PayPal Gift Card Scam

[trailsupplyco]

Please be careful when selling Gift Cards on eBay. Pay Pal does not protect Gift Card sales at all. A Buyer can receive and use your gift card and then file a claim with Pay Pal saying that the purchase was unauthorized. There is nothing you can do about it, even if you have the tracking numbers. So the buyer gets their money back plus your gift cards and the seller gets nothing. Pay Pal is basically enabling scammers and they don’t seem to care because in the end they still keep their fee. This happened to me today. I am taking action in small claims court because Pay Pal has offices in my state but wanted to warn others especially with the Holiday Season coming up. 

[gwzcomps]

I am surprised anyone that wasn't a scammer would buy a $50 gift card for $60 though. Sorry you lost your card and money, but something doesn't add up here.

[trailsupplyco]

It’s a credit card points thing, I have sold gift cards over their value on several occasions and the transactions have been fine. Though I have done it via auction in the past and not buy it now. Will not do it again in the future. 

[a_c_green]

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@trailsupplyco wrote:

I am taking action in small claims court because Pay Pal has offices in my state but wanted to warn others especially with the Holiday Season coming up. 

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You're taking action against PayPal? Or against the buyer?

[gwzcomps]

The credit card points stuff is over my head. I know I am missing out I just don't have time to figure it out. Sorry to hear things didn't work out.

[earlyant-77]

• Upon purchase, buyer will be provided with the card number and PIN number in order to check the balance.

• The physical plastic card will be sent via regular mail to buyers address.

If you mailed it without tracking, you will lose.

If you mailed it WITH tracking, all you need is proof of shipment to the PP address to win a UA paypal case.

[cashvaluerecovery2011]

I sell cards via local pick up only on a site with no fees. Paying 10% or more combined fees and shipping with no protection is just not feasible. You wont sell them for a few dollars over value but i sell $100 cards i buy for $75 for $95 within an hour of offering them. Cash only. No returns. No shipping.

Any transfer of value online with the ability to return it just screams for scammers to get involved.

[wesk_36]

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@gwzcomps wrote:
I am surprised anyone that wasn't a scammer would buy a $50 gift card for $60 though. Sorry you lost your card and money, but something doesn't add up here.

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No, it doesn't add up. Who would buy a gift card for more than the face value? The purpose is to buy it for less or equal to face value, otherwise it's a negative cash flow.

Credit card points for the extra $10 add-up to pennies. Even for total $60, the points wouldn't equal the extra $10, not even close. Listing it for more than face value doesn't make sense either. Maybe there is a secret here that I don't understand.

[wesk_36]

I guess I could understand it if the buyer is using eBay Bucks or the cash they already earned from credit cards to pay for these gift cards. Then paying more would make sense.

[a_c_green]

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@trailsupplyco wrote:

This happened to me today. I am taking action in small claims court because Pay Pal has offices in my state but wanted to warn others especially with the Holiday Season coming up. 

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As someone else has already pointed out, from your listing:

Upon purchase, buyer will be provided with the card number and PIN number in order to check the balance.

I don't understand why you would do that. That simply enables the buyer to drain the card before tracking shows that it was received. They don't need the physical card to make on-line purchases. They can then file a Not As Described dispute and state that the card had zero balance when it arrived.

Who are you taking to court? PayPal, or the buyer?

[trailsupplyco]

No as I already stated Pay Pal does not provide any protection for Gift Cards regardless of whether you have the tracking or not. I did provide the tracking and they still would not cover. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

I don't know of anyone that covers cash equivalents like gift cards.  I could be wrong, though.

[trailsupplyco]

I am taking Pay Pal to court because I provided them with the tracking number, the conversation with the buyer, proof of purchase, time stamped photos, and they still sided with the buyer that scammed me. Pay Pal is at fault ultimately for allowing this to occur. I was never made aware that they don't cover gift cards, I was allowed to post the gift card and select pay pal as a payment option and there was no disclosure of anything. I was under the impression to eBay and Pay Pal were safe and secure and would protect me and I was clearly wrong.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@trailsupplyco wrote:

I am taking Pay Pal to court because I provided them with the tracking number, the conversation with the buyer, proof of purchase, time stamped photos, and they still sided with the buyer that scammed me. Pay Pal is at fault ultimately for allowing this to occur. I was never made aware that they don't cover gift cards, I was allowed to post the gift card and select pay pal as a payment option and there was no disclosure of anything. I was under the impression to eBay and Pay Pal were safe and secure and would protect me and I was clearly wrong.

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You were under the impression that you were protected from such things, and Ebay and Paypal are under the impression that as a seller, you are versed on their policies when you sell.  It's all in the terms of service.

You can try to sue, but you don't have a case.

[trailsupplyco]

I do have a case and I am on my way to file it right now. I have been to Small Claims court around 10 times in my life and I have lost 0 times but thanks for your input. Pay Pal is aiding and abetting scammers.