[jonnyas]

Hi

I just purchased a Stop and search from ebay and in the payment options for the item it said Paypal accepted. When I won the item I got an email from the seller saying they would prefer me to make a bank transfer to his account. I'm a little worried about this as I would feel more comfortable with the security assurance provided by Paypal but I would have to pay the extra 4% charge (this was made clear before the purchase).

I'm not sure if it would be safe to make a transfer. He has a 100% feedback so I get the impression it's all legit but when parting with that amount of money you obviously have to be extra careful!

Do you know if there would be any way of getting the money back through ebay if I didn't for any reason receive the product? Do you think this sounds safe considering he has such positive feedback from over 100 transactions?

Thanks

[somerset]

i pay by bank transfer all the time, its pretty legit if he has such good feedback. just get him to call you to give the details, name, address ect, bank account sort code. at least then if things go wrong you can sign him up to as many direct debits as you can find.

[spenie1975]

If your prepared to pay the 4% paypal cannot see any reason for him to refuse unless he has other ideas.

[daz205]

doubt you would get money back from ebay, but you may from the small claims court, why not ask the seller for his address - check it against the confirmed paypal address - a land line telephone number and a mobile - call him and explain your concerns - ask for his bank details and his branch address
if anything should go wrong you then have all the details you need to contact them and a paper trace for the courts should it be required - i personally do not see the worry with a bank transfer over the risk of paypal shafting you should anything go wrong

[Montubu7]

Technically he offered paypal so has to accept it.

There is NO buyer protection on payment other than paypal ( even then its sometimes limited!) so Bank transfer, cheque , postal order etc has no protection through ebay although for that value you could drag him through the courts if need be....

If its the last Stop & search to sell ( yesterday afternoon?) he has decent feedback, has sold reasonably high value prints before & i personally know someone who has dealt with him & it went fine.

[BONGO]

BONGO DOES NOT SEE THE PROBLEM. BANKS DETIALS ARE NOT DIFFICULT TO FIND, BUT VERY DIFFICULT TO USE EFFECTIVELY

BONGO MAY BE CAREFUL IN DISTRIBUTING HIS ACCOUNT NUMBERS FOR OTHERS TO PAY INTO

BUT BONGO THINK IF YOU ARE SENDING MONEY THEN RISK IS LOWER - USE A DORMANT SAVINGS ACCOUNT WITH NO O/D FACILITY TO SEND THE MONEY FROM. ONCE SENT, EVEN OF THE RECEIPIENT HAS YOUR DETAILS, THEY HAVE NO USE FOR THE NUMBERS WITH A ZERO BALANCE

BUT BONGO ALSO NOTE THAT PAYPAL TRANSFER BACKED BY CREDIT CARD MAY OFFER MORE SECURITY TO SENDER SHOULD THERE BE PROBLEMS WITH DEAL

[Deleted]

I personally only buy via paypal with a credit card as Bongo pointed out, there is more security. PayPal favors buyers when there are conflicts/issues with the transaction.

[Avian Security]

It's against Ebay rules for the seller to demand extra money for a paypal payment. Yes it's lame, but it's their rules.

If you do pay by bank transfer get him to fax/scan and email you copies of some ID and proof of address for extra security, if he's legit he shouldn't have a problem with it.

[somerset]

it may be against the rules but people seem to be doing it more often, i brought a flags the other day and they guy wanted 3% paypal commission, i told him where to shove that cos its against ebay rules, he said if i didnt pay the fees he would relist it as he has had better offers to sell it, i paid via bank transfer in the end as it was a good price.

[foreman]

ive never had any problems with bank transfers... as long as you talk to the seller. get all his info and are comfortable. and he has good feedback. your set. alot easier then paypal imo.

