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A Paypal Offer - Is This Secure?

Hi All,

I am selling a CAT amplifier and have a paypal offer from a buyer who has very little feedback (only one transaction) and does not speak english well and communicates only small bits of information at a time. I am nervous about this. I spoke with paypal and they told me that as long as:

1) I am selling something of substance
2) I ship to the paypal address, no other address
3) I can document the shipping of the product

I am protected as a seller. If this is true, I should be able to accept his offer and make sure that I am shipping to the address listed in paypal, and I should be fine shipping pilot air insured (with tracking and all, including photos of packing, etc). What do you guys think? Is this too much of a risk, or not really a risk at all?
peter_s
fingerpaws
51 posts
 
I have a friend who got burned by PayPal and there are a lot of web sites that tell horror stories of how folks are cheated, and how long PayPal may hold your money. I know many people use it, but there are risks you may not be aware of until something goes wrong. Proceed with caution, and make sure your shipment has to be signed for by the person receiving it.
jp1208
502 posts
 
Lack of communication will make you feel uneasy so use your gut instinct.
harri009
100 posts
 
I have found that many audiophiles willing to spend the money on nice equipment are Asian decent. So I myself had to get past the communication issue to sell to some very nice audiogoners. But I would definitely document everything with pictures and use paypal
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Best way to be 100% sure is to accept only bank transfer to your account. Just make sure you understand if/what your bank will charge you and account for that. if it's a big transaction, it will almost undoubtedly be cheaper than paypal and once the money posts to your account, it cannot be reclaimed. Second best is USPS M.O.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,261 posts
 
I have done 65 transactions here on Audiogon and all involved PayPal. 50% of my transactions were as a seller and the other 50% transaction's were as a buyer. I never once had a problem. In every case where I sold something, as soon as the funds cleared, I used my PayPal debit card at a local atm machine and withdrew all the funds immediately before shipping the item.

I find PayPal to be hassle free and it is the only way I want to be paid when selling something. It is also the only way I will pay for something when I am buying.
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