Pay Pal Protection?

You should be covered but if paypal can't or won't help and you processed the payment with a credit card, the card companies can be really helpful.

Also, if you ever need to return an item that you used paypal to pay for, ALWAYS use a credit card as the funding source and NEVER send the item back before you file a claim with Paypal. It may seem adversarial but unfortunately it's the only way they will stand behind you if the person on the other end tries something funny. I just went through this with a pair if ICs and luckily I used my cc as the funding source so the cc company took over the claim when paypal told me I was out of luck.

Good luck.

I purchased some records from an Audiogon member several years ago, using PayPal, but never received them. I thought PayPal would protect me, but their response was "there are no funds in the sellers PayPal account so we are so sorry ...." If it's not eBay I wouldn't assume PayPal will cover it. Sadly, there is no way to be 100% safe.

I do not trust paypal and never register any of my personal or business accounts. I use prepaid debit cards instead.

Never use Paypal! I had a friend who sold a gold coin on eBay. Paypal holds the money so he was paid some time after the buyer had paid. When he could, he took the money out of his account. Soon after, he received a complaint that the buyer had not received the coin, but he sent it such a way that he knew the coin had arrived, and been signed for. Paypal insisted he return the payment, despite his evidence that it had arrived safely. If the money had still been in the account, Paypal would have just taken it! My eBay and Paypal accounts were hacked, the best thing that ever happened to me...I got over the bidding madness. I have found many Paypal users will also accept credit cards. Also, I have been screwed by buying from strangers online, but most people are honest and reasonable.

Thank-you everyone who has responded to my post. This was all good info to know and thank you for sharing your experiences.