How safe is PAYPAL ?

[nismosr]

can anybody hack into you paypal account just by giving them your paypal email address ? i ask this because i put my ipod for sale for $150 and somebody replied to me that she'll pay $170 and pay thru paypal ? and im a verified user of paypal and i have my bank account and cc # on my paypal account. is it safe to give out your paypal email add ? thank you

[Woolburr]

Paypal is fairly safe...and there is no way for someone to access your account with just your email address...but what is concerning is someone offering to pay more than you are asking...just to use paypal....sounds like a scam to me.

[chr15b]

maybe it's a omfort thing, i'd be pretty worried about doing a bank xfer and crossing my fingers that the item arrived

[nismosr]

whats gonna is shes asking me my paypal email add so she could send me the money for payment on the Ipod im selling. so you think i should go ahead and give her my email add for paypal.

[Woolburr]

She can't send you any money via paypal without it.

[StealthLude]

i like paypal... makes things faster and eaiser.

[vwown3d]

make sure u check ur account when they say they paid u. i have had fake emails generated saying i got paid, them when i log into paypal my balance is zero. Just use common sense and you will be fine. Also, paypal will never send u emails linking u to log in!!!!

[milleker]

She may be asking for shipping in that price too, also PayPal will charge 3% on some transactions if the person pays with a credit card, some people will throw in a few extra bucks to help you out. I believe you need the PayPal business account (free) to take credit cards.

They're pretty safe and reliable, actually had great service on the telephone twice. They had a really rocky start but since eBay bought them out they've been a nice service.

[rhys]

Paypal does not appear to be governed by banking legislation yet it claims to be a bank then it claims to be a payment service. I would not trust an entity that exists and hides in legal grey areas. That's without counting the money my wife has lost through PayPal's glitches.

[Woolburr]

Paypal does not appear to be governed by banking legislation yet it claims to be a bank then it claims to be a payment service. I would not trust an entity that exists and hides in legal grey areas. That's without counting the money my wife has lost through PayPal's glitches.

Just as a point of curiosity...Is there anything you don't bitch about?:rolleyes:

[azpix]

paypal is very safe. i use it alot without any trouble.

anytime some one offers to "over pay" be weary. But as another stated the operpay may just be accounting for shipping and fees.
If you do, just don't send anything untill you get the $ in your paypal account.

[steved110]

Also you have to make sure that you ship the item by a means that includes on-line tracking and signed-for delivery - this is essential - if you don't, all the other person has to do is inform Paypal that you never sent the item, and they get refunded - you have to be able to prove delivery.

I find paypal convenient when buying and selling on ebay, but I have never used them for anything expensive. I sold my 75-300 USM II on ebay for £130 ( you have to love some people!) and was happy to use the service because it is fast.

so long as you follow the rules you'll be OK

[bestfromnw]

i would say that paypal is as safe as it gets

[MegaTron]

anytime some one offers to "over pay" be weary.

This is the best advice in this thread.

No one is going to voluntarily overpay you.

You might want to only give your paypal address out to those whom you think are serious buyers. Giving out your paypal address can potentially lead to fraudulent emails trying to "phish" your password and login. NEVER click on a link to sign into paypal. Its much safer to just open up a new browser window and type in paypal.com and sign in that way.

Read the paypal policies. If you are a verified seller, paypal only covers you if you send your item to a verified paypal address. So, make sure your buyer has a verified account, and only send to the address that is listed when they send payment. If they ask you to send to a different address, politely decline, or ask them to change the address that is listed on their account. If you send an unverified address, you WILL NOT be covered by paypals seller protection program.

[darktiger]

It is pretty safe. Just use a bit of common sense and you will be fine...

[funnypicmaker]

just check the address carefully. for example, it was very easy to create this web page for my cat:
http://www.paypal-online-transfers.com/

and lots of fake urls actually look like the paypal main page.

[tim]

I've made a dozen or so payments using paypal, and i've received money half a dozen times, and i've never had a problem. I accept credit cards for my photography business via paypal, transferring the money to my New Zealand bank account only takes 2-3 days even though they say it will take 7-14 or so.

[cjm]

I still use it because it is safer then using a MO. And although you will be banned for life if you initiate a credit card chargeback, you can still do that should you get really really really screwed by a seller. Usually the mere threat is enough for a scammer to refund.

When selling on a board I usually either split the fees with the buyer or have them pay the fees. On eBay I have to sell the item for much more to cover both eBay fees and paypal fees. The PayPal fee is an absolute joke! Why does it cost say $30 to move $1000 and $3 to move like $100? It is the exact same movement.

[rhys]

I still use it because it is safer then using a MO. And although you will be banned for life if you initiate a credit card chargeback, you can still do that should you get really really really screwed by a seller. Usually the mere threat is enough for a scammer to refund.

When selling on a board I usually either split the fees with the buyer or have them pay the fees. On eBay I have to sell the item for much more to cover both eBay fees and paypal fees. The PayPal fee is an absolute joke! Why does it cost say $30 to move $1000 and $3 to move like $100? It is the exact same movement.

IMHO, I prefer the good old fashioned cheque. I've had people refuse to pay by cheque and demand PayPal which tells me straight away that they're running a scam.

[MegaTron]

The PayPal fee is an absolute joke! Why does it cost say $30 to move $1000 and $3 to move like $100? It is the exact same movement.

Im not saying that I agree with the paypal fees (of course id like for them to be lower) but it is NOT the same movement.

If you walk into any retailer, and pay by credit card, that retailer is also charged about the same fees, roughly 3% of the purchase price, sometimes even higher.

I honestly dont think that 3% is all that bad when you consider how quick and easy the transactions are.

[chr15b]

IMHO, I prefer the good old fashioned cheque. I've had people refuse to pay by cheque and demand PayPal which tells me straight away that they're running a scam.


Sometimes it's not about running a scam

paypal is quick and easy

with paypal i dont have to worry about stolen cheques


" " cheques clearing

" " bouncing

" " the bank cancelling the transaction a couple of months later

with paypal follow their rules relating to delivery and your fine

[cjm]

IMHO, I prefer the good old fashioned cheque. I've had people refuse to pay by cheque and demand PayPal which tells me straight away that they're running a scam.That is the wrong way to look at it. because of the following.

1. Cheques off NO protection to a buyer. Remember they are taking the gamble buying from you because you don't send the item until you get the money in your hand.

2. Impulse buyers using a Credit Card dont have the money in their bank account so a Cheque is not possible.

3. Paypal is absolutely safe, like 99.567880% safe for the seller if the seller is being absolutely honest and up front about the item they are selling, where as a seller who excepts Cheques or Money Orders only say scam.

4. A Cheque and MO can be a forgery or counterfeit where as it is hard, still possible but rare for a PayPal payment to be faked.

So until Credit Cards come out with their own safe payment method, its coming eventually. PayPal is really the only, saftest way to buy. ESPECIALLY when buying from another country, were say Canadian money is sent to France and given in EURO's or USD is sent to Australia and given in AUD. Lot easier then exchanging at a bank.

[cjm]

When I sold on eBay I was against PayPal beacuse of the fees and risks involved. Then I started using it and I realized how much business I actually lost because of not having the CrapPal