advice on buying from classifieds

rudedog

Hi Folks,

When purchasing second hand items from the classifieds (in particular more expensive items), just wondering what kind of protection you get as a purchaser from using paypal. I see quite a lot of payments being requested as 'paypal gift' - does this offer the same kind of protection if you bought an item using paypal from ebay or are you taking a leap of faith making these kinds of transactions? What recourse is there if send the payment and the seller doesn't even send you the item or it turns out to be not as described?

any advice would be welcome.

nicklouse

Gift offers ZERO protection.

it is meant as a means to send a money gift to someone so Paypal do not make a charge which is why people want to use it.

cat_with_no_tail

When you use PayPal gift, you essentially lose the right to set up a dispute with PayPal.

Most people on here are honest enough, and you can see the ones who sell lots of things by using the feedback section.

It is, of course, very much a case of buyer beware, and if you are really worried about it, you can tell the seller you will cover the paypal fees to register it as a purchase.

stu8975

As above, few people have been left without items and no comeback if you pay via gift, if you are not comfortable with the gift option, add 4% to the price to cover the paypal fees which the seller will get charged, then you have protection. Also scams tend to be from new/newer members from what I've observed. Also there is a member feedback area to check if the seller is decent, if they have sold stuff before. Personally wouldn't pay via gift on high value items.

rudedog

Thanks for the replies - is there any other way of paying with protection or is paypal pretty much it?

Radioactiveman

Pay with paypal but dont choose the gift option. Ppl choose gift to avoid fees associated with paypal.

asdfhjkl

I second what stu8975 said. If you're concerned, you could work out a deal with the seller where you add a bit of extra money to cover the costs of a non-gift payment.

rudedog

cheers again for the replies, just need clarification though - paypal is the only way to purchase with protection?

thanks

The Northern Monkey

You can actually choose to pay the paypal fees as a buyer.

rudedog

hmm, I've just read that paypal protection only applies to items bought on ebay

Items bought out-with ebay are only covered by "PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy" which seems a bit rubbish:

PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy
This scheme applies to items purchased using PayPal but that don’t qualify for the Buyer Protection scheme, whether it’s on or off eBay. It offers less cover than Buyer Protection.

Buyers must submit their complaint through the PayPal Resolution Centrewithin 45 days of the date they sent the payment. Any refund is limited to the amount that PayPal can recover from the seller’s account, even if it finds in the consumer’s favour. So if the seller empties their own PayPal account regularly, you may struggle to get your money back.

The scheme also only applies to items that are not received. It doesn’t pay out for items that do arrive but that are not as described in the advert.

http://www.which.co.uk/advice/paypal--- ... /index.jsp

The Northern Monkey

Ace... i'm gonna sell a load of random sh*t and empty my paypal as soon as I get payment

Paypal = FAIL.

So basically... there isn't much point in paying the fee's either way.

mcj78

Same with many insurance policies, they aint gonna insure you against something that's likely to happen are they? Or if they do you pay through the nose for the privelage, humph.

rudedog

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Ace... i'm gonna sell a load of random sh*t and empty my paypal as soon as I get payment

Paypal = FAIL.

So basically... there isn't much point in paying the fee's either way.

If that info from the which website is correct, then the only way you can get proper paypal protection is through ebay.

xtremedash

To be as safe as possible, especially with a large purchase like a bike. Pay by cash on collection. As with all second hand sales their is a risk associated and none of them offer the chance to take something back if there is a problem.

In the end that is all part of saving money by buying second hand equipment, make sure you know what it is you're buying and know what issues are likely to occur to reduce the risks as much as you can.

stu8975

asdfhjkl wrote:

I second what stu8975 said. If you're concerned, you could work out a deal with the seller where you add a bit of extra money to cover the costs of a non-gift payment.

Exactly what I did when I bought my 09' Sid Teams on here (reba6768 - I think), came to an agreed price inc. fees (basically price reduction the same as the fees cost) then added p&p, wasn't about to hand over £300+ as a gift to someone in my Pc .

Koiler

surely paying via paypal using a credit card would offer some protection?

ie from the CC company. or does that only apply to new stuff bought from shops?