Ebay question

midlifecrisis

I, like many others wont accept paypal for ebay sales. but whats the deal with this. Ive seen quite a few ads where the seller insists on paypal, even for collect purchases. I myself have just bought something where the seller insisted on paypal even though i was coming to collect it  an hour later. There were no problems but is there a possibility of a scam? surely it looks to me thay are carrying the risk?

robgilmo

When I sold on EBay I had to accept Paypal, I put no paypal in my listing and EBay took my listing down. I don't know if this has changed at all.
People probably like Paypal because it confirms who you are if you are going to their home to collect something.

mort

Accepting PayPal for collected items is an absolute no-no for sellers. @midlifecrisis if you were dishonest you could now open a claim with PayPal or eBay for 'item not received' and you would get your money refunded and get to keep the item. It's the oldest scam in the book.

midlifecrisis

mort said:

Accepting PayPal for collected items is an absolute no-no for sellers. @midlifecrisis if you were dishonest you could now open a claim with PayPal or eBay for 'item not received' and you would get your money refunded and get to keep the item. It's the oldest scam in the book.

which is what i thought, Im not dishonest and have no intention of making a claim but it seems foolish of the sellers to do it this way

robgilmo said:

When I sold on EBay I had to accept Paypal, I put no paypal in my listing and EBay took my listing down. I don't know if this has changed at all.
People probably like Paypal because it confirms who you are if you are going to their home to collect something.

Yes, it makes you accept paypal in the listing but i managed to put cash on collection only in the ad, i guess i was lucky ebay didnt spot it, but then i hardly do ebay these days anyway

EricTheWeary

You have to offer PayPal (presumably there's a solid business link between eBay and PayPal). I've sold stuff for cash on collection but they've paid by PayPal, not been a problem - I guess it's a knee jerk reaction, or they don't want to handle that much cash (about £250 last time) or they didn't read the ad properly. Seemed preferable to someone turning up on the doorstep and then trying to haggle, at least I knew I'd been paid in full. 

BigKev

Paypal is part of fleece bay

gavin_axecaster

^Used to be - they are now separate companies.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/11134139/The-five-reasons-behind-PayPals-split-from-eBay.html

wackojacko

It's for Seller protection. 

If if you don't ship to the buyers "confirmed" PayPal address, you are ineligible for PayPal seller protection in the rare case that a buyer tries to con you.

Odds are heavily favoured to the buyer anyway on eBay and disputes are rarely settled in the sellers favour. If you don't ship to confirmed PayPal address and add a tracking number, you're likely to lose out if item doesn't turn up or the buyer tries it on. 

vale

mort said:

Accepting PayPal for collected items is an absolute no-no for sellers. @midlifecrisis if you were dishonest you could now open a claim with PayPal or eBay for 'item not received' and you would get your money refunded and get to keep the item. It's the oldest scam in the book.

totally this. they pick up & then put in a claim saying it was either damaged or they say that they didn't collect it at all. sadly, you have to treat everyone as if they might pull the trick because ebay & paypal won't shut the door on the scam.

put 'cash on collection' in the payment options (ebay won't let you unclick paypal because they are two completely different & completely unconnected companies right???) & put 'collected items are cash on collection only, sorry no paypal' at the bottom of your listing details.

it's about making a stand. if they are two different companies then why can you not use one without the other?
so if they delete (they have never deleted one of mine & i say the above in all my collection items) relist.
if they keep deleting go to gumtree & ebay get absolutely nothing, no listing fees & no final value fees.
that's why they say one thing but rarely if ever enforce it. they are just trying their luck.

i have never had a buyer refuse or be funny. i had a couple that paid by paypal in error (because ebay pushes it on them at checkout, two different cheeks of the same arse company).
in which case refund, let them be satisfied that you have fully refunded them, & then do the deal cash on collection.

if they insist that they collect & pay with paypal, insist that they forget it & buy elsewhere.

usedtobe

I once nearly bid on something where the seller insisted on payment by Paypal, and collection, as they refused to risk sending it through the post! 

rossi

Always photograph any collectors in person with the article being handed over .That should fix it .

fandango

Alas, Reverb is no better, and I have had PayPal foisted upon me because that's the only option I have.