[bobbymeachamjr]

You can't do anything with somebodys bank transfer info. Well except make deposits into! It's the safest route for both parties if you take the necessary precautions...

bongo said:

BONGO DOES NOT SEE THE PROBLEM. BANKS DETIALS ARE NOT DIFFICULT TO FIND, BUT VERY DIFFICULT TO USE EFFECTIVELY

BONGO MAY BE CAREFUL IN DISTRIBUTING HIS ACCOUNT NUMBERS FOR OTHERS TO PAY INTO

BUT BONGO THINK IF YOU ARE SENDING MONEY THEN RISK IS LOWER - USE A DORMANT SAVINGS ACCOUNT WITH NO O/D FACILITY TO SEND THE MONEY FROM. ONCE SENT, EVEN OF THE RECEIPIENT HAS YOUR DETAILS, THEY HAVE NO USE FOR THE NUMBERS WITH A ZERO BALANCE

BUT BONGO ALSO NOTE THAT PAYPAL TRANSFER BACKED BY CREDIT CARD MAY OFFER MORE SECURITY TO SENDER SHOULD THERE BE PROBLEMS WITH DEAL

[fatherxmas]

honestly i would take the hit for 4% i bought wimbledon tickets last yr on ebay and paid for the first tiem by bank transfer(spoke wit the fella on the phone and everything) got the the gates @ centre court..made to feel like a criminal when i was told the tickets were stolen.
lost out on clsoe to 1000 and natwest didnt want to know even tho the money was paid into an account which was also natwest..grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[loucastel]

Trouble is ,looking at it from the other side ,you often hear of people paying by pay pal ,receiving the goods then making a claim to say they havent recieved them ,so this guy is trying to protect himself from rogue buyers.

[craigf]

loucastel said:

Trouble is ,looking at it from the other side ,you often hear of people paying by pay pal ,receiving the goods then making a claim to say they havent recieved them ,so this guy is trying to protect himself from rogue buyers.

This seems to becoming a bigger and bigger problem. Is the seller close enough to drive and pick up with cash? Then you know the print is in as described condition, there is no 4% uplift and normally they'll make you a nice cup of tea (and sometimes even throw in biscuit!)

[loucastel]

Strange thing is when ebay was relatively new there seemed to be a lot more trust amongst buyers and sellers, but now the scallywags have found all the wrinkles, and now both parties have to try to protect themeselves. I personally prefer bank tranfers ,as long as you can give the person a landline number for contact, no problem, bring back the trust.

[fatherxmas]

loucastel said:

Strange thing is when ebay was relatively new there seemed to be a lot more trust amongst buyers and sellers, but now the scallywags have found all the wrinkles, and now both parties have to try to protect themeselves. I personally prefer bank tranfers ,as long as you can give the person a landline number for contact, no problem, bring back the trust.

totally agree, ive lost alot of trust and that thing u described about the person gettin the item and claimin on the cerdit card aslo happened to me..grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
ebay is so dodge...back in the day when it was new it was great no shill biddin, fraudsters etc etc.its got so big they dont care about us the users no more

[funyoung]

jeepers said:

If you do pay by bank transfer get him to fax/scan and email you copies of some ID and proof of address for extra security, if he's legit he shouldn't have a problem with it.

i personally would have a problem with giving out a copy of my passport and address details to just anyone.
That, coupled with all my bank details, for say £200, is cheap for full on identity theft.
Maybe I'm paranoid.

[loucastel]

fatherxmas said:

loucastel said:

Strange thing is when ebay was relatively new there seemed to be a lot more trust amongst buyers and sellers, but now the scallywags have found all the wrinkles, and now both parties have to try to protect themeselves. I personally prefer bank tranfers ,as long as you can give the person a landline number for contact, no problem, bring back the trust.

totally agree, ive lost alot of trust and that thing u described about the person gettin the item and claimin on the cerdit card aslo happened to me..grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
ebay is so dodge...back in the day when it was new it was great no shill biddin, fraudsters etc etc.its got so big they dont care about us the users no more[/quoteI think they do still care, thing is they have created a monster and for each loophole they cover it just seems to open another, and trying to keep track of the millions of transactions must be a logistical nightmare, years ago it was the biggest fencing organisation in the world, what must it be like now not only for fencing hookey gear but a fraudsters dream, cant see any solution to it, apart from as I said earlier a bit of trust. easier said than done when you are dealing in thousands of pounds.

[Heavyconsumer]

i always pay by transfer, paypal are bloody idiots imo. transfer is safe and of course documented, but you are right, in that there is no buyer protection. So far, I've been lucky. no major problems, except from paypal!