***DO NOT GIFT FUNDS ON PAYPAL***

[BobinNC]

I'm a 4 year member with only 70 posts. And that's my problem not the forum's. But forum rules, which I do not object to, bars me from posting in the General Discussion forum due to the 200 post requirement.

Consequently, I rarely read anything posted in General Discussion, because if I cannot post in it, why even read it? Further I come to M4C for technical information, not general blather. But today I was rather surprised to read this:

"Do not gift funds using paypal to transact business with parties that are unknown to you. Do not do it. Treat anyone who asks for this payment type as a scam, unless you know them, and actually would trust them not to take your money. "

I rarely post anything for sale and rarely buy anything through EE, but this information, advise and warning is important to all members, and not just to those with over 200 posts.

My gripe is that it is not mentioned at all in any of the EE rules, and is only posted in a forum that ALL Members cannot partake in comment or discussion. So posters with less than 200 posts may not even read it or even be aware of it.

Please make this warning available to the entire membership and post it prominently.

Thank you.

[kdcgrohl]

I believe this is called common sense.

That being said, I ask for payment that way all the time, but I also have a good reputation to back it.

My advice to any and all, use your brain when conducting business. Surely I'm not the first to think of this...

ETA: So I'll now be permanently banned for asking for my preferred method of payment?

[SHIVAN]

Sorry to all who commented on this thread last night, when I copied it, the content got stripped off. My bad.

[Koshinn]

I believe this is called common sense.

That being said, I ask for payment that way all the time, but I also have a good reputation to back it.

My advice to any and all, use your brain when conducting business. Surely I'm not the first to think of this...

ETA: So I'll now be permanently banned for asking for my preferred method of payment?

The gift method of payment in PayPal is... A gift. You're lying to and stealing from PayPal to save a few bucks and you're asking your buyers to trust that you'll send the item they paid for, because they have no way to recover their money if you don't.

[Co-gnARR]

The gift method of payment in PayPal is... A gift. You're lying to and stealing from PayPal to save a few bucks and you're asking your buyers to trust that you'll send the item they paid for, because they have no way to recover their money if you don't.

This. I am new here, hence the low post count, but I am concerned that everyone seems to miss the point that using PayPal gift for exchange of goods is a violation of the PayPal's User Agreement. While I am not accusing the established members on EE of being crooks, stating that one accepts PayPal gift in lieu of the fees for using PayPal's service is itself advertising potential theft of services. To put it another way, PayPal could cause a big problem for this site if the EE is filled with sellers who accept PayPal gift.

From PayPal User Agreement:

4. Receiving Money.
4.1 Receiving Personal Payments. If you are selling goods or services, you may not ask the buyer to send you a Personal Payment for the purchase.If you do so, PayPal may remove your ability to accept Personal Payments.

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/u...reement-full#4

It behooves you all to also be familiar with the Acceptable Use policy. PayPal could flat out deny you any type of support simply due to the nature of this site and the items that appear on EE.

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mp...ptableuse-full

I admit that I'm just as quick as everyone else to just start clicking through the End User Agreements, acknowledgements, etc each time I upgrade software, log into a site, etc, but in the end, we are responsible for reading, understanding, agreeing to and complying with the terms of service for vendors.

[Jwknutson17]

So I have been on the other side of the PayPal gift, goods fence. A few years back, I sold a guy a 400 dollar car part. He paid me with the goods and services option. I sent him the part, he received it, and this is where I get screwed. He took the new part out of the box, put his old part in there, and opened up a dispute with paypal. He took a bunch of pictures of his old part, and sent them to paypal claiming I sent him a junk part. Soon as he gave paypal the return shipping tracking number, Paypal reversed the transaction. So he got a new part, and his money back. And what was I left with... a junk part and no money. When I tried to dispute his dispute, they said they I had no proof that I sent him the part "new" and from his proof, showing a bad part in the box as if I shipped it, that they determined I was at fault. I didn't have my account linked to my bank, so I couldn't dispute it from them. Just a really bad situation. I think if you have positive feedback.. like I do, is a lot safer to have someone send a "gift" if they do not have positive feedback. But again, I look at the buyers feedback before I agree to sell anything. If they have zero, I request "gift" or USPS MO. Then again, in all the stuff I have posted for sale, I give the option for USPS MO also.. There is never anyway around having someone at risk in online dealings. Buyer or seller.

And we haven't even got into the whole firearms related goods on paypal thing..

[Co-gnARR]

And we haven't even got into the whole firearms related goods on paypal thing..

That was one of the points I was hoping to make, quietly, by linking the acceptable use policy. If someone on PayPal's side feels aggressive, they can make trouble here.

[SHIVAN]

ETA: So I'll now be permanently banned for asking for my preferred method of payment?

Just like the risk you ask your buyer to take, you run the risk of being reported if your request comes across as a scam. The paypal gift request, especially from complete strangers, is a known scam tool.

If you prefer dealing in risky transactions, rock on. I hope no one decides your communication, mannerisms, and requests "feel wrong". Good luck.

[SHIVAN]

Bumping it up. For more awareness. If you read it, bump it. Comment. Discuss.

[Halo09]

Good point! Normally paypal is linked to my checking account and not a credit card, so for the seller, the fees are a lot less.