Is this a Paypal Scam

I have a buyer that says he wants to buy some equipment but said he is waiting for a Paypal transaction to clear so that he will have enough cash. He said it'll be a few more days and said:

"If you want, I can give you a money-down right now of whatever price and then give the rest to you once I have it and then you can ship the lens."

If check my Paypal account (not relying on a confirmation email) and confirm the money is there. Is there any risk? BTW the guy is paying asking price and would ship to US. Does this sound like a scam or am I just paranoid?

That sounds fine with me. Ask him/her to send the down payment as a gift. If not, the regular is fine but then he/she needs to mentioned that the 2nd payment is to completed the original payment. This way when you include the tracking number in the second payment, he can not scam you on the 1st payment saying you did not ship.

Good luck...

Apollo.11 wrote in post #14443322
I have a buyer that says he wants to buy some equipment but said he is waiting for a Paypal transaction to clear so that he will have enough cash. He said it'll be a few more days and said:

"If you want, I can give you a money-down right now of whatever price and then give the rest to you once I have it and then you can ship the lens."

If check my Paypal account (not relying on a confirmation email) and confirm the money is there. Is there any risk? BTW the guy is paying asking price and would ship to US. Does this sound like a scam or am I just paranoid?

I was also thinking of posting publicly that he has a deposit. Not sure if that helps or not.

Personally I wouldn't do it that way. I would not take a deposit and then secondary payment later. Not because I think he's trying to scam you; but just from personal experience the less complicated a transaction is, the better. Just tell him that once he gets all the funds together to make the transfer but until then if your stuff sells it sells.

foster2380 wrote in post #14443428
Personally I wouldn't do it that way. I would not take a deposit and then secondary payment later. Not because I think he's trying to scam you; but just from personal experience the less complicated a transaction is, the better. Just tell him that once he gets all the funds together to make the transfer but until then if your stuff sells it sells.

I think that's good advice that I'll follow. Thanks!

Not necessarily a scam, but be careful. Read this thread here in Market Watch. I've done this in the past, but to be honest, if you don't have any other potential buyers, just wait for his transaction to clear so there's less headache.

klr.b wrote in post #14444373
Not necessarily a scam, but be careful. Read this thread here in Market Watch. I've done this in the past, but to be honest, if you don't have any other potential buyers, just wait for his transaction to clear so there's less headache.

Thanks for the info. Yes, I'll just wait.

wait until the buyer has the funds to make the transaction.

rick_reno wrote in post #14445449
wait until the buyer has the funds to make the transaction.

Yeah, I did. Been in contact with the buyer and it is just a whole lot smoother to sell it in one transaction. Thanks for input everyone.

BTW, seems like the guy really is legit, but like I said, much smoother to do in one transaction.

It doesn't matter in how many parts the funds come in. Be sure you only ship to a verified address and that you ship with adult signature required and insured.

Does it matter if it's a verified address. I usually ship FedEx ground with signature required.

Apollo.11 wrote in post #14447181
Does it matter if it's a verified address. I usually ship FedEx ground with signature required.

You must ship to a PayPal verified address if you want to have any seller protection from PayPal.

It certainly could be on the up-and-up. I know a guy who buys and sells a good amount of gear. He doesn't have much money at all so sometimes he finds himself in a situation like the one you described and he is honest as they come.

av8r wrote in post #14447137
It doesn't matter in how many parts the funds come in. Be sure you only ship to a verified address and that you ship with adult signature required and insured.

It can matter, if your buyer is a scammer. If you receive funds in two separate payments only one will be linked to your shipment. If buyer files a "not received" claim on the unlinked payment you have very little recourse. That is why someone else mentioned that initial payment should be "Gift".