I found something I want on gumtree but the seller is interstate. She is willing to post to me with paypal. My question is, do I get paypal protection if she eg doesn't send it, sends something else, etc? Has anyone done this? It's about $100.
Is It Safe to Use PayPal for Gumtree When I Haven't Seen The Item? Will PayPal Cover It?
ladybug1 on 07/01/2019 - 00:07
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No. You'd be sending money ala family and friends.
Not worth it. So many "I'm overseas, interstate" scams.
No. You'd be sending money ala family and friends.
Do NOT send payment for goods marked as family and friends unless they actually are family or friends. This is something sellers use to make payment irreversible and to make buyer pay all fees (so you actually pay more than $$ amount you send, if you mark as family and friends).
Regarding PayPal protections.
You do NOT have same protections as when you buy through ebay using PayPal.
You do, have some potential PayPal protection.
I had dodgy dishonest company, Australian Geographic aka co-op bookshop, attempt to scam me, I lodged claim with PayPal and received full refund.
IMO, to ensure the maximum available PayPal protection, make it look as much like a legitimate sale as possible. Have them send you a paypal request for payment, from their paypal. Have seller clearly identify in request, what payment is for exactly. Then pay request, and hope item arrives.
I would probably be looking for item you want elsewhere though, and account the risk/reward into my decision to purchase or not .(so you actually pay more than $$ amount you send, if you mark as family and friends).
Umm..that part isn't true. If you send $10 via paypal family and friends, $10 is what you pay. Any additional fees are not due to F&F or G&S, its because you're using a funding source that costs additional money(eg. credit card). If you're funding from paypal balance or linked bank account, there are no extra fees
If you're funding from paypal balance or linked bank account, there are no extra fees
Well, it has always costed me more than amount I sent. And sellers who insist on Friends and Family irreversible cash payment sent to them, they tend to want the funds immediately. I believe sending through bank account isn't instant. I haven't got any credit cards, so it couldn't be CC fees.
I would only send amounts of under $10 to strangers using Friends and Family thing. Too big a risk and not justified in the cost saving. No way that paypal is going to cover you, if mark payment as 'friends and family' to avoid fees, then contact paypal later to help you after you get ripped off.@Flanders: Been sending and receiving Paypal Family & Friends payments for the past year, and the transfers of funds from bank accounts have always been instant(or within a minute at max). Not sure why your experience is different, what is your funding source? Mine is a linked Westpac bank account.
it has always costed me more than amount I sent.
Again, no idea what this could be as only you will be able to see from your past transactions what the extra fees are. It should detail them specifically what the extra fees are, if any. Are you paying in AUD for something in a different currency so you're getting charged a forex fee? Are you paying via a debit card? Its got to be something that has nothing to do with F+F or G+S. Its explicitly stated on paypal website, they don't charge any extra for friends and family payments if paying from paypal balance or linked bank account:
https://www.paypal.com/au/smarthelp/article/what-are-the-fee…
Also pretty sure no, its weird, because I feel the air is that you would which is why I feel they try to advertise it, but no where it says that you actually are safeguarded because I'm pretty sure you're not.
I have bought online on gumtree though (bank transfer interstate) and haven't had any issues yet, but its all a risk, I try to see if they're selling multiple stuff, if they've had an account for many years, if their conversation seems nice and non scammy but you still never know.
Read this: https://help.gumtree.com.au/AU/articles/en_US/KB_Article/buy…
PayPal does not offer buyer protection for Gumtree transactions. It's the equivalent of sending money to a payee which cannot be reversed.
"I got scammed" post from OP in 3….2….1…..
or maybe OP is the seller pretend as buyer here to gather info tip tricks how to scam haha
kidding
I had a glance over the Paypal buyer protection policy and nothing is explicit in actually confirming that the process is not covered by Paypal. For a buyer there is nothing unsafe, other than a little bit of back and forth between Paypal in the event that something is to go wrong during a transaction. I’ve had dealings as a buyer and seller on Gumtree using Paypal and haven’t had any issues to report. Just don’t fathom using bank deposit…
Maybe you should have a better glance as PayPal are explicit in stating that there is no buyer protection offered by PayPal for Gumtree purchases.
