Paypal is a big risk for sellers. A buyer can write Paypal that you sent a carton of rocks and Paypal will lock down your account for as long as they chose while they "investigate". They don't seem to care about hundreds of happy transactions either. They give buyer all the advantage. And then their decision is final and arbitrary. Yet sometimes a seller ships a carton of rocks. Or a picture of the item for sale. How do they sort this out?
I took Paypal many years ago and didn't have any issues. Ebay was much safer then too. I closed down the link between my checking account because Paypal started acting arbitrarily and the complaints from sellers were becoming frequent. There was no one to answer phone inquiry. Sellers had their full account deposit locked up, not just the disputed amount. I bailed out because it seemed to risky to me. Savings, Checking, direct deposit and paypal linked together just seemed like an accident waiting to happen.
I take only USPS money order after receiving a bum check for $150 for goods that cost me $40 to ship. The man sent a check he dang well knew he didn't have the funds for in his account. That's bad check/fraud in my book. Eventually he made the check good. That was when eBay safe harbor was more responsive. I don't sell often enough to need the worry about Paypal and scaming buyers.
Paypal does not mediate disputes fairly. IMO they arbitrarily flip a coin. No way should a buyer keep both his money and the goods he complains about, but that is how they have it set up now.
I bought something from a guy in February and paid with Paypal. Quite the a$$, after several weeks of no contact from him (not even a note "got your paypal") and no shipping notice, the seller responded to inquiry by sending a tracking number he got by providing UPS with "shipping address information" for an item he still had not shipped. When he finally shipped ten days later, $50 worth of parts were missing. I asked for the missing items through eBay contact. He promised to send the missing parts. Weeks later, still nothing. I asked Paypal to mediate by adjusting the price downwards by $50 and cited examples of $50 value for the missing items. This was a heat pump compressor I needed for heating my home in February, so there was some urgency to receive the goods.
Seller didn't respond to the dispute. On dispute expiry, Paypal confiscated the full $190 for the transaction and put it back in my VISA account. I contacted Paypal and asked them to reopen the dispute to pay him $140 for the portion I received because I felt the buyer was due a partial payment for partial goods. They respond the case was "resolved in my favor" and the "matter closed". It was not a fair decision. It did not resolve the matter. Now I have his partial shipment. It's still the seller's property since I have not paid for it after this refund. So I can't use it. He's not answering eBay contact button when I write him to return his property. During the dispute, he denied living at his eBay registered address, so I can't really ship this heavy item back and have it declined. Now I have to store his stuff for three years in case he wants to collect his property some future date. Maybe he's not answering because he's locked up?
To lump "won't take Paypal" is a red flag isn't accurate or fair. I sell once in a while and for me to leave Paypal uncontrolled access to extract money my checking account would present an unwarranted risk. Checking accounts don't have the fraud protection credit cards have. Paypal is not FDIC insured. Where will the compensation/insurance come from if Paypal fails like some banks recently have? Unfettered access to my checking account by others could leave me with my checks bouncing all over town without it being my fault. That is why no one has direct withdrawl from my account.
I would have to be an idiot to scam someone by taking and cashing a USPS money order because that is mail fraud.
I've had only once complaint from a buyer and that was for "damage" in shipment of a $22 CD changer/player. I sent all his money back after a few emails between us showed sure enough the unit was broken when he received it. I forwarded the damage claim to FedEx and I lost the shipping cost and ebay fees. I tested the CD player just before it went in the box, so I know it worked. When he got it, the carousel drawer was loose and it wouldn't play.
Buy a car you never inspected, you're headed for disappointment. They are hard enough to sort out when they are right there in front of you. And yet I've bought two cars through ebay and feel I paid about fair price because I looked them over first. I think the only car's I've been cheated on were new ones that rolled of the dealer lot. That's been twenty-five years ago...
