Paypal is pretty safe, right?

So I was trying to sell something on craigslist and it's been up for quite a while. As usual I've been getting the obvious scam e-mails
"I'll send you a cashiers check and you can ship me the item" etc...

Well I got an e-mail from a guy about 1500 miles away that wants me to ship it to him, but he's willing to pay with paypal.
This is probably legit right?
I've used paypal quite a bit in the past and as far as I know there is no way to get ripped off as long as I don't ship the item till I have the money.
Now a days you never know though, times are tough and criminals are getting smarter. What do you all think?

 

wait for the money to clear first then you know its safe!

 

how much money are we talkin?

1) Always get Name (first and last), Address (house number, street, city, zip code), atleast 1 working phone number(always get the phone number first and call it before sending anything) All screen names you've talked to them on(PBN, PBF, AOL, MSN, ICQ, ec.)

2) If the person is under the age of 18 TALK TO THEIR PARENTS and make sure they understand what is going on... This will save your *** so they can't come back and say they didn't know what was going on... If dealing with parents get a cell phone number or number from them where you can reach them outside of the home.

3) After you get Name, Address and Phone #, use a source like 411.com to do address lookups to verify that they indeed live there...

4) If you are trading for merchandise over borders like from US to Canada or vis versa make sure you INSURE THE PACKAGE FOR WHAT IT WOULD COST TO BUY EVERYTHING NEW.

5) If you have no feedback and are selling a gun don't expect people to send first or at the same time. If you feel like you can't trust someone ask a mod or admin about 3rd party services.

6) If someone has what you think is sketchy feedback, check with a few random people on the list. You could also ask a Admin to do an IP check to make sure there are different people.

7)Always do checks with as many forums as you can. Just do some simple searches in bad feedback or theft forums to make sure this person isnt trying to scam you.

8) When shipping something you value, I would suggest fully insuring it... Also request a sig. confirmation(this way they can't deny they received it)

9) If you've been scammed, don't hesitate to let the rest of the nation know.

10) Whenever possible, Pay with PayPal, MO, or Check. This will insure you that you can see who cashed the money.

11) Get there license number..This will save your *** in no matter what happens. If they take your gun (Steal/Fraud). Police will locate them.

12) IF you're shipping to Canada from the states. Make sure you have your money or goods first or that you use a third party. By law in Canada, if a person receives goods with out paying for them first they're considered a gift and the Canadian police can do nothing even if you have a 100 foot stack of evidence.

If someone tells you that they will send you a $2000 MO and you're to keep the agreed amount and then use Western Union to send rest to them and there Shipping agent will pick up the package. IT'S A SCAM!!!! This is called the Nigerian Scam. The MO is fake and won't show until 3-7 days later. Which leaves you screwed because you would have to pay back the bank.

If the person you are dealing with does not answer all of your questions in a reasonable amount of time and in a polite manner, move on and don’t deal with them. If they are treating you poorly now, imagine what it will be like to deal with them if something goes wrong.

Buying stolen merchandise is a crime. At the very minimum you will have to forfeit what you purchased and the chance of receiving a refund is slim. If the person selling is acting shady, do not deal with them. Selling stolen merchandise is a much more serious crime (even if you did not steal the item).

Always write down the full name, address, phone number (verify the number is valid) and all screen names you've talked to them on (PBN, AIM, MSN, ICQ, etc.) as soon as you’ve agreed to a deal. If they don’t want to share this info, don’t deal with them.

After you get Name, Address and Phone #, use a source like http://411.com to do an address lookup to verify that they do indeed live there.

If the person is under the age of 18, talk to their parents and make sure they understand what is going on. When dealing with kids under 18, make sure you get a phone number where you can reach the parents direct.

Since a user is capable of editing the thread after they have sold the item, we suggest quoting the original for sale post with the item you are buying and rehosting the images so that even if they change the initial post, you always have a copy in their thread of what was for sale. This helps settle any argument later about what was and was not part of the deal.

Use the serial number to verify with the manufacturer that any marker you want to buy is not stolen. If it is stolen, turn over the seller’s information to the manufacturer and notify PbNation by emailing cs@pbnation.com

If you have little or no feedback and are selling or trading a gun, don't expect people to send payment or merchandise first or even at the same time. If you feel like you can't trust someone, then don’t. If you feel the deal is too good to pass up, ask a mod or admin about 3rd party services. It's worth the extra $20 so make sure you don't get scammed.

Only trust feedback from the actual seller in their for sale thread. Verify the name is exactly the same and feel free to PM the user from their feedback thread to make sure it is the same person you are dealing with.

If someone has what you think is sketchy feedback, check with a few random people on the list. You could also ask an Admin to do an IP check to make sure there are different people by asking in the Talk to Mods/Admins forum.

Always check with as many forums as you can to verify the seller and item being sold are legitimate. Just do some simple searches in bad feedback or theft forums to make sure this person has not been accused of scamming other users and the item being sold is not stolen.

When shipping something you value, fully insure it. Also request a signature upon delivery.

Do not accept funds over what is owed, especially if they want you to send the extra money with the equipment they are buying. This is a classic scam where the initial funds will prove to be fraudulent and you will owe for the full amount.

Just because you have received a payment through paypal doesn’t mean they can’t claim the funds back. Make sure to save proof you sent the package and they signed for it for at least three months.

Always pay with PayPal, Money Order, or Check. This will ensure you that you can see who cashed the money. Never send cash through the mail.

If you've been scammed and have proof, feel free to post it here in the Theft Report but more importantly, contact the Police and try to get your gear back.

