So is this a thing now with paypal?

[mooncobra]

When selling, the seller says they wont take paypal, if you try to pay that way, they will just refund it, and they only take paypal gift? Is this because of paypal policy? if I was going to buy something from someone and they told me they would only take paypal gift I would not buy the item. Only exception would be if I knew them really well and they were above reproach.

 

[Oblivion DC]

People don't want to pay the fees so they ask for PayPal gift. If they burn you after you pay with gift then you stay burned. I wouldn't risk it either unless I had great confidence in the seller.

 

[PBGas]

When selling, the seller says they wont take paypal, if you try to pay that way, they will just refund it, and they only take paypal gift? Is this because of paypal policy? if I was going to buy something from someone and they told me they would only take paypal gift I would not buy the item. Only exception would be if I knew them really well and they were above reproach.

I would think you have already pretty much made your decision on this one. Sounds to me like the seller is not wanting any type of return or is selling something that isn't exactly as they are describing so they are doing the "gift" method to avoid this. You are smart to be cautionary.

 

[mooncobra]

People don't want to pay the fees so they ask for PayPal gift. If they burn you after you pay with gift then you stay burned. I wouldn't risk it either unless I had great confidence in the seller.

Its 3%, yes? Is there some other fee now besides that? The 3% has never bothered me, it provides the buyer piece of mind you aren't going to scam them. I paid with paypal gift two times ever. One time it was for a bogner XTC, when I tried to turn it on, it was broken. I contacted the seller many times, and he never responded. I contacted paypal and they said you paid with the gift method. There is no recourse for you to take. The XTC ended up costing almost 600 bucks to get working. The amp tech told me it almost certainly didn't happen during shipping, go figure.

 

[cardinal]

If someone insists on gift, I tend to use regular PayPal and just add 3% so they get their full price. If they freak out over that, I figure that I don't want to do business with them anyway.

 

[LP Freak]

If someone insists on gift, I tend to use regular PayPal and just add 3% so they get their full price. If they freak out over that, I figure that I don't want to do business with them anyway.

This^. If they get what they're looking for then why would the freak out?

 

[CEG85]

Only way I'll gift someone the money is if I trust them 100%.

 

[Beyond Black]

Tell them they should have priced their item 3% higher to compensate for the fee. And then tell them to fuck themselves.

 

[gokart mozart]

Tell them they should have priced their item 3% higher to compensate for the fee. And then tell them to fuck themselves.

THIS. Never understand why people don't do their math ahead of time...

 

[Halen]

Just bought a guitar on another forum and the seller would only take PayPal gift. Had he not had a ton of references that I could verify, no way I would have pulled the trigger. As was mentioned way too much exposure as the buyer.

 

[RJF]

Tell them they should have priced their item 3% higher to compensate for the fee. And then tell them to fuck themselves.

THIS. Never understand why people don't do their math ahead of time...

Because now your item costs 3% more, and people are always looking for good deals. If someone at all thinks a seller is over priced, they skip right passed and on to something else. Some people, including myself 1 time or another, have requested gift only to protect THEM. PP now has a policy that you can file a claim 6 months later after the purchase. That concerns a seller, selling to someone they don't know or a new un vetted member. Not all of us are always hard up to sell something TODAY. Don't like Paypal gift? Don't buy it. If it's someone here we all know, I tell them they can send it however they want. Gift, or add 3%.

Now as a buyer, I only do gift for a long time vetted member, or add the 3% myself to the seller's price, or negotiate with the seller to split fees. If I see something I want, the seller only takes gift, and I don't know him, I move on. That simple.

 

[James_E]

Probably a lot of this is likely the SIX MONTHS (used to be 45 days) that they give the buyer to open a dispute:

https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/u ... nt-full#13

"open a dispute within 180 Days of the date you sent the payment – then follow the online dispute resolution process described below under Dispute Resolution"

6 months? Are you kidding me? If item is "significantly not as described" then wouldn't this be something that is figured out in a few days? Maybe a couple weeks at most.

 

[FourT6and2]

When I sell it's EITHER gift of you add 3%. Buyer's choice. It's just like retailers who make you add 3% for using a credit card.

But yeah, if you open a claim 6 months after I sold you the thing, you're an asshole and I'm gonna fight that tooth and nail.

 

[GOHOINC]

Like everyone else says, either theyre scared you get a good item and open a dispute just to burn them. Or youll get a bad item that they dont want back or want to refund you for it not being as described. Or they dont want to pay the fees. Offer to pay the fees and if they still say no then youve got a gamble, one that I would not recommend you take unless you know the seller or they have an established good rep.

I like many will pay the extra 3% just so i have some protection as a buyer. Unless its a one of a kind something special I wouldnt even consider paypal gift without knowing the seller or their rep. How much is the item? Evaliate the risk of getting f'd and go from there.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

If someone insists on gift, I tend to use regular PayPal and just add 3% so they get their full price. If they freak out over that, I figure that I don't want to do business with them anyway.

This is the way I do it. I'd rather have the protection the 3% gives you. I've bought so many defective used speakers from sellers online it's unreal. That's when I went to regular paypal only, the extra 3% is worth it to me.

 

[big_aug]

Gift is unsafe for both. You can just do a charge back with the credit card company and PayPal will not help the seller at all. Only idiots use gift.

 

[Gsxrbusa]

Just an FYI. I had a problem buying an amp on Reverb. It's a long story but amp showed up with problems. Reverb said it had been longer than 7 days after the sale. This was during the holidays and after receiving the amp with problems I contacted the seller, he agreed to have me take it to a local tech. Since it was Christmas it took longer than 7 days. Buyer wouldn't refund amp or partially refund shit. He backed the fuck out. Reverb said it's been longer than 7 days so they won't cover it. I file a Paypal claim and they said they don't cover "Amplifiers"

So I get fucked.

Just an FYI paypal gift or not they can and will break it off in your ass. I learned the hard way.

 

[jcj]

The gift thing has nothing to do with the 3% fee; it's the six months, no questions asked return policy, they jokingly refer to as "buyer protection"

 

[cardinal]

I keep hearing about this no questions asked return policy, but I've been screwed as a buyer, and it seems so has Busa. In my case, I sent pictures demonstrating that what I received did not physically fit what it was advertised to fit (it was a guitar part), and I still lost because somehow the seller convinced PayPal that he had resolved the issue when that simply was not true. Luckily it wasn't terribly expensive.

 

[rstites]

When I sell it's EITHER gift of you add 3%. Buyer's choice. It's just like retailers who make you add 3% for using a credit card.

It's illegal for retailers to do that in the US. Some of them get around that by offering 3% discount for cash which is legal. I used to see a lot more of that in advertisements in the 90's. Now, I don't see it much anymore. Technically, it is for us too, but nobody is going to pursue it.

Personally, I won't even consider anything where someone asks for PP gift. It's a red flag to me to steer clear of that seller.