Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
Paypal is a fine means of paying for a purchase as long as you trust the seller. If the seller is dishonest however, it is very easy to rip off a customer.
The "buyer protection" that paypal claims to provide is little more than an illusion in reality.
Let's say I wanted to make a big score with an ebay scam. I could list numerous items for sale, at a considerable discount from their actual value, and sell them fairly quickly. Say I bring in a thousand dollars from these sales.
If I set it up right and have the purchases made within the same two or three day period I can receive payment for the items, and then move the money from my paypal account before the buyers ever would have expected the items to be delivered.
Once the money is gone, they can no longer seize the funds for reimbursement. They of course lock down the account, but I don't care because I've made my money on the scam and don't need the account anymore. All the disputes in the world won't get those buyers their money back.
What it boils down to is use your judgment wisely. Use paypal when you trust the seller or they have a high number of completed transactions. Otherwise send a money order, because the fact is when someone sets out with the intention of ripping people off, paypal can't do anything about it.
The "buyer protection" that paypal claims to provide is little more than an illusion in reality.
Let's say I wanted to make a big score with an ebay scam. I could list numerous items for sale, at a considerable discount from their actual value, and sell them fairly quickly. Say I bring in a thousand dollars from these sales.
If I set it up right and have the purchases made within the same two or three day period I can receive payment for the items, and then move the money from my paypal account before the buyers ever would have expected the items to be delivered.
Once the money is gone, they can no longer seize the funds for reimbursement. They of course lock down the account, but I don't care because I've made my money on the scam and don't need the account anymore. All the disputes in the world won't get those buyers their money back.
What it boils down to is use your judgment wisely. Use paypal when you trust the seller or they have a high number of completed transactions. Otherwise send a money order, because the fact is when someone sets out with the intention of ripping people off, paypal can't do anything about it.