I haven't had much luck with Gumtree or Preloved, although both once showed a lot of promise. Anyway Gumtree is Ebay by another name, just without the charges.

Whilst they are free, it's a right bind to re-advertise every few days for multiple items, but at least with Reverb the ad doesn't time out like it does on Gumtree or Preloved, Even though I've got to pay a sellers fee to Reverb and transaction fee to Paypal for each item sold, there is the thing with Reverb you're selling to the musicians crowd. Maybe iut's worth it not to be down dealing with the chancers and scammers occupying Ebay, Gumtree and Preloved.

midlifecrisis

rossi said:

Always photograph any collectors in person with the article being handed over .That should fix it .

i dont think they would accept that as proof, it also doesnt proof the item may or not have a fault.  I will continue to just insist on cash on collection, never had any problem with people trying to re-haggle. Seems with paypal you can be potentially stuffed up tp 6 months after the sale.

Collings

As buyer I always pay with PayPal even if im collecting. If the seller has stated in the description cash only I message them saying I want to use PayPal.

The only reason for this really is when I'm buying high value items its a pain having to go into a bank if the sum exceeds your daily limit.

We might not like it but the rule is if you sell on eBay you must accept payment by PayPal and we know that when we list the item.

mort

Collings said:

As buyer I always pay with PayPal even if im collecting. If the seller has stated in the description cash only I message them saying I want to use PayPal.

So what would you do if the seller insisted on cash only on collection and wouldn't accept PayPal?

midlifecrisis

mort said:

Collings said:

As buyer I always pay with PayPal even if im collecting. If the seller has stated in the description cash only I message them saying I want to use PayPal.

So what would you do if the seller insisted on cash only on collection and wouldn't accept PayPal?

that would be me. i insist on cash, take it or leave it< i dont care what ebay says.

BloodEagle

Regardless of what eBay says, if someone's picking up I don't accept PayPal, not under any circumstances. If the buyer doesn't like that I suppose it's too bad, I'll wait to sell it to someone else. 

Whitecat

Yup, same here, no cash, no collect. If you insist on PayPal, I will insist on shipping it. If it's high value I'll accept a direct bank transfer ahead of time too if you wanna pop by. That's one way to get around the possibility of a scam, at the moment they are virtually irreversible.

wackojacko

wackojacko said:

It's for Seller protection. 

If if you don't ship to the buyers "confirmed" PayPal address, you are ineligible for PayPal seller protection in the rare case that a buyer tries to con you.

Odds are heavily favoured to the buyer anyway on eBay and disputes are rarely settled in the sellers favour. If you don't ship to confirmed PayPal address and add a tracking number, you're likely to lose out if item doesn't turn up or the buyer tries it on. 

PS I'm speaking as a business user on eBay - if it was private selling then hell yes...cash every time to avoid the PayPal fees. The majority of business sellers insist on PayPal as its the only form of moderate seller protection available when selling through eBay - no PayPal - no leg to stand on if it goes tits up. And as most business sellers care about their 99-100% feedback rating, its easy to get screwed over, so you might as well follow the rules and not run the risk of getting negative feedback.

I've only been trading a year and eBay is the main income stream for my wee business (second income selling anything) but in that year I've learnt a few lessons;

1) PayPal only (i mark up the price to cover costs)
2) Always ship First Class
3) Anything over £50 gets sent Royal Mail Recorded
4) Customer is alwaysss right - even if he is a complete bellend
5) There is always the odd con artist out there (I had one customer who claimed his parcel hadnt been delivered, despite me sending it tracked on not telling him and me having his signature.....what a tit.

