Paypal Friends and Family

J

Jipps0525

Power User
Would you guys use Paypal Friends and Family to buy a used a guitar from a seller with nothing but positive feedback on reverb and another forum? My understanding is paypal friends and family does not include buyer purchase protection. I offered to cover the fees for paypal goods and services but it sounds like he buys and sells alot and something with the taxes screws him when it comes to taxes/losses at the end of the year.

Is there any way for reverb and other forum buyer/seller reviews/feedback to be fabricated? It's such a good deal to pass on
 
Dave Merrill said:
And like you said, no buyer protection.

Unless I actually knew and trusted the seller, I wouldn't do F+F, and if the seller suggested it, not you, I'd run, unless they're willing not to do it if you ask.

The fee is way less than each of you stand to lose if the other one's a jerk.
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I get what you’re saying but it’s not a fee that’s the issue. It’s PayPal sending you tax forms and you have to claim it as a loss/or as income if you do goods and services. So I can see people getting screwed that way
 
PayPal Friends and Family is intended as a way to transfer money between friends and family when no purchase is involved. When you use it to buy stuff from strangers, you’re defrauding PayPal and screwing yourself out of buyer protection. If not doing that messes with the seller’s taxes, then he’s probably defrauding the government, too.

Let’s see... the deal is too good to be true, the seller insists on shady, unprotected dealings... those are the foundations of many scams.

And yes, reviews can be gamed.
 
Jipps0525 said:
I get what you’re saying but it’s not a fee that’s the issue. It’s PayPal sending you tax forms and you have to claim it as a loss/or as income if you do goods and services. So I can see people getting screwed that way
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then at this point, if I were you, I'd be wondering why I'm so keen on helping a stranger avoid correctly reporting their tax related info (regardless of whether or not I agreed with certain tax policies)
 
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Rex said:
PayPal Friends and Family is intended as a way to transfer money between friends and family when no purchase is involved. When you use it to buy stuff from strangers, you’re defrauding PayPal and screwing yourself out of buyer protection. If not doing that messes with the seller’s taxes, then he’s probably defrauding the government, too.

Let’s see... the deal is too good to be true, the seller insists on shady, unprotected dealings... those are the foundations of many scams.

And yes, reviews can be gamed.
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I don’t really agree with it being shady on the seller part. With PayPal goods and services anything over $600 gets reported as a loss and counts toward your income come tax time. Even though the item already had taxes paid on it when initially purchased. I agree fully that this can easily be a scam. Was trying to get a temperature check on how other buyers navigate these waters.
 
Don’t do it. I bought a cab from a kid and went the “friends and family” route to save him a few bucks. The cabinet arrived destroyed (literally threw it in a dumpster) and he wouldn’t give me a refund. I couldn’t file a claim with PayPal because I didn’t have buyers protection and had to eat $800. Lesson learned.

And as someone who makes a living with a big chunk of sales going through PayPal, it has nothing to do with taxes (they do that for you), and and any seller fees are tax deductible. If the guy won’t give you buyer protection, I’d save yourself the potential headache and simply say you won’t purchase it without buyer protection.
 
Jipps0525 said:
Would you guys use Paypal Friends and Family to buy a used a guitar from a seller with nothing but positive feedback on reverb and another forum? My understanding is paypal friends and family does not include buyer purchase protection. I offered to cover the fees for paypal goods and services but it sounds like he buys and sells alot and something with the taxes screws him when it comes to taxes/losses at the end of the year.

Is there any way for reverb and other forum buyer/seller reviews/feedback to be fabricated? It's such a good deal to pass on
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A reputable seller would never require F&F. That's often a sign of a scam that relies on the buyer thinking "it's too good a deal to pass on".
 
Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet (no time to read l posts ), but people listing their positive feedback on other sites is largely meaningless. I can pick a random account name with excellent feedback and say it’s mine. How will you verify it?
 
sprint said:
then at this point, if I were you, I'd be wondering why I'm so keen on helping a stranger avoid paying what I understand are correctly levied taxes (regardless of
whether or not I agreed with that particular tax policy)
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Because the GAS bug bites hard ! Lol
 
FullReverse said:
Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet (no time to read l posts ), but people listing their positive feedback on other sites is largely meaningless. I can pick a random account name with excellent feedback and say it’s mine. How will you verify it?
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Because the account is connected to the item being sold?
 
Jipps0525 said:
I don’t really agree with it being shady on the seller part. With PayPal goods and services anything over $600 gets reported as a loss and counts toward your income come tax time.
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That would benefit you, not the seller. Makes you wonder why he’s insisting on it.

It’s your money and your conscience. Do what you think is right.
 
I sold something here on the forum to a person I've never met. But because we're both old timers here and apparently good people, our exchange was done through Zelle. Definitely no buyer/seller protection there. I have never had any trouble on selling or buying anything (knock on wood). One guy from Spain Western Union'ed me money to buy an old Gibson (before Paypal days) and I arranged for it to be couriered to him.
There are still good guys on this planet. Just have to know who they are!
 
Jipps0525 said:
Because the account is connected to the item being sold?
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Depending on where the item is being sold, yes.. but a forum or other such place where people can ask for FandF and it’s not against TOS.. like this forum for instance, should raise huge red flags.
 
York Audio said:
Don’t do it. I bought a cab from a kid and went the “friends and family” route to save him a few bucks. The cabinet arrived destroyed (literally threw it in a dumpster) and he wouldn’t give me a refund. I couldn’t file a claim with PayPal because I didn’t have buyers protection and had to eat $800. Lesson learned.

And as someone who makes a living with a big chunk of sales going through PayPal, it has nothing to do with taxes (they do that for you), and and any seller fees are tax deductible. If the guy won’t give you buyer protection, I’d save yourself the potential headache and simply say you won’t purchase it without buyer protection.
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Appreciate this. Did your seller have perfect reviews? Can you elaborate on it having nothing to do with taxes? If you’re someone who buys and sells a lot of gear over $600, couldnt a lot of sales raise you into another tax bracket ?
 
Patzag said:
I sold something here on the forum to a person I've never met. But because we're both old timers here and apparently good people, our exchange was done through Zelle. Definitely no buyer/seller protection there. I have never had any trouble on selling or buying anything (knock on wood). One guy from Spain Western Union'ed me money to buy an old Gibson (before Paypal days) and I arranged for it to be couriered to him.
There are still good guys on this planet. Just have to know who they are!
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He offered to accept zelle as well
 
Jipps0525 said:
...couldnt a lot of sales raise you into another tax bracket ?
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Sure. And a higher-paying job could also raise you into a higher tax bracket. So should your new employer pay you on the Friends and Family plan to avoid that?
 
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