Advice on Ebay, PayPal and collection

[shed9]

Not used Ebay for a while and aware that they have had an ongoing spat with PayPal. Anyhow I have just purchased something large in size (requires collecting) for around <£500 and the seller has asked for PayPal payment before collection (and before giving me the address). Does PayPal protection still cover me if I pre pay and if something goes wrong after that? Their account looks good, not much selling but no alarm bells as such.

Any advice appreciated. Tried trawling the PayPal FAQ's and associated forums but the conversation seems to bias around sellers having issue in not being able to prove collection more than buyers being concerned.

 

[Myfordman]

I would turn up to collect and make the paypal payment there and then in front of the vendor once you have verified that all is well with the item. You could also offer him cash on collection to save him fees and also allowing you to verify the goods.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

offer a deposit, say £100, by paypal prior to collection and then pay the rest either in cash or via paypal once you have seen that the goods exist.

 

[Jacob]

Not used Ebay for a while and aware that they have had an ongoing spat with PayPal. Anyhow I have just purchased something large in size (requires collecting) for around <£500 and the seller has asked for PayPal payment before collection (and before giving me the address). Does PayPal protection still cover me if I pre pay and if something goes wrong after that? Their account looks good, not much selling but no alarm bells as such.

Any advice appreciated. Tried trawling the PayPal FAQ's and associated forums but the conversation seems to bias around sellers having issue in not being able to prove collection more than buyers being concerned.

It's normal to pay up front but there's no reason why the vendor shouldn't allow you to see it first if you want to. I've had a few spats with sellers and on the whole ebay or paypal have given money back. It seems to work OK. Paypal should give you the vendors address anyway. Check his ratings - never buy from anyone under 95%
Not sure that they have a "spat" as such but more just changing how they work Ebay owns Paypal I think

 

[shed9]

Yeah, the seller is selling the item for a friend with no Ebay (it all checks out given what is being sold) and again no alarm bells as such. The Ebay seller is asking for payment before they pass on the collection address and the contact details of the person with the goods. I suppose my question is, if it all goes Pete Tong, will PayPal protect me given it's not a shipped item and collection be me?

 

[Spectric]

the seller has asked for PayPal payment before collection (and before giving me the address)

No No No, high risk to pay for anything you have not actually seen and even worse if you do not know where it is, they may have sold a non existant item to multiple people!! Agree the risk is lower if you only pay a deposit, but if you have one of those clever phones then you could still pay with paypal on collection.

 

[Phill05]

Yeah, the seller is selling the item for a friend with no Ebay (it all checks out given what is being sold) and again no alarm bells as such. The Ebay seller is asking for payment before they pass on the collection address and the contact details of the person with the goods. I suppose my question is, if it all goes Pete Tong, will PayPal protect me given it's not a shipped item and collection be me?

I would be weary if you do not have contact name and address before you pay, I would get back in touch and say you are not allowed to do that, offer to pay them once you have seen the goods.

 

[Jacob]

No No No, high risk to pay for anything you have not actually seen and even worse if you do not know where it is, they may have sold a non existant item to multiple people!! ......

It tells you on the sale entry the "location" but you don't get the address until paid for or made contact. Ebay are chary about this as it would be easy to make deals direct and skip fees etc. They can only sell it once if you buy through ebay by winning the bid or "buying it now"

 

[Steliz]

When you buy on Ebay, whether through an auction or 'buy it now', you have agreed to buy the item and if the seller was posting the item then you would not have a problem with paying up front.

 

[woodieallen]

Walk...nay run away.. as fast as you can. It's a scam and you will have no protection. Why would they not take cash on collection ? It stinks.

 

[Richard_C]

Yeah, the seller is selling the item for a friend with no Ebay

Sounds very dodgy. 50/50 shot perhaps. Ask the buyer a few detailed questions about the item, and some questions about collection - what time of day might be best for you, is there somewhere to park nearby ..... see if you get credible replies. If there is anything wrong with the item, it will be very hard to flush out the invisible friend.

£500 is a lot to risk.

 

[shed9]

Walk...nay run away.. as fast as you can. It's a scam and you will have no protection. Why would they not take cash on collection ? It stinks.

Yeah, I think you're right. I double checked with PayPal T&C's, neither seller nor buyer are protected in this situation. I'm going to insist on paying cash or paypal at point of collection.

 

[woodieallen]

I suspect that the person you are in contact with is not the real eBay seller registered to that name but someone who has got hold of their login details.

 

[mikej460]

eBay and PayPal are very separate now. You pay now eBay not PayPal on a normal transaction and the seller is paid by eBay, so to be asked to pay via PayPal means you are not covered. I agree with the above that it could well be a hacked eBay account. Also ask yourself the hard question - is this a bargain you wouldn't normally expect? Do a search for similar items on eBay and scroll down and select the 'Sold' option - that should hopefully show what prices are being paid.

I nearly fell got sucked into a similar scam a few years ago but I got suspicious and reported it and the item was removed within a few hours.

 

[shed9]

Thank you everyone, as above I've insisted that payment (cash or paypal) is to happen at point of collection. The seller has been cool up until now and besides this protects us both.

 

[baldkev]

Another bit of protection would be to use a credit card via paypal

 

[jcassidy]

This may not be a scam but it has the two main features of one; insisting on Payment off-platform and insisting on full payment up front.

On the other hand, a fraudster would happily give you a real address, it just wouldn't be theirs...

I can understand their reluctance to provide an address but i assume you also have good ratings on ebay, and trust goes both ways.

 

[okeydokey]

To get full ebay buyers protection only pay ebay which is now the usual method. Paying paypal means the seller has not set up a bank account to get money they receive from ebay sales. Ebay don't use paypal anymore so any buyer wanting you to use paypal is not imo sound.
DO NOT pay a deposit in advance of collection
So it looks as if its cash on collection only or RUN AWAY from what looks a scam.
Its academic as Ive suggested RUN AWAY from this but does the seller have loads of feedback or just one or two?

 

[Ollie78]

I recently bought a bike for my daughter from ebay, one of the first things I have had to collect lately.
They issued a QR code to my phone, the seller scans this code with their phone on pick up. I think the seller doesn't get their money until the code is scanned.
This is a new thing and the first time I or the seller had encountered this method.

Ollie

 

[accipiter]

Another bit of protection would be to use a credit card via paypal

I seem to recall that is not the case... something said on a Martin Lewis TV show. I also believe it is mentioned in the PayPal FAQs but others need to check for themselves.

Although you (people with PayPal accounts) can and do use credit cards listed in theirPayPal accounts (I do) there isn't the same protection as you would expect when paying direct with credit cards.