never use paypal gift

littlebuf

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Feb 24, 2012
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just about got screwed pretty good today. made a deal with another member on here yesterday. got the paypal info and passed it along to my wife to make payment. in the deal i agreed to pay as a gift so no fees came out. this is how i always deal on line, ive found the folks on these type of web sites are good for there word every time. and that was not the problem here any way the problem was when i texted the paypal address to my wife i got two letters mixed up. email adresses being what they are with all sorts of goofy letters my wife didnt think anything of the configuration and made the gift payment. well just my luck theres another guy out in internet land somewhere with that paypal address, and since it was a gift ,the money is an instant transfer and not covered by paypals fail safes. lucked out and sent 300 and some change to a decent human being. took about an hour on the phone with paypal. they actually helped me out even though the didnt have to and contacted the guy who agreed to refund my money,but he didnt have to, he could have kept it with no penalty or poor paypal feed back. the mistake was mine. glad theres still decent people out there and im going to send this guy a thank you email. but from now on its only insured transfers for me. mede the payment to the other member on here and picked up the fee myself. 3 % is actually pretty cheap insurance on a typo...
 
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ive sent it to a wrong address before too but mine was "business" deal and i was able to get it canceled quickly, never thought of the issue when using gift, good heads up!
 
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littlebuf

littlebuf

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Still a good story of someone doing the right thing.


it is, who ever mark levin is (dont know if its the radio host but that would be cool, im a fan) hes a stand up guy
 

Manosteel

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Nice to hear that everything turned out ok! Sending out good karma to the good guy who did the right thing. I never send $ thru PayPal as a gift, even if that means I pay the 3% fee. Like you say its cheap insurance.
 

les welch

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Never is a pretty strong word. The gift option is there for a reason and a good option. Take the time to double check spellings and problem is solved. Glad it worked out.
 
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littlebuf

littlebuf

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Never is a pretty strong word. The gift option is there for a reason and a good option. Take the time to double check spellings and problem is solved. Glad it worked out.



you still have no recourse if a deal goes bad. your taking the word of some one on the internet. like i said i always have but this experiance opened my eyes. thats all
 

jmez

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IMO using the gift function on transactions is stealing plain and simple. You want to use PayPal's services of instant transfer yet not pay for the service. You don't want to pay the fees then send a check, MO or wire the money. It isn't about the two parties involved being honest, it is about using a service and not paying for it. I sell a lot of stuff on line. Have never, nor will I ever ask that PayPal be done as a gift and also never ask that the buyer pay the fees. I also won't purchase from someone requesting PayPal gift payment.
 

Daniel_M

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IMO using the gift function on transactions is stealing plain and simple. You want to use PayPal's services of instant transfer yet not pay for the service. You don't want to pay the fees then send a check, MO or wire the money. It isn't about the two parties involved being honest, it is about using a service and not paying for it. I sell a lot of stuff on line. Have never, nor will I ever ask that PayPal be done as a gift and also never ask that the buyer pay the fees. I also won't purchase from someone requesting PayPal gift payment.

If PayPal offers a "Send Money" ability that IS free, that's not stealing. I've done 25+ PayPal transactions in the past 12 months and haven't accrued a single fee.

Personal account > Send Money > Purchase > Goods



On a side note I found the following....

We don’t allow PayPal members to buy or sell any kind of firearm, whether it’s in working order or not. The same goes for certain firearm parts and ammunition.

For example, using PayPal, you can’t buy or sell:

Any firearm, including rifles, shotguns, and handguns, whether they’re for sport and recreation, collectibles, or curio or relic firearms.
Firearm parts, including but not limited to receivers and frames, silencers, and kits designed to modify guns so that they fire automatically. High capacity magazines, multi-burst trigger activators, and camouflaging firearm containers are other items in this category.
Ammunition, including propellants like gunpowder or blank ammunition; ammunition or cartridge cases; and primers, bullets, or propellant powder designed for any firearm.


Stun gun sales are allowed for U.S. residents, but only if the transaction is permitted by law in both the buyer's and seller's jurisdictions. (PayPal account holders outside the U.S. can’t buy or sell stun guns.) Before they complete a sale, U.S. sellers must make sure that the transaction is legal in both locations.

Related items that you can buy and sell using PayPal include paintball guns, blank guns, and air-soft guns, as long as such transactions are legal in the applicable jurisdiction. All of these items must display the markings required by law, must not be convertible to shoot a lethal projectile, and can’t include blank ammunition.
 

Hardstalk

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There is a much better system in the works. Im not a fan of paypal takes forever to get paid and is pretty pricey. Visa is coming out with a new payment service that will trump paypal. V.me.com
 

jmez

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I disagree. If Paypal offered a send money free option without stipulation, that would not be stealing. That is not what the "gift" function is in place for. Kind of like the electronic version of the old saying, It is how you act when no one is looking that defines your character.

If your bank account is linked then correct, there are no fees for a money transfer. Mine is linked as well and I just transfer funds. Were I using a credit or debit card I would not use the gift function to circumvent their fees.
 
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les welch

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I disagree. If Paypal offered a send money free option without stipulation, that would not be stealing. That is not what the "gift" function is in place for. Kind of like the electronic version of the old saying, It is how you act when no one is looking that defines your character.

If your bank account is linked then correct, there are no fees for a money transfer. Mine is linked as well and I just transfer funds. Were I using a credit or debit card I would not use the gift function to circumvent their fees.

Then explain why PayPal would allow this as an option??
 

jmez

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Because if someone is actually sending a gift to another person they aren't going to profit off of that.

If they weren't concerned about the fee's they simply wouldn't charge them on any transaction. The gift function is intended to be used exactly as they explain it on the website.
 
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I have stopped using paypal completely because of their anti-firearm policy. I have chosen to spend my money with businesses with the same values as mine.
 
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