"PayPal Buyer Protection does not apply to payments made through Gumtree. Before you pay, carefully inspect the item in person or confirm the service has been completed to your satisfaction. Make sure you are with the seller when you pay."
https://www.paypal.com/au/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-pay-for…Thanks for the clarification. Was not able to find that page easily as it wasn’t linked or mentioned in the main article associated with the PayPal buyer protection policy.
Yes, the payor is protected as long as a credit card used is linked to the PayPal account.
I think that protection may be through credit card not actually from paypal.The transaction through PayPal would be like a friends transaction. Not covered from what I believe.
We opened a INR last year with ebay. ebay for some reason only issued a 1/5 refund, while Paypal said that they can't do anything because ebay had already issued a refund. We ended up using the credit card providers protection and got a full refund.
Gumtree should strictly be cash only.
There is no buyer protection for items bought through Gumtree. I wouldn't do it.
https://www.paypal.com/au/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-pay-for…
I think that is strictly for payments made through gumtree when you link your account.
If it's not linked, then it's a "family and friends" payment which has even less protection.
They don't call it Scumtree for nothing!
Meet up and cash only with gumtree
And never meet at your house
What's wrong with meeting at your house. A buyer git suspicious when I planned to meet at a common place.
so they dont come back and rob ur joint
you dont know who these people are
Generally it's not good to let random strangers on the internet know where you live.
Why would it matter. Stalkers?
@Melb69: Any number of reasons. Stalkers, disgruntled (and unreasonable) buyers, criminals casing potential targets, just plain crazy people, etc.
@Melb69: No, but I also don't really sell on the internet much. Having said that… it really takes just one incident to kind of cause a tonne of trouble. So if I can lower the risk of that to 0, I'll take it.
@HighAndDry: Fair enough. Risk management which is why I have contents insurance. Just sold an item today. Actually I walked away from door, so the buyer could have run off with item without selling. Transaction completed. COD
Just spend how much you are willing to lose
There are trustworthy people on gumtree but there are also tons of scams
Personally if I look at Gumtree items its mostly set to my local state for COD for item searches. I'm willing to drive to pick up if I really want it and the seller is happy as they get their cash. I do wonder how much of it is stolen goods though.
Trust is such an important thing with these transcations. You only need to be scammed once to be put off. Then we get the scammer posts. What can I do? I just got scammed on Gumtree. Good post this.
PayPal's official stance is that they do not offer buyer protection for any GumTree transactions because it's still meant to be used as a marketplace to meet up in person, and not post. As such, their offering is to use PayPal at the meetup, effectively only offering the benefit of not having to carry a potentially large amount of cash. This means that there's no protection for item being "Not as Described" (since you saw it in person before purchasing at the meet up) nor for "Item Not Arrived" (an item being handed over can't "not arrive").
The best thing to do is to have the seller generate an invoice on PayPal. They input your PayPal's email address, an amount, and a description. Make sure they generate an adequate description (which you'll be able to see before paying) in order to put protections in place. I sometimes offer to type the description myself and give it to the buyer - saves them time and ensures its done properly. This method is the best you'll get for a private transaction, and brings it as close to the 'official' PayPal methods used when purchasing from a storefront or from an eBay transaction.
Thanks for the suggestions-I will ask if she will do a paypal goods and services payment and offer to pay her fee. I can't get my head around why they offer buyer protection for facebook marketplace and not for gumtree. I am sure the seller is a nice person but I've seen too many threads on here about scams.
No and No
You can take the risk if you understand the consequences. I have done it a few times and been lucky. I always speak to them on the phone to get a feeling for the risk.