Question - does Paypal protect you?

I'm always a little bit leery when buying from people on this forum. Even though I have had nothing but good experiences so far, I'm always concerned. Especially if the seller doesn't have any forum feedback, and doesn't have very many posts on the forum. And definitely if the prices they are asking are lower than usual.

My question is - if you buy from someone on the forum, and pay through Paypal, and do NOT pay as a gift - are you protected? I'm pretty sure that you are, but I know 100% for sure then I would be more open to buying from newer members.

I know when you buy something on Ebay they offer protection, but I wasn't sure if you buy something elsewhere and pay with Paypal....

Thanks!

From what I understand you're pretty well protected as a buyer if you pay for something not as a gift. As far as if the seller just takes your money and runs you have that 45 day window to file a claim, and they'll take care of you.
The thing I'm unsure of is if the seller sends you a dud, will they help you. If the seller has proof of delivery then I think things would be harder for you.

You're protected, but not always.

I bought a Captain America figure from Maybang Collectibles (EBAY). Seller shipped the item with tracking #. Problem is the address listed on my EBAY account did not have the letter "D" on the apartment # (My Paypal account however has the correct apartment number).


UPS dropped the package at a front door. Problem is since there was no "signature required" upon delivery, the item was left at the door at unit # 309. The question is, which building? In our complex, there are 12buildings, all have a unit # 309. What differentiates ones from the other are the letters affixed with each unit (A,B,C so on)



Long story short, I filed a dispute claim and after 25 days, I did not get my money back from PAYPAL nor EBAY didn't do anything to protect me, as a buyer. Granted, it was partially my fault for not making sure the address is correct on my EBAY account but I've always thought the sellers went by the PAYPAL confirmed address.



Luckily, the item was purchased using my credit card, so I had that as my second line of protection and the bank did issue me full credit after showing them the invoice that the seller didn't in fact used the address listed in my PAYPAL account.



My thing is this. At what point do they (PAYPAL) draw the line? Say you purchased an item and when you received the item, it was totally different from what you purchased. Since there's no third party present to verify content, PAYPAL has to basically just use their own discretion and if you're the one getting scammed, you just have to cross your fingers and hope that PAYPAL would view your case as a legitimate complain, otherwise the scammer gets away with your money.


To be quite honest, I hate PAYPAL but they're the only business that can provide both buyers and sellers instant access to cash with a little bit of protection. Chase QuickPay seems to be garnering some customers since there are no fees involved but I don't know how good their protection is. Mind you, I have used this service twice and both have been very positive, but I will only use this to a very VERY VERY credible member.

Dr. Odd said:

If the seller has proof of delivery then I think things would be harder for you.

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Which is a huge loophole for scammers to use. They can send you an empty box but as long as they used a tracking # on that package, PAYPAL already has that "The seller has provided a tracking # and the tracking states it was delivered to your address on this time and date" excuse.

SMH.

Always be cautious with every transaction. PayPal does not guarantee protection. Do your research before buying, always. Sometimes, a good deal is too good to be true! You might miss some good deals in the process, but it's worth avoiding being scammed as well. Buy from reputable sellers, or at least new sellers that have feedback elsewhere.

Though I would hope that if you keep copies of your correspondsance with the seller, that Paypal would take that into account when reviewing your case. Or take note of things like the seller all of the sudden not responding after sending you a dud.

Good post Ryno, there's always a risk buying or even selling online.

Thanks for the info guys. I usually err on the side of caution, especially if someone suddenly puts up a bunch of sought after figures that are well below market value.

But, the only way for new members to gain feedback is by buying and selling. We all have to start somewhere.

What bums me out is I've bought a few things on here, and the sellers never left me feedback. I always leave feedback for every transaction on here.

Don't feel like you can't ask them for feedback if you haven't already.

If someone sends you a dud, you simply file an item significantly not as described case, go through the process and you'll have to return the item to get your money back.

Whether the tracking shows delivered or not, you wont' be given a hard time as paypal wont' even ask for proof that you didn't get what you paid for.

Most likely only buyer .

cofphoto said:

I usually err on the side of caution, especially if someone suddenly puts up a bunch of sought after figures that are well below market value.

But, the only way for new members to gain feedback is by buying and selling. We all have to start somewhere.

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New members listing rare/valuable collectibles for well below market value is an immediate red flag imo. Learn from the latest guys who received t-shirts when they thought they bought HT Hawkeye's on eBay for around $300.

Sure, new members may want to acquire some quick feedback to get a little established but selling rare/valuable figures for hundred's less than what they could be making makes zero sense.

If a deal sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.
The only exception worth the risk imo would be an established seller w/ tons of feedback unloading their collection due to extenuating circumstances.

If a member here was selling something cool for a good price, and had been a member for at least a year, i'll take a shot.
I have only been burned once by a seller that took payment for a Babydoll and never sent it.
I never got my money back, but he has since been banned.
I figured that based on the thousands of $ saved in import fees from the HT i have bought, that one loss is nothing worth mentioning.
Just be careful and deal with people who have good feedback.

If you want to protect yourself when buying online, pay through PayPal as a regular payment (never send the money as a gift payment) and always have the payment come from your credit card. If you never receive what you paid for (or if it's not in the condition you were expecting), then file a chargeback with your credit card company and they will get your money back. PayPal protection is a crap shoot...sometimes you win, sometimes you don't...but always play it safe when buying online. Credit cards give you that extra layer of protection that PayPal doesn't.

Excellent point Juan. I have a business and one time a customer very wrongfully filed a chargeback claim with her credit card company and they basically took $600 from us and gave it back to her without really digging into the issue.

Your credit card company is always going to try to keep you happy since you are their customer. Screw whoever else is involved. So I like this idea a lot.

Yeah I typically hear about charge backs being used to screw over a legitimate seller by a scammy buyer who gets and item and gets their money back.

I've always heard it's smart to take pictures of the item before shipping and in the shipping box as well as proof that you sent what you say you sent.

I've bought and sold a ton of stuff on boards, mostly on TFW2005, only two things here, but so far have been lucky with nothing but pleasant transactions. I have refused to sell to a few people who came across as shady. My attitude is basically that someone looking to scam you one way or the other won't take the time to be courteous and scammers are usually very brief and have a rushed feeling to them. If someone has a bunch of good feedback and engages me in conversation in a natural way, I'm pretty confident buying Or selling to them.

I feel comfortable using regular PayPal, but if have also sent and received several payments via gift as well. Once a person is well established in a community they tend to value that hard earned reputation. Also tho, those transactions have been for less than Hot toys cost. I probably wouldn't be comfortable sending 200+ as a gift. I once received $400 as a gift for a large transformer, but I think the most I've sent as a gift is about 150.

TakaraJin said:

You're protected, but not always.

I bought a Captain America figure from Maybang Collectibles (EBAY). Seller shipped the item with tracking #. Problem is the address listed on my EBAY account did not have the letter "D" on the apartment # (My Paypal account however has the correct apartment number).


UPS dropped the package at a front door. Problem is since there was no "signature required" upon delivery, the item was left at the door at unit # 309. The question is, which building? In our complex, there are 12buildings, all have a unit # 309. What differentiates ones from the other are the letters affixed with each unit (A,B,C so on)



Long story short, I filed a dispute claim and after 25 days, I did not get my money back from PAYPAL nor EBAY didn't do anything to protect me, as a buyer. Granted, it was partially my fault for not making sure the address is correct on my EBAY account but I've always thought the sellers went by the PAYPAL confirmed address.

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'Partially' your fault????