Bigbenbs
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 339
What are users experiences using PayPal famoly/friends to buy jackets? There seems to be no guarantee that you won't get scammed. So how do you decide whether or not to take the risk?
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Experiences using PayPal family/friends
- Thread starter Bigbenbs
- Start date
jacketjunkie
Call Me a Cab
- Messages
- 2,223
- Location
- Germany
As a buyer I do it if I believe the seller is reliable and will deliver what he advertises and won't ghost me if the product for some reason is not as described. In the fedoralounge it's pretty easy because if something went wrong in a deal, the story would go around pretty quickly. So if you have been around for while with sales done and no words heard, I usually rely on them being trustworthy. On top of that, many here share years of time and conversation in this place, and when dealing with these familiar people, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do friends&family.
As a seller, it is either family and friends or bank transfer for me. I have seen too much shit going down. People having buyers regrets and coming up with bs reasons for paypal to refund them and then you're stuck with shipping costs and for me, that's 70 USD (potentially 140 if I want to be sure I get the item back) gone in the wind when I sell overseas. And these are the lucky cases. There's nutjobs out there who have buyers regrets and then cut up jackets so they can make a "not as described" refund claim with paypal. Or people claiming to smell stuff. Nah, I won't have any of that. You want to buy from me? You'll have to trust me I deliver what I advertise. You'll have to rely on my word I will refund you if I actually did miss out on a flaw. But I want to do that on my own terms. If I turn out to be a scam, you can still rely on the good ol' lawsuit in civil court. Paypals "the buyer always has a free return which is granted for free if only he yells 'not as described'" policy on the other hand is unjust in so many cases and I cannot be bothered to be on the receiving end of that bs.
As a seller, it is either family and friends or bank transfer for me. I have seen too much shit going down. People having buyers regrets and coming up with bs reasons for paypal to refund them and then you're stuck with shipping costs and for me, that's 70 USD (potentially 140 if I want to be sure I get the item back) gone in the wind when I sell overseas. And these are the lucky cases. There's nutjobs out there who have buyers regrets and then cut up jackets so they can make a "not as described" refund claim with paypal. Or people claiming to smell stuff. Nah, I won't have any of that. You want to buy from me? You'll have to trust me I deliver what I advertise. You'll have to rely on my word I will refund you if I actually did miss out on a flaw. But I want to do that on my own terms. If I turn out to be a scam, you can still rely on the good ol' lawsuit in civil court. Paypals "the buyer always has a free return which is granted for free if only he yells 'not as described'" policy on the other hand is unjust in so many cases and I cannot be bothered to be on the receiving end of that bs.
If a buyer prefers to conduct business thru an invoice I'm happy to roll that fee into the sale ( it's a very small fee). I've sold so many jackets over the last 12 years and with one exception, I've had zero issues. If you find a member here with something for sale and they have been around awhile and are active on the site...that's more than good enough for me. I would be wary of a member of one month with a million ads in the classifieds and no history of actually using the site.
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- 3,652
We at The Fedora Lounge always recommend against using "Friends & Family" or any other unprotected means of payment.
CAVEAT EMPTOR
CAVEAT EMPTOR
Worf
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,174
- Location
- Troy, New York, USA
Been buying and selling for years... even on here. Never had a problem here but on Fleabay I've had a few "bad" experiences. There are folks on here I'd sell/give a kidney to... not everyone but some.
Worf
Worf
- Messages
- 6,304
- Location
- South of Nashville
I don't need a kidney right now, but thanks for offering!
I agree with breezer... Requesting a Paypal invoice, and paying on that invoice, is good business. It protects both buyer and seller. If the seller refuses, I would suspect something, and go elsewhere.
Worf
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,174
- Location
- Troy, New York, USA
How'd you know? LOL! Not a kidney but I hear (ahem) your liver's seen better days....
Worf
- Messages
- 6,304
- Location
- South of Nashville
You are a bad friend! I'll drink one to you right now.
GHT
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 9,320
- Location
- New Forest
Reminds me of the coroner's report in one of The Inspector Morse series:
"He liked a drink, sounds so much nicer than, cirrhosis of the liver, don't you think?"
There's a thread somewhere about being a dynosaur, I guess that would include me. Paypal is beyond me, I tried to buy a hat from Esther and made such a pig's ear of using my wife's Paypal account that I ended up walking into our Post Office, buying the amount of Euros that she wanted, put them in a greeting card and sent it off to her. The hat arrived a few days later. I did something similar with US dollars when I bought a hat from The Village Hat Shop in San Diego.
Perhaps I'm just too cynical, I trust nobody that I don't know and buy all my purchases in cash. Rarely do I need to buy through the internet. We attend quite a few vintage festivals where I can purchase almost anything, from handmade shoes to bespoke jackets, and with a bit of cheek, I can often haggle a few shekels off the asking price.
Cooper A-2
Practically Family
- Messages
- 926
- Location
- France
All the business we do...Bank wire only...IBAN/BIC-SWIFT... its legal, its fast its traceable...never had an issue with...No Paypal... at all...
“Like it ...great...no like...great as well”...
“Fleabay”, longtime already...no more...
“Like it ...great...no like...great as well”...
“Fleabay”, longtime already...no more...
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Blackadder
My Mail is Forwarded Here
- Messages
- 3,821
- Location
- China
I have been asked by ebay seller to deal privately minus the fee and I said no. All my transactions are overseas and PP charges a transfer fee for overseas transfer, so F&F does not save me that much.
Mon ami, yeah great for you as a seller. But not so great for me as a buyer. I got scammed years ago on eBay with these IBAN bank transfers(small amounts but anyway...). Good luck cancelling the transaction with the bank if the seller does not deliver. No matter how ultra-mega-rare/desirable the item is I won't do IBAN.
For me as a buyer is simple: PayPal, seller sends the invoice stating what he is selling. I'm willing to cover the PayPal fees. Having such a service mediating the transaction/stepping in is safer for both.
oneterrifichog
Practically Family
- Messages
- 862
- Location
- Signal Mountain, TN
Pay Pal only for me. Buying or Selling on Ebay and here. Like most of you I have been selling and buying for years. I have never been burned.
- Messages
- 6,304
- Location
- South of Nashville
I have been using PP for years, almost exclusively as a buyer. So I am the one who sends the funds, and I guess the person receiving the funds pays the fee?
- Messages
- 10,263
Yes, PP snatches it before the money is in seller’s account. Far as I can tell. Disheartening sometimes.
Paypal maybe expensive - (6% commission?) - but it allows all of us nerds to trade money and goods with each other....and Paypal provide the protection against fraud. I have no problem using Paypal........would I send a bank transfer to a seller? Hell no!
- Messages
- 10,263
No doubt, I use it 90% of the time as intended. Rarely friends/family. “Disheartening” as to fees but I get that some modicum of protection needed most of the time. So I pay.
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