Hey. I made an email offer to a guy selling a Mac mini on eBay(a good bit less than he was asking) and after a little haggling, he's agreed to a price. But the thing that I'm not sure about is that he has no feedback and wants my paypal email in order to invoice me that way (I'm assuming to avoid the fees)... Should I just walk away? Or am I protected?
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Using Paypal outside Ebay.
- Thread starter afrocleland
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Hi Afrocleland. Might be better to use Paypal under eBay and transact within eBay for your protection and in case you encounter problems in the transaction. eBay can't help you if the payment was made outside the eBay "business territories" You can also check out other online stores like OWC or MacofAllTrades as they sell used Mac Minis.
Yeah, I'm kinda reluctant to go ahead with it. A buyer with no feedback is one thing, but wanting to use PP outside ebay is another... Both together just worries me.
I agree with Macsonic. It is much, much safer to make your transaction within Ebay. They seem to protect buyers against fraud very well.
I would suggest to the seller to change his listing to add "best offer". Then you can place your offer and he can accept it. This way, it will remain an Ebay transaction and you are protected. Changing the listing should not cost him anything.
I would suggest to the seller to change his listing to add "best offer". Then you can place your offer and he can accept it. This way, it will remain an Ebay transaction and you are protected. Changing the listing should not cost him anything.
People use Paypal without eBay all the time, it is just as safe with no eBay. Some of the most popular scenarios for this are when selling stuff through buy/sell sections of various forums. I have done that many times, both as buyer and seller, and did not have any issues. Paypal has the same fraud protection when dealing outside of eBay.
Remember, eBay takes 10% of the purchase price as a fee (including shipping), so it's no wonder the seller would want to try and avoid it. I really hate what they have done to that auction site, fees used to be so small and affordable. Now when I have anything of value to sell, eBay is a place of last resort, always try local classifieds and interest based forums first.
TL;DR: just because someone wants to avoid eBay, does not mean they are out to scam you. They just want to save money.
Remember, eBay takes 10% of the purchase price as a fee (including shipping), so it's no wonder the seller would want to try and avoid it. I really hate what they have done to that auction site, fees used to be so small and affordable. Now when I have anything of value to sell, eBay is a place of last resort, always try local classifieds and interest based forums first.
TL;DR: just because someone wants to avoid eBay, does not mean they are out to scam you. They just want to save money.
Using PayPal outside of eBay is just as safe as it is through eBay. Just make sure that the invoice is for a physical item, not a service.
eBay charges about 8% seller fees on computers, so if you have been haggling with the seller, he is just trying to limit his expenses (nothing wrong with that).
eBay charges about 8% seller fees on computers, so if you have been haggling with the seller, he is just trying to limit his expenses (nothing wrong with that).
If you are really concerned, then have them list it for you at the price that you both agreed upon. They may say no, as they are taking a reduced selling price and are trying to save fee's.
If you go the Paypal route, then the invoice the seller sends you should have it listed as a physical item. This will at least give you Paypal protection.
You should not accept the deal any other way but by your terms if you go outside of Ebay to complete the transaction.
If you go the Paypal route, then the invoice the seller sends you should have it listed as a physical item. This will at least give you Paypal protection.
You should not accept the deal any other way but by your terms if you go outside of Ebay to complete the transaction.
UPDATE: Got the guy to agree to post it on ebay for the agreed price! I got it! 
Need to wait til Monday til I actually have it now!
Need to wait til Monday til I actually have it now!Its a scam most likely. He will send a e-mail that looks like an invoice, but will get your paypal login/password.
I'd would never circumvent eBay, unless it were a local in person/cash transaction.
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Just curious -- if he found you outside eBay -- how did he find you? If he's from craigslist ... you should ignore it unless hes local, then deal locally.
What happened was that the guy had it on as an auction. So I emailed and offered a buy it now price. He originally wanted to send an invoice through paypal, but I said I'd need to it to go through paypal especially since it was a new account. So now that its all above board and through ebay, I can claim my money back if it turns out to be a scam! Hopefully not though!
Good luck and hope you finally get a Mac Mini Just sharing this. My officemate bought a juice maker from a seller and the juice maker was defective when he tested it. Contacted the seller with several follow up eBay messages and seller was not responding. My officemate filed a case that forced the seller to respond. During the case on debate, seller was not cooperative and refuses to refund the buyer's money. Finally eBay ruled in favor of my office mate and simply refunded his money and case solved. I think the advantage of transacting under eBay is it gives eBay "control" on the completed payment. If the payment was made outside of eBay the buyer may not get much help from eBay.
