A Paypal Offer - Is This Secure?


Hi All,

I am selling a CAT amplifier and have a paypal offer from a buyer who has very little feedback (only one transaction) and does not speak english well and communicates only small bits of information at a time. I am nervous about this. I spoke with paypal and they told me that as long as:

1) I am selling something of substance
2) I ship to the paypal address, no other address
3) I can document the shipping of the product

I am protected as a seller. If this is true, I should be able to accept his offer and make sure that I am shipping to the address listed in paypal, and I should be fine shipping pilot air insured (with tracking and all, including photos of packing, etc). What do you guys think? Is this too much of a risk, or not really a risk at all?
peter_s
Guys - I thought bank transfers were reversable. Am I wrong about that? If they are reversable, they are less secure than paypal... I will ask my banker about this...

Peter
No, Paypal is not telling the whole truth. I sold to a person who decided to put a claim into Paypal because he did not get the item in one day! No kidding. PayPal locked up these funds from my account with no questions asked. PayPal will do what the buyer wants with no good reason.

Your buyer can make any silly claim and the funds be held so the money is not yours.
Peter_s, bank wire transfers are the safest method for the seller. It is by far my favorite way to deal Internationally, beeter than Paypal. There are some fees involved, so check with your bank so that you are aware what the fees are.
Bank transfers are not reversible. But paypal has other info for every participant (checking acct/credit card) so that if you received $ by wire for a sale and then immediately withdrew the $, paypal can still charge back your checking acct or credit card.
That's why if you are a seller, a pure bank transfer or cash is best. If you are a buyer, you want paypal in order to have recourse in the event of a problem.