Paypal payment for craisglist item

[TromboneAl]

I have someone coming to look at a couch that we're selling on craigslist, and he would like to pay with paypal. I don't see any problem with that, do you?

 

[ProspectiveBum]

As long as the payment hits your account before he drives off with the item (and you don't mind eating the paypal fees), nope, I don't see a problem...

 

[Darryl]

I've never had a problem sending or receiving payment with Paypal and can't think of a problem either Al but agree it does seem suspicious. If they are standing right there why they don't just hand over the cash. Worried you will try and mug them? Hard core hand to mouth folks that can use their charge card for the paypal transaction? Sophisticated couch thieves? Tough to decipher.

 

[thefed]

I'd make him pay cash. If he disputes it, how will you prove he has the goods?

 

[Walt34]

It does seem odd, but as Darryl says perhaps being mugged is the purchaser's concern. Or of course the purchaser could be using a stolen Paypal account.

If it was me I'd prefer cash.

 

[Moemg]

They probably want the protection that paypal provides .

 

[TromboneAl]

I think it is his way of paying using a credit card. That is, he can have his paypal account take the money from a credit card, and he can pay that off later.

He says that he and all the other Nigerian dictators pay that way.

 

[tmm99]

I know even with PayPal, sometimes depending upon how the paypal is set up, it takes a few days to clear, I would wait to give the goods until the money clears.

 

[Moemg]

He says that he and all the other Nigerian dictators pay that way.

No ,they usually just send phony money orders !

 

[sirion]

Please be aware that you as the seller pay the fees! So if he uses a credit card, your account has to be able to accept a credit card payment and the fees will be deducted from the amount that is deposited in your account. If you want the full amount, you can use a PayPal Fee calculator to determine what it is and up the price, although that approach is technically against the PayPal terms of service.

 

[TromboneAl]

Well, it worked fine, and I've gotten my payment.

I let him log onto our network to set the payment, so afterward, I decided to change the network password. After finally figuring out how to do that, I changed the passphrase, and bang, everything stopped working. I must have hit Apply before I was ready.

I'd forgotten that I could hook a cable from the computer to the wireless router to get things going again, so it took me a while of frustrating work (without Internet access) to get things working.

 

[sirion]

Glad to hear it worked out! And you are probably even more glad that the couch is gone...

 

[TromboneAl]

"Craigslist" not "Craisglist." Am I getting flakier, or what?

 

[ziggy29]

Hopefully they won't hit you with a chargeback on the PayPal account.

 

[Darryl]

He says that he and all the other Nigerian dictators pay that way.

I want to buy your item if it is still available please respond and I will arrange pickup and pay with certified check.

Please don't be alarmed you are selling a couch in California and I am In New Jersey.

 

[TromboneAl]

I actually got about four of these:

Hello,

I greatly appreciate your swift response and am okay with the price and the condition and i will like to make an outright purchase of this
particular item,i anticipate that a certified cashier,s check will be sent to you via ups as the mode of payment, concerning the pick up, i will be responsible for that, where my mover will come for the pick up at your location upon your confirmation of receiving the payment and cleared your bank and i want you to remove this item from the ad.i ought to come for the viewing but due to my tight schedule i will like you to provide the information below so that the payment will be done as soon as possible:-

1.......full names
2.......full home address
3......City, State & zip code and tel#

As soon as this is provided i will let you know when payment is mailed out and i will update you on when you will receive the payment, and give you instructions on what to do..I hope we handle this in good faith...

Thanks while waiting to hear from you​

 

[Moemg]

I actually got about four of these:

Hello,

I greatly appreciate your swift response and am okay with the price and the condition and i will like to make an outright purchase of this
particular item,i anticipate that a certified cashier,s check will be sent to you via ups as the mode of payment, concerning the pick up, i will be responsible for that, where my mover will come for the pick up at your location upon your confirmation of receiving the payment and cleared your bank and i want you to remove this item from the ad.i ought to come for the viewing but due to my tight schedule i will like you to provide the information below so that the payment will be done as soon as possible:-

1.......full names
2.......full home address
3......City, State & zip code and tel#

As soon as this is provided i will let you know when payment is mailed out and i will update you on when you will receive the payment, and give you instructions on what to do..I hope we handle this in good faith...

Thanks while waiting to hear from you
​

Also I am to inform you that you won the Nigerian lottery just send a check for $599 to cover the application fee and I will send you $2,000,000 Nigerian dollars .

 

[thefed]

seriously though...what would your story be if he challenged thru paypal or his ccard?you're sunk

and when they see that the transaction was processed from your ip address? not good imho....

perhaps im too cautious....

 

[ziggy29]

seriously though...what would your story be if he challenged thru paypal or his ccard?you're sunk

Some people use "throwaway" bank accounts to use for PayPal. They open an account with a small amount of money -- with no overdraft protection -- use that to link to PayPal, accept deposits and immediately pull the money out of there, into a place where PayPal can't get to it in case of a chargeback.

There are indeed scam artists who do attempt chargebacks shortly after paying for something, claiming they never got the item. There are protections for sellers receiving money built into eBay sales if you jump through all the hoops, but I don't believe that Craigslist sellers have those protections. So creating a "side" account just for accepting PayPal deposits (and getting it out of there ASAP) is a layer of added protection.

 

[davemartin88]

TromboneAl, I'll bet it all works out. Maybe it would have been advisable to take a picture of the new owner standing by the couch in their truck just for "sentimental" reasons, lol.

 

[calmloki]

Youse guys are hard core - is there a lot of used couch theft and cunning financial sneakery that goes on to shyster used furniture?

 

[TromboneAl]

It was a small, calculated risk. The guy seemed very nice and reliable, and I really wanted to get the couch sold.

 

[tryan]

Always wondered who could fall for the Nigerian prince scam ... then one of my tenants looses 3k!

Packaged a little differently. She was under the impression she was employed by the scammer. Told to deposit a "paycheck" then go to Walmart and see if the halls were clean and clear of debris. Then - of course - most of the "pay check" had to be reimbursed (wired) within a day of being deposited. Banks must credit deposits within 24 hours ... 3 days later - of course - it bounced. But the wired funds are gone. Problems persist for the tenant: bank is pursuing fraud charges against her (thinking she is part of the scam). Soooo a payment plan was set up to get the bank back the 3k. The bank has grabbed a $900 direct deposit from her account. Needless to say the rent is LATE.

Yeah, I know ... not the sharpest tool in the shed! But if it wasn't working - every once it a while - they wouldn't keep trying.

 

[ziggy29]

Youse guys are hard core - is there a lot of used couch theft and cunning financial sneakery that goes on to shyster used furniture?

In this case I'll bet the dollar amount was small enough that it was worth trusting the guy. But in the general case, there are Craigslist scams using PayPal chargebacks out there. If you're dealing with small amounts of money and you have a pretty good "Spidey sense" to ferret out situations that smell funny, you can reduce your risk to an acceptable level.