Paypal advice please!

girl_withno_name

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on Paypal payments... and apologise in advance if this isn't the best board, I couldn't see anywhere more appropriate?

I'm about to buy an item (not through ebay) and pay using paypal - would I be covered if the item is not received, or not as described?

The seller has requested that I not use the 'purchase' option, presumably to use the 'personal' option instead - would I still be covered using this personal payment option? (I would hazard a guess that no, I would not!)

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Obviously_the_best

No it wouldn't, the reason they are asking you is they don't pay as much in fees, but it doesn't protect you, if I were you I'd tell'em where to stuff it!!!

girl_withno_name

I guess I could offer an amount which would cover the fee they'd have to pay... such that I pay a little more for the protection, but they don't lose out?

If it's genuinely just the fees that they're concerned about then this approach should be satisfactory to them. However, if this approach still presents them with an issue then I will certainly certainly lose all confidence, even in the simple existence of the item!

Obviously_the_best

Yes or it could be they plan on fobbing you off with something they know you'll want to open a dispute on.

girl_withno_name

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

Yes or it could be they plan on fobbing you off with something they know you'll want to open a dispute on.

I see your point, but if I offer to pay an extra 50p to cover the fees then, as far as I'm understanding, one of two things happens:

• They accept, payment sent as 'purchase', such that I'm covered should the item not arrive or not be as described, be faulty, etc. Hence I should receive a refund via paypal if necessary.
• They do not accept, continuing to insist I pay using the personal method and I proceed no further with the purchase.

Am I misunderstanding something?

MyOnlyPost

Depends how much the payment is as to how much the fees are. 50p would cover fees for a payment in the region of £9.50 or so

Also what are you buying? as not everything is covered anyway.

girl_withno_name

I'm buying a jumper... sounded like that would be covered, as far as I could see anyway?

Having done some calculations to determine the extra amount I'd have to give such that the seller retains the initially agreed amount after paying the relevant fees (having assumed 3.4% + 20p), this extra amount came out to be 52p

prettyflamingo

really the point is that they shouldnt be asking you that in the first place, as it isnt the correct way of carrying out a paypal payment for an ebay purchase, or for any purchase for that matter- you shouldnt have to offer to pay extra to cover their fees, because as a seller one ebay they have to offer paypal as a payment option and they should be prepared for the fees involved. it is completely unfair on you as a buyer to ask you to compromise your transaction security or to force you into offering more money.

girl_withno_name

prettyflamingo wrote: »

really the point is that they shouldnt be asking you that in the first place, as it isnt the correct way of carrying out a paypal payment for an ebay purchase, or for any purchase for that matter- you shouldnt have to offer to pay extra to cover their fees, because as a seller one ebay they have to offer paypal as a payment option and they should be prepared for the fees involved. it is completely unfair on you as a buyer to ask you to compromise your transaction security or to force you into offering more money.

I feel that maybe I haven't been completely clear, but this isn't a purchase through ebay so the seller isn't under any obligation to offer paypal (although it certainly presents itself as a convenient option).

I agree that I don't feel comfortable that they've taken this approach - I would have preferred them to have considered such fees before stating their price, including all factors into this price initially.

hermum

girl_withno_name wrote: »

I feel that maybe I haven't been completely clear, but this isn't a purchase through ebay so the seller isn't under any obligation to offer paypal (although it certainly presents itself as a convenient option).

I agree that I don't feel comfortable that they've taken this approach - I would have preferred them to have considered such fees before stating their price, including all factors into this price initially.

Is it advertised somewhere like Gumtree where they would have been expecting a local buyer, turning up, having a look at it & paying in cash? Or was it advertised as Paypal payment an option?

girl_withno_name

hermum wrote: »

Is it advertised somewhere like Gumtree where they would have been expecting a local buyer, turning up, having a look at it & paying in cash? Or was it advertised as Paypal payment an option?

It was advertised on a facebook page, so I don't think either of the two options above apply.