paypal

[pussyfoot]

Don't know if i'm in the right area here.

I've got a car for sale and after a few brief exchanges with the intended buyer he wants to pay via paypal (£8,600) Is this safe???

Sorry, i'm a more mature user of the internet.

Kind regards

[sherrardk]

We sold our car last week on EBay but the buyer couldn't transfer the amount through Paypal (don't know if it was their problem or a paypal problem). It also takes a while for paypal money to turn into actual cash that you can get your hands on. Could the buyer not pay cash or bring a bank cheque? (This would also save two lots of paypal fees.)

[The-Toff-]

You should ask the buyer to pay only a small deposit via paypal and the rest in cash when they collect the car, paypal will charge you a small fortune on a transaction of that amount of money,

[hc4361]

I would be very wary. If he is funding the payment via fraudulent means such as a stolen credit card you will lose every penny, even if it has cleared in to your account.
PayPal can and does reverse payments on fraudulent transactions.

My guess is he is honest but wants to fund it by credit card, but that is a lot of money to risk.
Insist of cash. In fact when I sold my car last month I took my cash buyer to my bank to deposit the money to ensure it wasn't fake. My buyer was fine with that.

[hc4361]

By the way, PayPal can make a chargeback of funds up to 120 days, longer in some cases.
It is not their decision, it is the credit card company that has been used fraudulently that insist on it. (And rightly so)

[welshlibranr]

yes, safe, as long as the payment is cleared before you give the car to him!...........

[hc4361]

Errr, no. Paypal can and do recover money 3 months after payment has been cleared.

[wildwood]

Is it not possible for the buyer to make a direct deposit to your account? Done in a minute via internet banking and often 'clears' quickly.

[Old_Geezer]

Maybe they are under the impression that PayPal protects them if the goods prove faulty?
In my experience they didn't for me. Washed their hands of a blatant fraud. Used some feeble excuse about not getting a postage number when I returned the goods, when at no point had I been asked to get one.
They may be convenient but don't rely on protection as a buyer, and from what I see here, not as a seller either.

[denis567]

I sold a horsebox for my daughter a couple of years ago, this was paid for via Paypal, and we had a lot of messing about before they would let the transaction through. I forget now the details, but we had to fill in forms to say it was not money laundering, and they charged a hefty fee at the end of it. Personally, I would ask for cash or a bank cheque.