It's not really eBay that handles the finances, but Paypal. Moreover, you still do not have any guarantees of getting all your money back. It is possible that a seller transfers all the money from their Paypal account to their bank, at which point Paypal becomes much more limited in issuing refunds. I once was bitten by such fraud - it was a full blown eBay auction, too - and only got back $90 out of $240 I spent on it. eBay said this was all they could recover from the seller's account. They are not going to bite the bullet for your loss.
Thanks for the tip. At first I was assuming eBay or Paypal would somehow get the refund from the seller's account and not having eBay to shell out the money from their pockets.
In most cases, it is a reasonably safe way to buy and sell things online, but nothing is ever 100%. As a buyer, I try to do my research on what I buy and from whom. A fraudulent seller can withdraw the funds to their bank right away and just forget about the buyer. If you file a claim, Paypal will see if there is any money left in the seller's account, if there is, they refund it to you, otherwise they can try to get it back through collections or similar, but the chances of that going through are pretty slim. The likelihood of the seller still having funds in their Paypal account are higher if it is a high volume or otherwise well established, active seller. They have money coming in often, so chances are good Paypal will be able to pull that back if necessary.
On the other hand, the seller's side of the business is not all unicorns and rainbows. There are fraudulent or just troublesome buyers, too, and I've had some negative experiences with that. A buyer makes an unfounded complaint and Paypal freezes whatever funds you have with them. Can take weeks to get it resolved, which is not fun at all. For that reason, whenever I sell things, I don't keep the proceeds there longer than it takes me to log in and make a withdrawal.
I use PayPal all the time if I know what I'm getting. Even make donations with it, or if a far away friend needs a few dollars.
But if I was purchasing something from a stranger, and was taking a chance on a purchase, I could not expect PayPal to assist with problems other than just a purchase trail saying I paid for something and they got the money. (maybe somewhat kinda sorta(?) paper trail if needed for backup)
Bob
But if I was purchasing something from a stranger, and was taking a chance on a purchase, I could not expect PayPal to assist with problems other than just a purchase trail saying I paid for something and they got the money. (maybe somewhat kinda sorta(?) paper trail if needed for backup)
Bob
I needed to get my 6 posts online to be eligible to PM.
Just joined the other day in hopes of reaching someone on here who made a post on how much to ask for an item that I happen to be looking for.
Naturally I get my posts in, go to PM him/her and they don't get PM's.
Ah, so close but yet so far.
Bob
Just joined the other day in hopes of reaching someone on here who made a post on how much to ask for an item that I happen to be looking for.
Naturally I get my posts in, go to PM him/her and they don't get PM's.
Ah, so close but yet so far.
Bob
I sold 2 things on this website and got paid by paypal. 1 person did gift and the other decided not to but paid my paypal fee for me.
I have also had 2 people buy things from me off craigslist in person and pay me with paypal gift because they didn't feel like finding the nearest ATM of their bank.
I have also had 2 people buy things from me off craigslist in person and pay me with paypal gift because they didn't feel like finding the nearest ATM of their bank.
FYI to all......
IF ebay ever finds out that you are making and/or accepting email/side deals/ offers for stuff listed on there, you both will be found in violation of the TOS, and most likely get your accounts suspended, frozen or completely banned.
So I would suggest you NOT post things like that on a public forum ......ebay has been known to browse boards like this for certain info during their investigative processes....
OTOH, sending money with Paypal is fine, just as long as you follow the rules and do your research on who/what/when/where first.....
Most of the members here use it, including me, every day to make deals thru the marketplace, and at other boards too
IF ebay ever finds out that you are making and/or accepting email/side deals/ offers for stuff listed on there, you both will be found in violation of the TOS, and most likely get your accounts suspended, frozen or completely banned.
So I would suggest you NOT post things like that on a public forum ......ebay has been known to browse boards like this for certain info during their investigative processes....
OTOH, sending money with Paypal is fine, just as long as you follow the rules and do your research on who/what/when/where first.....
Most of the members here use it, including me, every day to make deals thru the marketplace, and at other boards too