buying off ebay without using paypal

[wjwren]

Bought a laptop other day on ebay auction. Paid via paypal and seller refunded me hour later and sent a message with:

"i have just issued you a full refund for the laptop, Paypal put the funds in pending (some security thing) and would not release until you reicved the item and i sent it by tracking method (which i would do anyway) however as this falls outside our company policy we cannot ship until we have full cleared funds.
if you still want the item please let me know and we can sort alternative payment. if i dont hear back from you by end of the day I will dispose of

once again sorry for this but its paypal being god again"


To cut long story short he wants me to phone him and pay on my card or pay in cash. I asked can I not pay via paypal at all and he resonded with:

"Hi we have issues with paypals policy as it falls outside our company policy, therefore we cannot accept paypal at this time.

sorry for the inconvenience "

Any ebay bods able to confirm if i loose my buyer protection if I pay without paypal?

[ging84]

how badly do you want the laptop?

if it was a once in a life time killer deal for an apple thing super cheap it's a scam run away
If it was a fairly average deal, then it might not be a scam, but why take the risk with someone pissing about

[Cliftonite]

Is it not a condition of selling on eBay that the seller accepts PayPal, with few exceptions, e.g. motor sales and buyer collection?

Sounds like a scam. What is seller's feedback like?

[Ekona]

Run, don't walk.

[TooMany2cvs]

wjwren said:

To cut long story short he wants me to phone him and pay on my card or pay in cash. I asked can I not pay via paypal at all and he resonded with:

"Hi we have issues with paypals policy as it falls outside our company policy

Doesn't sound like the best of policies for a company who sell a high-risk-of-scam product on eBay.

[TheEnd]

It's something paypal does when they are a little unsure of the sale. The money is held by them until you give feedback and confirm it has arrived.

It does happen every now and again, but they should weather it out, it's only going to take a day or so.

[numtumfutunch]

TheEnd said:

It's something paypal does when they are a little unsure of the sale. The money is held by them until you give feedback and confirm it has arrived.

It does happen every now and again, but they should weather it out, it's only going to take a day or so.

^^ This

Unless he has had a better offer for it from someone else and thinks this to be the most efficient way to spook you into cancelling the sale so he can get his fees back

Either way - alarm bells should ring

[wjwren]

feed back is 89% been on ebay for 10 years. Seller is an apple repair shop. The item is pretty cheap and is under the going rate.

[akirk]

So, PayPal wish to hold onto the money until you confirm receipt...
Not challenging for him, he can simply send it tracked by courier
So you have to surely ask why he wouldn't wish to...
And wh on earth would it be against company policy?

My response to such silly comments is along the lines that their company policy is for them, not for me... If it causes an issue, then they can simply write another policy! It always amazes me when anyone quotes company policy as though it is an unbreakable law

This has all sorts of warning bells ringing...

[Jazoli]

Do not pay by any other means, to do so gives you zero protection, paying a bit more is better than losing the lot.

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 20th December 22:39

[drdino]

If it quacks like a duck...

89% isn't great to begin with.

[anonymous-user]

I wouldn't but if you do, use a Credit card.

I agree paypal can be a right arse but he knew this when he joined ebay.

[eccles]

drdino said:

If it quacks like a duck...

89% isn't great to begin with.

If he's been on there 10 years, then 89% is bloody awful!

[calibrax]

eccles said:

If he's been on there 10 years, then 89% is bloody awful!

Well, it doesn't measure back that far, it only takes the last 12 months of transactions I believe (or maybe 18 months). But it's bad no matter how long it takes. Do NOT pay outside PayPal, it's asking for trouble.

[DuraAce]

Ekona said:

Run, don't walk.

The only solution! Wouldn't touch that deal with a barge pole. It stinks.

Against company policy?! Behave, any decent company would adapt their policy. As a buyer I'd only not pay through PayPal if I was collecting in person and paying with cash.

[havoc]

Whilst I agree with the above posters, I personally think the whole eBay / Paypal thing has got rather greedy - 10% eBay fees, ~4% Paypal fees - that's a hell of a rake for those pair from vendors...

[jp7152]

Is the seller in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire?

[wjwren]

In milton Keynes.

[jp7152]

Ah Ok not the same seller then, however I made a purchase with an apple repair shop and they also refunded my paypal payment and said I must pay on card. I did use the card in the end and the goods came next day and all was fine. Different seller though so probably doesn't help!

[northwest monkey]

wjwren said:

In milton Keynes.

It doesn't matter if they are in Buckingham Palace - just don't do it as it's a scam. It doesn't matter how plausible the chap sounds, it's a scam.

There was a thread pretty much exactly the same as this last week - not for a laptop but for something desirable, fairly expensive & "a bargain".

It's a bargain because it doesn't exist.

TL:DR - it's a scam.

ETA - linky to other thread

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by northwest monkey on Monday 21st December 01:56