i'm selling my jeep, and the interested purchaser wants to transfer funds via paypal. it seems like there was a thread on here a few weeks ago where the seller had the funds pulled out of his account when the purchaser disputed the transaction. any advice on proceeding with a paypal payment? should i refuse that method in lieu of a bank check or cash?
Paypal automatically freezes disputed funds once a chargeback is initiated and even providing concrete proof of purchase won't get you your money back. I have to deal with this constantly when ****head hackers from Eastern Europe buy **** from my company's website, reroute the package to some clueless idiot in Iowa who thinks he's working from home for a large Global internet courier and make off with 500-600 worth of product scot free.
I feel sorry for those of west African royal families who really do need to get a loan or borrow some money. No one will ever believe them.
Paypal Invoice is the only way to protect yourself when dealing with payments for goods/services. There is usaully a 2.9% fee plus $0.30. So you can imagine a large sum of payment would include a large fee, plus $0.30. I would definitely say cash or check would be easier, however a lot of people are moving towards digital transactions such as paypal/venmo/google wallet. If you're willing to take on the 2.9% hit (or can charge the buyer that fee) than I would feel at ease accepting that payment. However, it does take a few days for any sum to go from paypal to your bank, and sometimes large sums of money require you to pay paypal for a business membership to have unlimited/uncapped fund transfer. I think it's $1,000 cap for regular membership (free membership). Hope this helps.
No NOT use PayPal for transactions like this. I stopped using PayPal about 7 years ago after I sold a Macbook Pro for $2000 and then guy disputed the charge on the very last day. I sent PayPal proof that I sent the item, proof he received it and more - and PayPal didn't care. They gave the dude his money back and he got to keep my Mac.
We accept PayPal on my company's website. It's reliable and make our customers feel at ease. The downside is we get charged 2.5% plus 30 cents per transaction. But since you'll be doing a one-time payment, be very careful since they can cancel the transaction or dispute it just like you said. If you can, try asking the purchaser to use another form of payment so you don't have to deal with this issue and getting a big chunk taken away from you. Good luck!
