-worker had already withdrawn the funds, but PayPal over drew her account. This is why I'm Leary of using PayPal.

 

['Merica]

PayPal has screwed me in the past as a buyer and a seller. I try to use them as very little as possible.

 

[Chameleon]

Agree with Tim, NO to PayPal for a car sale.

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

I buy and sell frequently on other forums and have almost 1500 transactions on paypal now.

That said, don't do it for this, totally a scam (so is any mailed check on craigslist). Sold a twin-disk clutch for an 03 Cobra with paypal and they clained it arrived "damaged". Paypal told them to ship it back at my expense and they'd refund, I got a box with a rock in it in the mail and paypal still gave them the money back.

Only way I'd ever consider it was if it was a gift payment - no refunds!

 

[10splaya22]

I agree in this situation its most likely a scam. I have sold a car on ebay in the past to a guy out of state and he paid me through Paypal. We split the fees (about $300 per person) and the transaction worked out great. In the future I would rather just meet in person and get a certified check or cash.

 

[JCFoster]

You'll get a lot of scams on people wanting to use PayPal. When I had my last motorcycle for sale, I'd get one a week from someone in the northeast wanting to pay pal me and would send someone to pick it up. After I told them cash sale only I wouldn't get another response from em. Me personally, if they want it, they can bring cash or a money order when they pick it up. If it's a money order I'd verify with the bank before hand if they weren't local.

 

[None2Slow]

As soon as I mentioned cash, no more texts.

 

[Sekhon]

Most likely its a scam. I was selling an item on craigslist and this guy told me that he'll pay me via Paypal. Long story short, he got my paypal id and I got an email from "Paypal". The format looked pretty legit until I actually looked into the email header (IT tech here lol). It was from a phony email. If you are dealing with 500$ transaction I definitely wont recommend Paypal or online source.

As others have stated, paypal will side with the buyer unless you can provide a concrete proof that the buyer actually has it, not just basic email that you sent your car.

 

[Bartly]

paypal...
Only way I'd ever consider it was if it was a gift payment - no refunds!

So this thread has me thinking that most clasified ads on the forums (as far as I know it) are typically done with paypal. Supposing it's more unlikely to meet a scoundrel on a forum, or is it? Just wondering if it's appropriate to request the PayPal gift thing when selling something of value on the forum? Or is there a better way when dealing with someone on the other side of the country that I'm just not used to doing. Do people request a money order for reals?

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