Is there any disadvantage to buyer to gift money through paypal

lightningboy

When board members complete transactions on here, does the buyer usually gift the money to the seller, which I believe would save him the seller fees? Or is that frowned upon or not allowed?

bziddy

The disadvantage to the buyer is that the seller could walk with the money and the buyer has no recourse with paypal.

mreuter

I recently did the "gift" for the first time as a buyer and when the final information came up, I had to pay the Paypal fees. My transaction was a small amount so the fees were minor, but on large deal, I could see where this would be a problem.

mexpo75

The seller gets 2.9% less money, but as the last person says, you have some security with paypal. Gifting the money costs the buyer nothing if he uses his bank account otherwise it will cost him 2.9%.

storm888

Sending gifts to strangers is like sending gifts to strangers.

No legitimate PayPal recourse for the buyer.

Garabaldi

It is worth the fee regardless of the price, unless you really know the buyer/seller.

divecchia

I don't think it's frowned upon and it would help out the seller, but if you don't know the seller well enough at least by reputation you have no recourse getting your money back through paypal should the transaction go south. The transaction is only feeless if money is coming out of a bank account, not a credit card.

I've done a few transactions that way with a few board members with no problem...Donato

grote15

I recently did the "gift" for the first time as a buyer and when the final information came up, I had to pay the Paypal fees

That was because you funded the purchase with a CC. If you use a PP balance or fund it from your bank account, there are no fees.

WalterSobchak

As others have stated, once you gift a payment you are relying solely on the seller's word to make good on the transaction- which is certainly a disadvantage.
That said, I have gifted payments many times on this board without a problem.

Whether or not I am willing to send payment via Paypal gift depends on four factors- listed below in no particular order:
1) the seller's reputation on the CU forum
2) my past dealings with the seller, if any
3) whether or not I am buying raw or graded cards. I'm MUCH more likely to gift payment on a graded card purchase.
4) the dollar amount of the purchase. If I'm buying something for $20 or less, I will gift payment every time- since it wouldn't be worth my time to go through any kind of formal dispute process over $20 anyway. If there is a problem I can't work out with the seller directly over a low-dollar item, I will just chalk it up to experience and make a mental note not to deal with that seller again.
If I'm buying a high-dollar card, let's say a thousand bucks, I don't think I could bring myself to gift payment regardless of the seller (unless I knew them personally).

Brick

I've been expecting to read of horror stories of being ripped off after sending PayPal gift. So far I've not seen it.