Is PayPal safe for sellers?

GotMetalBoy

Power User
I'm selling most of my guitars and basses and have been trying to sell locally but have had some people contact me to see if I'd ship. I don't mind shipping because I pay the extra $25.49 to have FedEx package them as fragile, so if they get damaged they don't decline the claim and get refunded the insured price minus the shipping. I'm most worried about getting the payment and not scammed. I've used PayPal in the past and had the payments sent as a gift, so I don't have to pay fees but want to make sure I do everything possible to avoid getting scammed.

Any tips or suggestions?
 
I've used PayPal for transactions that were over $3K. I think it's pretty safe, and they do provide 2 way indemnification in case there is a dispute over delivery / condition / "as-described".
That said, I think it's worth doing the transaction via Reverb or eBay rather than direct. The fee is worth it for peace of mind.
 
I've read to many times where PayPal sides with the buyer even when it is an obvious scam. Going through Reverb as Sleestak mentioned at least gives you some amount of protection as a seller.

As a buyer, I've paid through PayPal several times using my credit card because I'm protected by my card issuer. I would never use PayPal to accept a payment. They rarely rule in favor of the seller when there is a dispute.
 
I've read to many times where PayPal sides with the buyer even when it is an obvious scam. Going through Reverb as Sleestak mentioned at least gives you some amount of protection as a seller.

As a buyer, I've paid through PayPal several times using my credit card because I'm protected by my card issuer. I would never use PayPal to accept a payment. They rarely rule in favor of the seller when there is a dispute.
All good points.

I prefer to err on the side of caution. Use Reverb or eBay. Avoid selling to people directly or via "gift" payment. Always track packages and require signature for acceptance. I've never had a problem, but on a few occasions, I've had buyers balk at those conditions. No worries. I'm not going to risk it. I'm not trying to take advantage of anyone, and willing to eat the cost of PayPal transaction as insurance. If the buyer won't accept that level of mutual assurance, I'm not selling.
 
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I've used PayPal for transactions that were over $3K. I think it's pretty safe, and they do provide 2 way indemnification in case there is a dispute over delivery / condition / "as-described".
That said, I think it's worth doing the transaction via Reverb or eBay rather than direct. The fee is worth it for peace of mind.

In the past, I've had buyers pay me as a gift through PayPal, so they can't request their money back because it's not considered a purchase but I'm more worried that they'll use a fraudulent payment method and not sure if PayPal would take the $ back from me if that were to happen or do they protect me from that? I don't ship items until the PayPal payment has been transferred to my bank account but I'm nervous that after I ship the item I'll find out the payment was fraudulent and not sure what happens then.
 
Apparently PayPal is on the buyer's side. Exception is the "friend/family" option that you mentioned. Once they send the payment they cannot take it back (unless you refuse payment).

Not an expert here but I just had to go through this two days ago. Craigslist buyer was really supportive and explained all of this to me and the in-person deal went over like a regular cash-changes-hands deal.
 
I've had some gear to sell for a couple of years but will not use the bay or PPal ever again as a seller. Ppal is not seller friendly, you're at the mercy of the buyer and their moral compass.

Even if you're lucky and a "dispute" is resolved in the seller's favor, Ppal still gets their money. I sold a guitar that took longer than the buyer anticipated to be delivered. The buyer opened a "did not receive" dispute but the guitar was delivered a week or so after. The "dispute" closed after the guitar was delivered but Ppal still charged me $100, on a $500 sale, even though everything worked out fine and within the carrier's time frame.
 
I'm selling most of my guitars and basses and have been trying to sell locally but have had some people contact me to see if I'd ship. I don't mind shipping because I pay the extra $25.49 to have FedEx package them as fragile, so if they get damaged they don't decline the claim and get refunded the insured price minus the shipping. I'm most worried about getting the payment and not scammed. I've used PayPal in the past and had the payments sent as a gift, so I don't have to pay fees but want to make sure I do everything possible to avoid getting scammed.

Any tips or suggestions?

To begin, I would not buy from anyone asking for the payment to be sent as a gift, to avoid getting scammed.

As a seller/buyer, you could ask to share his social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn...) That could give you an idea of his backgound.
 
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If 3% matters that much to the seller I don’t get why they don’t just charge more ?

say the price is $1030, normal PayPal, not $1000 but “friends and family” because they don’t want to pay fees.....
 
@GotMetalBoy Yopu and I have done this in the past-long time ago. I recently have decided I will NOT do it unless I can speak to the person and verify as much as possible. Really sad that there are so many crooks and sleazy people ready to scam.
I am getting ready to do the same thing you are and have decided I will do it on this forum only. I have ried locally also for quite a while now. Also do not like strangers coming over my house and seeing my gear..................
 
I had a seller contacting me that his account had been frozen by Paypal after I bought a guitar from him.
Apparently, if you've never sold over €2500 in one year, you'll have to verify your acount. In the meantime, you won't be able to withdraw any money.
 
Thanks everyone for the great replies!

I usually sell everything locally but I have a few hard to find guitars that people have contacted me about shipping. I'm not a scammer but have been scammed in the past and why I've had buyers send a PayPal payment as personal friends and family (gift), so there's no chance they can file a claim and I don't have to pay any fees.

I understand if people don't want to send payments like that bc it is risky for the buyer but it's the only way I'm willing to ship something. I make it very clear I don't except returns and the buyer must ask all their questions before sending the payment and I'll provide many pictures and a video of me playing the gear, so they know it works. I've even done video calls where I record a video of the call with a separate video camera and have the buyer ask all their questions and have me play the gear and turn all knobs and settings they request to show everything is working.

That actually saved a buyer from this forum that bought my Mesa TriAxis and 290 because it got damaged during shipping and the claim was rejected multiple times but the buyer finally got refunded bc I was able to prove with the video that everything worked on the TriAxis the night before I shipped it.

I also won't ship gear to a buyer that isn't knowledgeable about what they're buying because there's too much of a chance they may not like the gear once they receive it. Even though I say no returns, if I sell something to someone and they absolutely hate it when they receive it, I'd accept a return if they're willing to ship it back and take the lose of the shipping both ways and the gear comes back in the same condition I shipped it.

I'd think any seller that has been scammed would understand why I sell things this way.
 
If 3% matters that much to the seller I don’t get why they don’t just charge more ?

say the price is $1030, normal PayPal, not $1000 but “friends and family” because they don’t want to pay fees.....

I can't really charge more bc shipping is so expensive now that someone can almost buy the item new. Most of the guitars I'm selling are under $600 new and many of them are practically new with the clear plastic still on them, so I'm trying to get at least 60% of the new price. The shipping is a little over $100 for a guitar in a hard case that's insured and packaged by FedEx as fragile in their guitar box. Also, if the item gets damaged, FedEx only refunds the price of the item and not the shipping.
 
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