PayPal Buyer Protection For Non-eBay Purchase

[berserkerplanet]

This is a hypothetical scenario.

I've found an item on Craigslist 100 miles from here (absolutely not going to pick it up) and exploring possibilities to float to the seller.

I'm assuming he's not an online seller, not shipping savvy, etc, and trying to come up with a workable situation to present with an offer to make it painless for the seller to ship the item to me and have protections for both of us. (insure he gets paid and I get the stuff)

I envisage paying for the shipping and creating the label with my discounts (either PayPal USPS PM or FedEx Ground through my FedEx account), and getting the label to him either via email or snail mail. (Not sure if it can be done with FedEx at all, and for sure the PayPal USPS label would have my address as both sender and receiver)

• How would a label generated by me and used by the seller to ship work in terms of both buyer and seller protections via PayPal?
• Can a seller with a personal (not business or premiere) PayPal account generate an invoice for goods to engage PayPal protections (as opposed to a Friends&Family situation where if he doesn't ship or ships a rock I'm hosed)?

Any other thoughts on how to make something like this work with some safeguards.

Thanks.

[janet9988]

I would not do it as a seller.

You should go ask on the Paypal site .

Personally, the seller listed it on Craigslist for the local pick up reason.  I can't imagine them shipping.

[berserkerplanet]

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I would not do it as a seller.

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Why? Invoiced PayPal transactions have the same PayPal protections as eBay transactions do. Tracking showing delivery protects seller against INR, and PayPal Buyer protection protects buyer in SNAD situations.

You should go ask on the Paypal site .

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The PayPal forum platform sucks in my browsers and I avoid them whenever possible.

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Personally, the seller listed it on Craigslist for the local pick up reason.  I can't imagine them shipping.

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Most Craigslist sellers are not eBay sellers, and they "list for local pickup" because they don't know any better and aren't tooled up for shipping. In this case the guy can't seem to unload the item, and may welcome an opportunity to get it gone, particularly if I can provide an easy way to do so online (I provide a label, he boxes it up, slaps the label on, dumps it at the PO, and gets his money.

I would have no problem shipping and have done so in the past, but I did it as the seller with a Premiere PayPal account that had no problem accepting the payments , and with savvy buyers who had PayPal accounts and knew the ropes.

My questions here are about details about what a non-business PayPal account can do, and SNAD/INR, etc implications of a buyer supplied label.

I appreciate the response.

[*eponymous*]

Sure, you want all that buyer protection, and to put the seller in the position of not being able to prove delivery and losing a PayPal INR. Yeah, not gonna happen.

Payment is by cashier's check or PayPal f&f on that venue.  Think about why that is.

[bubbleman2010]

CLs folks won't go anywhere near paypal thats why its there and not here...

[berserkerplanet]

I have thought about it.

Explain to me how a non-F&F invoiced goods PayPal transaction with tracking doesn't protect the seller.

[southern*sweet*tea]

A seller can absolutely invoice a sale and have INR protection, just like a buyer can have the same 180 day protections Paypal gives them. As long as it's done through  goods and services and not friends and family, there is coverage.

[southern*sweet*tea]

A little more info

https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/what-is-the-seller-protection-policy-and-what-items-aren%...

What is the Seller Protection Policy and what items aren’t covered?

Seller protection is a free service provided to our members. It reinforces our commitment to building trust and safety in our network. It acts as a safeguard for claims, chargebacks, or reversals opened for the following reasons:

• Unauthorized Payment
• Item Not Received

Seller protection does not provide protection for:

• Claims, chargebacks, or reversals for items significantly not as described.
• Intangible items, licenses for digital content, and services.
• Items that PayPal determines, in its sole discretion, as counterfeit items.
• Items that you deliver (or are picked up) in person.
• Personal Payments that are received.
• Sales that are not processed either through a buyer’s PayPal account or a guest checkout transaction. This includes sales made using the PayPal Payment Pro/Virtual Terminal (VT) product, PayPal business payments or PayPal Here.
• Items equivalent to cash including gift cards.

Seller protection is only available for qualified transactions. The Activity page shows whether or not your transaction is eligible for coverage under this policy. If it is, ship to the shipping address displayed once you click the transaction.

[janet9988]

Okay for 1 very big reason. The seller is not protected if you purchase the shipping  label as YOU will be the shipper on record NOT the seller. That is why I would never do this.

If buyers ask sellers for this that is very big red flag of a scam.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@janet9988 wrote:

Okay for 1 very big reason. The seller is not protected if you purchase the shipping  label as YOU will be the shipper on record NOT the seller. That is why I would never do this.

If buyers ask sellers for this that is very big red flag of a scam.

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Sellers are never covered, and never have been covered, if the buyer purchases the shipping label.

"To ensure that your items are shipped to the appropriate address, do not accept shipping labels from the buyer or offers to use their shipping services (such as access to their account), since you will not be covered under Seller Protection. Fraudulent buyers may encourage you to use their shipping services since they have the ability to change or re-route the shipping address and then open a claim saying they did not receive the item from you."

If you are not shipping an item, a buyer cannot claim non-delivery.

[coolections]

No, no, and no. If you need it that bad drive the 100 miles and pay with cash.

[*help_no_brakes*]

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@coolections wrote:

No, no, and no. If you need it that bad drive the 100 miles and pay with cash.

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Agree...golly in the remote area where I am we drive that far to get a pizza, a doctor who won't kill you & extra kegs when we have been caught short at the pub.

[femmefan1946]

Paypal is used all the time outside of eBay. I've used it to send birthday money to relations, sell tickets to science fiction conventions, and bill customers for my other online businesses.

The seller can either use the Invoice option or the Send Money option.

The buyer pays.

The buyer is covered by Paypal's Buyer Protection for 180 days from payment, longer than eBay's 30 days from last estimated date for delivery.

There are the same reasons for Disputes as eBay.

The main other difference is that if the item is Not As Described, PP insists that the buyer pay for return shipping before authorizing a refund. This is a sort of Seller Protection.

There are so many frauds with buyers sending FedEx shipping labels (from their employer's company usually) that I would warn any seller to arrange his own shipping and charge the buyer before shipping. A seller should never allow a buyer to make these arrangements.

The reason is that the seller has to protect himself and his business from fraud too. And the buyer pays for the service the seller chooses.

[jonathankirkland]

I seriously doubt anyone on CL would even entertain the idea of accepting a Paypal payment let alone shipping a local pick-up only item.

OP have you even asked if the seller is willing to do this to begin with? Because from what I read of your post it seems this is all hypothetical and if you haven't received confirmation whether he's even willing to do it then this is all for nought.

[albertabrightalberta]

I have a question for you that hasn't been raised.

As a seller with 105 current and 122 completed listings, you are clearly not a novice. Presumably you know the rules for seller protection so why would YOU as a seller even consider another seller's protection?

Although I'm not accusing you, nearly every time I've seen "hypothetical" situations posted, they're posted by someone who is testing to see whether a scam will work.

Don't do it, don't risk your own reputation and integrity by giving others the impression that you're less than honest and buy from someone who WILL ship, OFFERS shipping and has the same protection YOU would want if you're the seller! I can't imagine that whatever the item is that it's OOAK and you can't find another.