Photoshop is a wonderful tool, and often a devious one. Here's some prevention info for avoiding getting scammed, i'd pay close attention to these.

•• Prevention Tips:

• First off, be smart. Most of the time, if the deal seems to awesome for you, it just may be. Common sense prevails.

• When trading, deal with someone over the age of 18 and get their phone number. If they are under 18, talk to their parents and make sure it is ok with them and they know he is trading his equipment.

• Don't rush into things. Alot of times scammers will want you to rush into a deal or ship next-day air. Take time to get all their info and finalize a deal you are both happy with.

• Ask for lots of pics. This may seem obvious, but many times people see one pic and that is enough for them. Not only does this help prevent someone from taking the picture from another source, but it also helps to make sure everything is in a condition described.

• The person with the least amount of feedback should ship first. Check feedback and make sure it's legit. If all their feedback comes from people with one post and they all registered the same month, it's probably fake. Also, having friends leave them feedback is fraud also. If they are all from the same town, it could possibly be fake.

• If your gun has a serial number, write it down. Take pictures of it. Also make note of every distinguishing mark you gun has. This only aids in the return of you gun if it is stolen.

• When at a field, make sure you keep an eye on your stuff. It's way too easy for someone to grab and run. I've worked as security in retail, and it only takes a fraction of a second for someone to shove something in a coat.

• When shipping, always use Delivery Confirmation from USPS or Tracking from UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Pack everything nicely to prevent damage, and make sure you tape the openings to prevent tampering.

• Third Party Trades! Your best bet in the prevention of scamming. Contact your local friendly moderator here on PbNation. Try to avoid people doing third party trades through their local store. They may be legit, but it's best to be safe.

• Keep all your contact logs with the person. PbN PMs, AIM logs, and emails will help with any deals being disputed. Be careful though, as they can easily be faked.

• Do NOT send cash. EVER. Most of the time, it will never make it to it's destination if you send cash in an envelope.

This is a compilation of "How to not get scammed" post. Thanks to all that helped make this, Please PM me with any thoughts or additions

 

its off paintball nation but you get the idea!

 

It's only $100 and he did negotiate on price.
When I get sent the e-mail from paypal saying I've received a payment, I'll delete it and go to paypal.com manually and check to see if the funds are there. That should be legit.

On a side note.
I googled "paypal craigslist scams" and saw a forum where a guy said he deals with out of state craiglist transactions all the time. This is what he said:

Does anyone know what he's talking about? It'd be cool to be able to search all of craigslist at one time if you're looking for something rare.

 

Wait for the money to clear and make sure you get a tracking number.

 

I prefer to only accept money from "verified" paypal users. I believe they verify that it is a legitimate address and bank account.

Also, remember that paypal charges fees to the person accepting money. He negotiated already and you will pay another % when you accept the money.

Here is a calculator to figure what it will cost you. http://www.rolbe.com/paypal.htm

 

Paypal is a great thing if you're buying things...
but for you as a seller I would stay away from it. I personally got burned as a seller by someone who received an item, I even had the email saying they received it in good working order and were happy with their purchase, 3 months later paypal took the money back out of my account because the credit card that the user had used was "not valid" even though this was a "confirmed" user and address. Basically I got screwed. I had the tracking info, copies of email witht he buyer saying he received it, blah blah blah.

I had another experience where a person bought something from me and claimed to never have received it, I had a delivery confirmation with a signature required for the item all through fedex, I gave paypal the tracking information and even a copy of the signature confirmation I got from fedex, 3-4 months of dealing with paypal and I got the shaft again, I had done everything paypal recomends on their website to protect you and it didn't do shit.

Paypal is only worth using if you're buying something because from my experience the buyer is the only person paypal cares about. If you're not too worried about losing out I'd use paypal otherwise just wait for someone local. my .02

 

I got scammed as a buyer on pay pal but never as a seller and i use it ALOT. There is not many ways you could get scammed as long as you let the money clears before you ship. My payment cleared and the buyer drained and cancelled his paypal account without shipping. What are you selling by the way?

 

Only problem I had with paypal is that I sold a lot of stuff on ebay in one day and had a large amount of money come in... paypal redflagged it and froze my account. they would reopen it if i gave them my social security # but that aint happening. so i got to open another bank account to get paypal again!

 

Make sure you get a tracking number in case the buyer files a claim stating they never recieved the product.

 

Thanks for the link Veccster.

09TRD:
I'm selling some motorcycle luggage for my father.
A Kurykayn "Full dresser"

 

Be careful of scams on Craigs list, see similar things all of the time.

 

Paypal is legit and pretty safe.

And like everyone else has said, make sure the money clears before you ship the item.

Another note.... My husband has a totally separate bank & bank account tied to the Paypal account. He also has a totally separate credit card associatted with Paypal. He keeps minimal funds in both.

We don't have any of our main bank accounts or main credit cards tied to paypal, ebay, or any of those online things.

 

the thing i don't like about paypal is the fees i have to pay everytime i get a payment. (it really adds up fast)

i have started to only use it for recieved payments under $20. (unless you have a really good excuse)

it's not that i don't trust the guy on the other end, it's that i don't like them [paypal] taking the fees

 

Yep heard of that one.

Or the buyer uses a stolen credit card # and it clears but then the credit card company or persons who's money it really is cancles the deal and then your SOL

 

Who keeps bumping these ancient threads ?

 

ITS A SNOW DAY PETER! orchestrated snow day ftw

 

I know as a buyer you are pretty safe. I bought a $400 laptop on ebay. I sent payment through PayPal and never received the laptop. PayPal refunded me the $400.