Is this a potential Facebook scam and if so how would it work?

km1500

Check they have used f+f to pay you because if they use normal paypal you **must*** ship ot to their paypal address to get seller protection.

Tunstallstoven

@subjecttocontract - good and fair point, but in this instance it's a fairly robust and "rustic" (biffed up) piece of furniture, so it should be ok being transported.  It's more from the potential scam point of view that I'm concerned.  

@km1500 - yes, thanks for that.  They haven't made payment yet but I did indeed ask for F+F.  

Ta

GadgetGuru

The fact that they are willing to pay whatever you want for the item with no haggling whatsoever. 
The fact that they are willing to pay extra on postage even when provided a quote. 
The fact that they suggested PayPal F&F themselves. 

All red flags. If the item is expensive I’d rather be safe then sorry. 

prowla

I think that if they pay you and then it turns out that they didn't have the money then it'll be taken back.

But as a buyer I won't pay by F&F.

soolin

prowla said:

I think that if they pay you and then it turns out that they didn't have the money then it'll be taken back.

But as a buyer I won't pay by F&F.

If they don’t have the money then the payment won’t be made , it can’t fail once recipient has received it. 

Tunstallstoven

Well, while I contemplated what to do next, the buyer sent me a rather rude message saying he had bought something else, and telling me what he thought of me!  Never mind.  Guess I'll never know whether he was legit or not, but based on the message he sent it was probably for the best.  I'm sure another buyer with less alarm bells will be along at some point!  

Thanks for all the replies and help all the same

born_again

soolin said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

soolin said:

usually a chargeback for fraudulent use is easily defended by a seller as paypal cover you if you prove you have sent it to the address given by paypal, within 7 days and have proof of delivery to that address. Paypal f and F has no address associated so seller has no way of defending it.

I don't think seller protection applies to Friends and Family as it's not intended to be used to sell stuff.

OP how far away is this person?

Have you suggested cash on delivery at £x per mile? 

If they agree to that they are probably genuine.

That said if something is making you feel uneasy it might be best to walk away, that temptation to grab a sale can sometimes lead to a poor decision  

A chargeback via a bank for fraud trumps any buyer or seller protection, paypal have no choice but to pay the bank back and try and grab the money from seller. As per my rather confusing explanation, a seller has full protection with paypal for a g and s payment, but not for a F and F payment.

I've never had a F and F payment chargebacked for fraud, but I have had several G and s clawed back and defended each and every one of them by using my seller protection. AS mentioned though it is very rare as it is a difficult scam to pull off so probably unlikely to be used unless the item was high value.

PayPal can reject a chargeback. Like any other retailer they have a right to contest these. Especially if it is F&F as these are not covered for purchases. 
All PP have to do is give the reason for rejection.

In Op's case I can see how it works. It will be a hacked PP account not belonging to the fraudster. Which is why they have not quibbled @ F&F payment. 
Anyone with any sense never buys anything using F&F due to zero purchase protection.

soolin

born_again said:

soolin said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

soolin said:

usually a chargeback for fraudulent use is easily defended by a seller as paypal cover you if you prove you have sent it to the address given by paypal, within 7 days and have proof of delivery to that address. Paypal f and F has no address associated so seller has no way of defending it.

I don't think seller protection applies to Friends and Family as it's not intended to be used to sell stuff.

OP how far away is this person?

Have you suggested cash on delivery at £x per mile? 

If they agree to that they are probably genuine.

That said if something is making you feel uneasy it might be best to walk away, that temptation to grab a sale can sometimes lead to a poor decision  

A chargeback via a bank for fraud trumps any buyer or seller protection, paypal have no choice but to pay the bank back and try and grab the money from seller. As per my rather confusing explanation, a seller has full protection with paypal for a g and s payment, but not for a F and F payment.

I've never had a F and F payment chargebacked for fraud, but I have had several G and s clawed back and defended each and every one of them by using my seller protection. AS mentioned though it is very rare as it is a difficult scam to pull off so probably unlikely to be used unless the item was high value.

PayPal can reject a chargeback. Like any other retailer they have a right to contest these. Especially if it is F&F as these are not covered for purchases. 
All PP have to do is give the reason for rejection.

In Op's case I can see how it works. It will be a hacked PP account not belonging to the fraudster. Which is why they have not quibbled @ F&F payment. 
Anyone with any sense never buys anything using F&F due to zero purchase protection.

I agree that paypal will reject a claim of fraud if a paypal balance is used, but if buyer sends payment via credit or debit card then bank gets involved , just the same as if a credit or debit card was used fraudulently in any other place. As I have said, this is an uncommon scam, it turns up every now and then and we have had only 2 examples of it that I can recall on here covering a good few years. 

born_again

Yes the bank gets involved, but Pp can contest & often do if account, name or address match.