How does PayPal work?

[Justin1997]

I'm new to PayPal and I'm debating buy some equipment from someone on the forum, not sure how PayPal works to keep my money secure until I receive what I buy, can anyone explain?

 

[melypr1985]

paypal works like a debit card. It's connected to your bank account. You pay with paypal and they dont get your banking info. Its a secured site and if you have problems you can contact paypal to have it resolved. I dont know if that helps you or not.

 

[Justin1997]

Yea a little bit thanks, but what if you buy something from someone do they put hold on it until I receive my goods?

 

[den75]

No, the person receives the money first. If there is an issue and you don't receive the item you can dispute it through paypal.

 

[melypr1985]

Yea a little bit thanks, but what if you buy something from someone do they put hold on it until I receive my goods?

I dont think so. I'm trying to remember the last time i used it. The funds came out of my account right away. You can always make sure they give you tracking info on your package and save every receipt and dialogue you have with them just in case. If, say you are using ebay then you can report that person to ebay for scamming you. I've never had to do that so I'm not sure how they resolve the situation, but I'm betting either paypal or ebay will help as best they can.

 

[cameronh]

Yea a little bit thanks, but what if you buy something from someone do they put hold on it until I receive my goods?

No its gets sent to them qyickly. If you have a problem and did not receive your item, contact seller, and if to no prevail, contact paypal.

 

[melypr1985]

No, the person receives the money first. If there is an issue and you don't receive the item you can dispute it through paypal.

yup yup.. there's the word i was looking for! dispute that charge lol

 

[Justin1997]

But no guarantee to get the money back if something went wrong?

 

[Justin1997]

It's 1200 worth of stuff lol so I'm a little sceptical

 

[NanaReefer]

PayPal

Dispute resolution
If there’s a problem with a transaction, we’ll put a hold on the funds until the issue is resolved. We investigate and stay involved every step of the way.

Purchase Protection
We protect you from checkout to delivery and use the latest anti-fraud technology to help spot problems before they happen. We never reveal your financial info to sellers. And if something goes wrong with an order, we’ll investigate. If your transaction qualifies for Purchase Protection, we’ll reimburse you for the full purchase price plus any original shipping costs. Return shipping costs are not covered by Purchase Protection.

 

[pugcrush]

DO NOT use the friends & family option. If they want you to and/or want you to cover any of the fees, tell them to take a hike! Sellers should take the fees or incorporate it into the price. Ebay doesn't have buyer fees! Also, it is wise to use your credit card rather thank bank so you got double the protection.

 

[Justin1997]

So technically the funds go through but if I make a dispute they can take it back?

 

[Diesel]

Oh one more thing, never send your money as gift through paypal, agree on paying the fee before hand with seller.

 

[PostShawn]

If you can use paypal and use a credit card (not debit although sometimes it works for this) then most credit cards offer fraud protection too. So if something happened that paypal can't fix you can also make a claim on your credit card. They will receive the money before the ship anything though. But paypal has been pretty good for me. It's secure. You just have to trust who you're buying from though. So if it's a member here look into their post history. See if they seem like trust worthy people. If you don't feel confident with them then don't do it.

 

[Bubblebass]

I am not a fan of Paypal. If you pay, seller gets the money. Period. If you dispute it, the most Paypal does is close the sellers account if after their investigation they find the seller at fault. They will seize funds in the sellers Paypal account to give to you, but if the seller is gone or has a zero balance (which most of us do), you are out of luck.

What you should do is payhalf now and half when received. If the seller is not Ok with that, look into an escrow account. They keep the money for you after you have paid and when you allow the funds to be released they release them. But most sellers just don't need to do this. They have another buyer in line if you back out

Finally, try to pay with a reputable credit card directly. In my experience, they have MUCH better service with their fraud departments and reimburse your money much faster and then they go after the seller. Most bank debit cards will allow you to do this as well.

Good luck!

 

[jd371]

I have a pay after delivery option, Paypal will pay for the transaction but won't withdraw the funds from my account until 14 days after the purchase date. I believe it's only for Ebay, when I use paypal for Amazon or other retailers that option is not available.