does paypal offer real protection?

ebeemac

I'm considering buying a major item on ebay, (around 1.5k) but am a bit worried that paypal's protection only extends to as much as they can recover from the seller's account at the time of dispute... does anyone know if paying by credit card will also protect me in case of scams?

thanks.

TurkishDelight

Buying on ebay you are covered for the full amount, however if it is significantly not as described you probably will have to send it back (fully traceable and at your own cost). If you are worried, then use your credit card via paypal, that way you are covered by both.

Xaviera

Make sure you use a credit card rather than debit card as they can always do a chargeback

I've bought things on ebay for over 500 quid and it was fine, obviously make sure you do it with someone who has good feedback etc.

TurkishDelight

Link to basic rules: https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=KwRXmTXk2h6LFnG3ntvM2rRCWr0dHChppTjLQlZXp9mvsBS7CLcC!1098221188?locale=en_GB&_dyncharset=UTF-8&countrycode=GB&cmd=_help&serverInstance=9003&t=solutionTab&ft=browseTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionTopic=2500052&solutionId=163499&isSrch=Yes and link to the bit in the user agreement: https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/UserAgreement/ua/EUUA-outside#pbp-policy

Premier_2

ebeemac wrote: »

I'm considering buying a major item on ebay, (around 1.5k) but am a bit worried that paypal's protection only extends to as much as they can recover from the seller's account at the time of dispute... does anyone know if paying by credit card will also protect me in case of scams?

thanks.

If you buy on ebay & pay with paypal, you are fully covered by paypal (even if the seller removes the funds from their paypal account)

If you pay the seller directly by credit card, you'll be covered under Section 75, Consumer Credit Act.

You won't get any extra cover by funding the paypal payment by credit card.
http://www.wider-implications.info/case_studies/wi_03.html

frivolous_fay

Premier wrote: »

You won't get any extra cover by funding the paypal payment by credit card.
http://www.wider-implications.info/case_studies/wi_03.html

... but plenty of CC providers do assist, even if not obliged to do so.