Craigslist scams

[Aggie_Ama]

I am selling a wedding dress for my friend. Do people use paypal as a scam? I know about the money order ones but not sure about a paypal offer.

[solobiker]

DH sold one of my bikes for me on Craigslist and the person who bought paid for it using paypal. Not sure of the exact details as DH is not here right now to ask. The person interested in my bike came to my house and gave it a try and wanted to buy it. She asked if she could use her paypal account and DH said yes. No problems happened with it. Not sure if this helps. I have never used it myself.

[badger]

I think the Paypal scams were related to people phishing by sending emails looking like they're from Paypal saying their security's been compromised and you need to give them your username and password to ensure all is ok.

I got a couple of those emails but tossed them and changed my password just in case.

I think Paypal's pretty safe. I would probably wait for the funds to clear before giving the item to the buyer, though.

[lunacycles]

I use Paypal for my business. Often makes it easier for my customers to pay, and a lot easier than setting up a merchant account with a cc company, especially as I am low volume.

I have never had a problem receiving a payment through Paypal. Sometimes, if the person does not have sufficient credit or money in their Paypal account, they will delay payment to you until "the check clears." If you use Paypal, make sure you get confirmation from them ("You've Got Money!"is usually the email you will receive) before you hand over your goods. It would be hard to scam using Paypal--you have to register with them as an individual and, amongst other things, provide bank account info...that is why online auction places by EBay encourage it over any other payment method.

They charge about the same amount as any credit card company, so be prepared to pay them 2-3% of whatever amount is coming to you.

the only drawback, imo, is--as far as I can tell--there is no way to contact them by phone or speak with a human. I don't like that.