cash on pickup, what about paypal?

shaun_from_Africa

i dont get why people would rather lose money than lose feedback scores.

Because if you sell a lot and possibly rely on ebay for your living, a few neg feedbacks or poor star ratings can make a very big difference to where your listings appear in searches.
Also It doesn't take too many bad reviews for you to get a selling suspension.

macfly

RHemmings wrote: »

It's a good idea NOT to accept payment by paypal for cash on collection items.

There is a common scam which goes like this: Someone wins a "cash on collection" item, and pays by paypal. They come around and collect the item. After a while, the buyer (scammer) opens a dispute claiming that they never received the item. Paypal then asks the seller to provide evidence that they delivered the item, which the seller doesn't have. Therefore paypal reverses the payment, and refunds the buyer. The buyer then has both the item, and the money, and the seller has neither.

How common is this scam? I've only heard about it on here. Bear in mind, the buyer would have to claim their account was hijacked and go through the trouble of changing their details. I only remember one post on an actual scam involving a high value TV.
I've sold many items via paypal and had collection. Never been a problem.
I think it's rare, not at all common. Something to watch out for if the item is valuable, or a buyer is prepared to travel an unreasonable distance for it.

martindow

macfly wrote: »

How common is this scam? I've only heard about it on here. Bear in mind, the buyer would have to claim their account was hijacked and go through the trouble of changing their details. I only remember one post on an actual scam involving a high value TV.
I've sold many items via paypal and had collection. Never been a problem.
I think it's rare, not at all common. Something to watch out for if the item is valuable, or a buyer is prepared to travel an unreasonable distance for it.

Why would the buyer need to claim their account was hijacked?

Most people are honest but there is a suggestion that unscrupulous people can target collection items. As you say only likely to be a serious risk for high end items.

Gothicfairy

I sold my stove on ebay and it went for over £150. They buyer paid through paypal and collected.
I did ask that he signed a note to say he had it etc not that it would do me much good through paypal but I figured it was better then nothing and I also left feedback to say collected etc.

Never had any problems thank god, and I have found most people are honest and as Soolin has said, you can't actually stop someone paying by paypal either.
I have also thinking about it paid for collection through paypal as I had that amount in my account (and it was quicker then getting the cash), I did ask the seller first and they were happy with that as it meant they could pay their ebay fee's for that month without moving money or it coming out of their bank account.

I would also go by how many feedback the other person has, if it is someone with a lot of feedback I would hope they are less likely to do anything to risk that account.

macfly

martindow wrote: »

Why would the buyer need to claim their account was hijacked?

Most people are honest but there is a suggestion that unscrupulous people can target collection items. As you say only likely to be a serious risk for high end items.

Because it's fraud. Setting aside what paypal does, it's illegal. The scammer would either have to move the goods on quickly or claim someone else picked them up. There would be emails to arrange pick up as evidence. It's just not as easy as claiming non receipt.
There's far too much emphasis on scammers here. New ebayers are likjely to be put off.
Take the common mantra "only ever post to the paypal confirmed address". People are sweating about a £5 item not having protection. Well, it doesn't, no matter where you send it.
I take any method of payment the customer is happy with. And I allow collection. In eight years, I've never been turned over.

RHemmings

hcb42 wrote: »

I would refuse it. I wouldnt care about ebay rules. If you're picking it up, it is cash, or no sale.

It's a balance between the risk of a NPS strike and bad feedback, versus the risk of being scammed.

RHemmings

Gothicfairy wrote: »

I sold my stove on ebay and it went for over £150. They buyer paid through paypal and collected.
I did ask that he signed a note to say he had it etc not that it would do me much good through paypal but I figured it was better then nothing and I also left feedback to say collected etc.

Surely a written receipt for the goods would help if you took it to small claims court.

macfly

And just how serious is that risk? The feedback is more than likely. The scam is almost an urban myth.

RHemmings

macfly wrote: »

And just how serious is that risk? The feedback is more than likely. The scam is almost an urban myth.

As a member of the River and Lake Swimming Association, I have noted that people quite often have VERY weird and inaccurate impressions of various risks. People will make decisions based on their impression of risk, quite independently from the accurate, objective, risk.

RFW

macfly wrote: »

I take any method of payment the customer is happy with. And I allow collection. In eight years, I've never been turned over.

I'm pretty much the same, though I do ask for cash on collection, I've never been in a position where someone has insisted on paying by Paypal when collecting, most usually volunteer to pay by cash before they are asked.