Thats why seller insist on PayPal only   

Voxman

midlifecrisis said:

I, like many others wont accept paypal for ebay sales. but whats the deal with this. Ive seen quite a few ads where the seller insists on paypal, even for collect purchases. I myself have just bought something where the seller insisted on paypal even though i was coming to collect it  an hour later. There were no problems but is there a possibility of a scam? surely it looks to me thay are carrying the risk?

As has been said, PayPal MUST be offered for 'mutual protection' or its a breach of EBay rules. Sorry, but if I was refused Paypal by a seller I'd report the ad and the seller to EBay and I'd immediately have less confidence in the seller. 

There are risks both sides.  Even if you collect and check the purchase, you might find something is not right when you get home. In a dispute situation you might have less (or even no) protection if you didn't pay via Paypal.  If you are selling, there's a risk the buyer doesn't turn up, or they do turn up but then they try to get the price down and there could be an element of 'pressure/intimidation' etc.   Or you accept cash but subsequently find out some or all of the cash is a forgery.  So, PayPal is for mutual protection as it provides a safe, guaranteed means of payment with a clear audit trail for both parties. 

Of course if paypal is offered but both parties mutually agree to cash on delivery (although that's still a breach of EBay rules) then that's a matter for them.

But Paypal must always be available on EBay - its not a 'seller choice', it's a requirement, period. If you don't want to accept Paypal, then don't put it on EBay & use Gumtree or similar instead. 

vale

Voxman said:

But Paypal must always be available on EBay - its not a 'seller choice', it's a requirement, period. If you don't want to accept Paypal, then don't put it on EBay & use Gumtree or similar instead. 

there are enforcable requirements & there are unenforceable requirements. & an unenforceable requirement is practically worthless.

if someone wants to buy something i have listed as 'cash on collection only' with paypal, they won't get it. it's that simple. i explain it in the listing details so they can't plead ignorance.

obviously i won't charge them for something they don't want, so i cancel the sale without prejudice, refund in full any paypal funds (if they have tried to send me any) & relist.
& if they want to report me to ebay they can. they can tell my mum too. not bothered.

what other meaningful option does the buyer have? break into my house & take it?
& what are ebay going to do if the seller reports me? send around the ebay swat team with pointy sticks & nipple clamps to torture me until i accept paypal?
it's a joke. an unenforceable requirement & so worthless. tall words & no consequence.

if i use ebay to sell that way, ebay get a listing fee & a final value fee. they get paid for hosting my listing & being the middleman in the transaction. i'm good with that.
but all the while they refuse to close the loophole that lets dishonest sellers using paypal to pull a fast one on collected items, then i can't indulge that option. it's off the menu, period.

the worst that can happen is i lose the final value fee, but usually, if you refund any paypal funds that have been sent in full immediately, that fee is automatically refunded.
or they can delete my account. but i've been going for more than a decade & not had a problem yet.
my feeling is that however disapproving ebay might be, in principle, to my mo, ultimately they are not going to jeopardise the fees they do get from me, to punish me for the fees (a far lesser sum) paypal doesn't.

i also always say to buyers that if they come to collect something & it isn't as exactly what they want (eg different colour to what they imagined or they got their measurements wrong, it's mostly furniture & fittings) they are under no obligation to take it. they only take it if they are 100% happy with it.

under ebay requirements i could hassle them for being a non-paying bidder for not taking it, but again, it's unenforceable. i would just be wearing my fingers down & giving myself stress for nothing.
plus i am a very charming & compassionate person (modest, not so much) & it's not in my nature to make random people miserable for no good reason. i want people who buy something from me to leave with exactly what they wanted & a big smile. that's just nice on a human level.

ebay is just a fancy version of the noticeboard at college, work, pub, or the postcards in the newsagents window. it pretends to be a complex system with a cast of thousands, based complex codes of conduct & terms & subclauses laid out in finest legalese,  to make you feel you are getting something for your money (listing & final value fees).
but the nitty gritty bottom line is that if a seller doesn't want to sell, or a buyer doesn't want to buy, there's not a lot that anyone can do, really.

where there's a will there's a way & vice versa.