Lay My Hat

Hi, nothing to do with holiday rentals but I have a Paypal query. My daughter is about to sell a very expensive saddle and the buyer wants to pay by Paypal. My understanding is that this is too risky, because the buyer could easily say it is faulty and we get a chargeback and one lost saddle. My daughter seems to think it is only risky if they send a Friends and Family payment which can be easily recalled. But my understanding is that it is just as risky if I send a Paypal invoice and just as easy for a buyer to dispute the payment if they were that way inclined. Any ideas please?

Silly question maybe but how are they collecting it ,or have you to send it.
We have had a similar problem with a piece of agricultural equipment ,if they pay you by bank transfer they have to trust you to send the item or they pay by another method and you have to trust them.
My son sells machinery on eBay he always sends things by a good carrier on a parcel tracking that way they can't say it has not arrived.

If you are posting the saddle and have tracking you should be okay.

If the buyer is collecting it, don't use Paypal because there is no proof that the buyer ever received the item and to be honest there is no reason why they can't pay cash.

A buyer can always fund the Paypal payment with their credit card and later claim that the card was stolen to receive their money back.

I am a professional Ebay seller and in the last eight years I have only had one Paypal problem. I sold an antique grandfather clock movement, the buyer reported it a arriving damaged and so I agreed to a return/refund. When it arrived it had a huge hole drilled in it and looked as if it had been hung, along with its heavy weights, on the wall and had fallen off causing all kinds of damage. I phoned Paypal and sent them photos that could easily be compared to my original photos. They agreed that even the worst delivery system doesn't drill holes. They reassured me that wall would be well, then refunded the buyer in full.

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I didn't give enough information. The saddle is not being sold on Ebay and they want us to send it by courier, hence my worry. I'm really nervous about it, because of the high value of the item. Even if I get proof of delivery it seems they could easily get a full refund if they claim it arrived damaged and I'd have no hope of recovering the saddle. I know absolutely nothing about this person, so I think we may have to insist on cash on collection or no sale.

I could ask for a bank transfer and I understand that I'm asking them to trust me. What if I take a dated photo of myself holding the saddle outside our house sign. They could then google earth our address to see that it matches the photo. Would you trust that as a buyer, or is there a flaw in that?

Just an idea has your daughter or you got any friends in their area that you could send the item to for cash on collection.I did this for a friend from Hereford with a horse related item lovely lady collected it signed to say she had collected and all was in order ,put cash in bank for friend same day.

louloup wrote:I am a professional Ebay seller and in the last eight years I have only had one Paypal problem. I sold an antique grandfather clock movement, the buyer reported it a arriving damaged and so I agreed to a return/refund. When it arrived it had a huge hole drilled in it and looked as if it had been hung, along with its heavy weights, on the wall and had fallen off causing all kinds of damage. I phoned Paypal and sent them photos that could easily be compared to my original photos. They agreed that even the worst delivery system doesn't drill holes. They reassured me that wall would be well, then refunded the buyer in full.

Good advice. Always take photos before sending and photos of the packaging too. Then send with insurance. Paypal usually sides with the buyer but only if there is no evidence.

Thanks for the helpful replies. Am I right in thinking, that a Paypal payment is only a risk if they use a credit card to fund the paypal payment, or can they easily get their money back no matter how they fund it? If it's a card problem that's the issue, is it possible to restrict a Paypal payment to a bank transfer, or debit card payment?

Louloup, did you ever your money back from Paypal?

No I didn't In Ebay world the customer is always right,even where there is good proof to the contrary.

I often sell 'off Ebay' now and one of the key things is establishing trust. It is very similar to holiday lets in that respect, my gut instinct has served me well over the years and I have learned to trust it.

I would normally exchange lots of emails, especially for high value items.

If the payment it made as a 'gift' between friends or family, they can't be reversed, so if they send the money to you as a simple money transfer and not as a sale payment there shouldn't be a problem.