How secure is PayPal?

Im selling my 07 Harley Davidson Night train. I have this guy who wants to buy it but won't call me. He wants to conduct all transactions over PayPal and email. My gut says obvious scam. But here is my question:

If someone pays you via PayPal how long is the float before the actual cash confirmation catches up with the electronic marker from PayPal?

I called my bank and they confirmed that when your using two different banks there is a float btw the electronic funds notification and the actual cash confirmation. (USAA members I did find out that when you send a payment through PayPal they deduct your account instantly.)

Does anyone know how to ensure you don't get scammed via PayPal? Has anyone ever been scammed when shipping a product? If you are subject to a internet scam go to www.ic3.gov and report it. It's the intel/collection hub of all internet crimes.

 

I use PayPal all the time, in this case I wouldn't.

 

I'd tell him if he wants it to come get it with cash in hand. No reason to not talk to a seller when your buying something, especially a vehicle.

 

Yeah I have sold quite a bit of powersports on CL & ebay.
I would take a small deposit non refundable $250 to hold but otherwise it is cash in hand/show up in person.
Anything else is a scam.

 

Can't Paypal be drawn from a credit card? In that case the buyer can do a CC chargeback within a month.

 

Exact details of the sale needs to be in email or Paypal comments for record purposes, but you need to speak to the buyer over the phone. Filters out a good portion of scams that way.

 

There is a scam for everything, Face to Face on this one OP, IN God we trust all others pay cash for something over say 300 beans......Just my 2 cents.. Jim

 

Agree this was definitely a scam. Now my question is can I open a case and arrest them? Thanks for your guys advice and knowledge of PayPal.

 

accept the paypal payment.... don't release the item until funds clear.

make um wait.... or find out its a scam & take um down! Call SWAT

 

I've bought a high dollar item a couple years ago when I received the part it was not as described, I was able to get a full refund, and it was 3 months later!

Paypal has pretty good protections in place, but maybe you can actually call Paypal and ask them what the best next move is

 

I asked a buddy @ the FBI cyber unit to look into it. He also has a contact @ PayPal so hopefully I'll have answers to my questions soon.

 

nice work!


fella has no idea whats coming to him!!! LOL

 

I too have used paypal a lot. Have bought and sold several vehicles on ebay and have used paypal for the deposit. This sounds fishy to me. Seller beware.

 

This........

and that too. Safe not sorry is the way to go.

 

I've purchased/sold quite a few items on Ebay and always use paypal. I've always had good luck. Other than face to face, cash transactions I think it is the safest.

The one time I had a problem is when I won an auction for next to nothing and paid instantly with paypal. The buyer took my money, but then demanded nearly 3 times what they originally quoted for shipping(which was already paid for in the original transaction.) I immediately requested a refund to back out of the deal. The buyer gave me negative feedback and would not refund my money nor ship the item. 2 weeks later Paypal's resolution center had my money back for me.

 

Paypal has buyer and seller protection in place for anything over $25. I would contact paypal and see what kind of protection they offer. If you do decide to go that route,make sure you take a bunch of good high-res pictures ( if your camera has a date stamp on it then use it ) just in case. Good luck either way.