PayPal security question

AlanAllen

I haven't sold anything in a long time, but last night I had an auction BIN hit by a new, zero feedback bidder. He immediately paid via PayPal, but is of course unverified. The money is in my PayPal account, but I'm worried this anonymous guy might try some trick to get his money back. Is there anything I can do at this point to protect myself, or should I send the item and not worry about it since I already have his money?

Joe

sagard

What was the item? High dollar? If it's a low dollar item and the buyer is new they may just not have entered there bank information yet.

AlanAllen

Don't laugh People pay good money for stuff in online games. Most bidders on this kind of stuff haven't bought much if anything before, but I'm still wary of scammers. Is there any way this guy could pull back his payment?

Joe

Southsider

Joe, that's pretty interesting. If you don't mind, could I ask you a few questions about selling things for online games in the future?

I plan on writing a paper on the issues surrounding the creation of virtual property in online gaming and the real world implications for courts and legal rights. However, while I have been following the legal news about this area, I don't play any online games, so I may need a resource to consult about the actual character building, property acquisition, and transfer of property within the game from one player to another.

I won't be working on the paper until next spring for a Seminar on IP in the Digital Age, but I'd appreciate any information you can give me. Even if it's a quick primer on how the games operate and how the property is acquired within the game. You can PM or email me here.

Thanks,

Eric

alohaet

Yes. Do what I do. As soon as money is deposited in my Paypal account I immediately transfer it to my personal checking account. It is there in 2 to 3 days. Quick and simple for me and never had a problem. Hope this helps.

Ed

dgbaseball

From my understanding, the only way paypal will take the money back our of your account is if the buyer claims he never got it, which is why all sellers always use delivery confirmation. But if the address is unverified, delivery confirmation is useless, since while you can prove it was sent to an address, the scammer can claim it wasn't the right address, and paypal supposedly will take the money back and give it to the buyer.

Long story, don't ship it. Or withdraw the funds immediately, and then ship it. Although I'm not sure if paypal will harrass you about that if indeed the buyer claims he never got it, which given the scenario, seems likely. But if the money ain't there, paypal really can't do anything at that point. Not sure how long you have to wait though. If it takes a month for the guy to claim he didn't get it, and you've since added more money to your accout, what happens then.

Borst

Paypal wont protect you for transfer of digital items. I got screwed out of $250 a couple years ago for some Everquest items, what happened was I sold a lot of plat to a guy for $250 and he paid with comfirmed address and all, I give it to him in the game, 2 days later he files with Paypal saying he never got it. I go fill out thier forms and they say I can't confirm I gave him the digital items so they rule in his favor and take back the $250 (and withdrawing it wouldn't have helped as they put a lock on your account if you don't have the money in there when they rule against you). With that card you could send it to him with tracking/confirmation and they might cover you.

AlanAllen

OK, I decided to withdraw the money from my PayPal account and e-mail the guy his code. Unfortunately I could not use any sort of delivery confirmation because I wasn't selling the physical card. I hope there are no shenanigans, and if there are, they happen after my $ transfer is complete.

Eric,
I'd be happy to talk with you about online games and the real economies surrounding them. This situation is a little bit different than most, because I am selling a code from a card that was given out at a convention... it's a little bit cleaner than selling gold or a sword or something found in-game. In this case, the convention ticket was $85 and the pet sold for $250... kinda like the old days of The National where the promo cards would more than pay for admission. PM me and let's chat.

Joe

sagard

You might wan't to physically mail him a letter with the code and use a bubble mailer with Signature Confirmation if you want to cover your steps.

It seems stupid, but it might come in handy if you suspect trouble.

DaBigHurt

You should NEVER for any reason whatsoever, leave a balance in your Paypal account. I don't care if the person has zero feedback or 1,000 feedback. Sooner or later, someone will file a claim against you and Paypal WILL take your money and conduct a scam "investigation" and you'll lose. Don't risk it. Withdraw your money immediately upon receiving funds into your Paypal account.