I have my G1 and kit lens and 45-200 for sale on Craiglist locally here close to Dallas. Someone has offered to buy it with Paypal. He said to send him a Paypal request to his gmail address and he will pay me. I've only bought stuff on ebay with my Paypal account. I've been reading up on scams and it seems the only way he could shaft me is if I sent him a shipping confirmation before I had the money in hand. Since that would be like the stupidest thing I could do, is there any other pitfalls I should watch out for when getting paid via Paypal? I realize they take a 2.9 percent cut, but is it easy to not actually get your money with PP? Thanks for any thoughts and advice. :smile:
Just wait for any funds to clear, I think this will show as CONFIRMED in PayPal. Once confirmed transfer the money to your bank account then ship the goods. He should also simply send the money to your email address rather than you having to send him a request.
Some PayPal personal accounts are coded so the person can only respond to a money request. It's not an unreasonable request.
Tex, as stated wait for the funds to clear. After he makes payment you will see on your account that is says completed. It is not complete at this point. Like SuperFly stated, transfer to your bank. After you see the money in your account, usually 2-3 days... Then ship.
Just be careful... he can still have it charged back after you have collected the money. They can do that 30-90 days after the fact. If you don't have proof of delivery (like if you handed it to him in person) you don't have any defense to a claim of "he sold me something but never sent it to me." It is probably OK but I would be a little leery about a guy who wouldn't pay cash.
I wouldn't do it. My experience with Craigs List is that anyone outside your area that responds to your ad with a gmail address is a crook. Many of them are using Paypal. If there's a way to cheat you, they have it figured out and you will get robbed. Send them back an email and ask them for a valid email address. Give them your cell phone number and tell them to call you. I'd bet you never hear from them.
getting a phone number that's not contract free would be important if you're selling anything that you can't afford to eat the cost of. cheers
If it is local And they are not comfortable with paying in cash I would go with a verifiable cashier check. Otherwise I 100% agree they are looking to scam, likely by making the paypal payment with a stolen credit card or some other nefarious way in which you'll be out both the money and the camera. Happened to me recently (bought phone minutes through eBay and the seller paid for it with a stolen credit card...luckily I also bought with my credit card so the charges are in dispute now).
