Is PayPal reliable for scammers

[ReeferBill]

Guys,
I found a guy on Facebook that has an amazing chalice for a decent price. He is giving me the scammer vibes but agreed to use PayPal for payment. I know in the past I’ve used that and if there is an issue with the coral arriving alive or at all PayPal protects the buyer. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience? It’s a $350 coral so not cheap for me. Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

 

[ReeferBill]

This is his name and info

Wycliffe Kong'o

 

[bakbay]

Guys,
I found a guy on Facebook that has an amazing chalice for a decent price. He is giving me the scammer vibes but agreed to use PayPal for payment. I know in the past I’ve used that and if there is an issue with the coral arriving alive or at all PayPal protects the buyer. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience? It’s a $350 coral so not cheap for me. Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

If you're uncomfortable with the purchase, why take the risk? That's what I would do tbh - dealing with claims is not worth the hassle!

 

[radreef02]

Did you send the $$ by goods & services

 

[ReeferBill]

I haven’t sent anything yet

 

[ReeferBill]

Its a freaking cool chalice. Haha.

 

[ReeferBill]

Just worried he will send me a bag of rocks and I will be out $350.

 

[Thanh386]

I don’t believe live animals are cover u set PayPal ToS

 

[ReeferBill]

But will they look at what I was purchasing and give a refund or do they just look if the seller shipped me something?

 

[steveschuerger]

Guys,
I found a guy on Facebook that has an amazing chalice for a decent price. He is giving me the scammer vibes but agreed to use PayPal for payment. I know in the past I’ve used that and if there is an issue with the coral arriving alive or at all PayPal protects the buyer. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience? It’s a $350 coral so not cheap for me. Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

I’ll never trust PayPal on Facebook Marketplace after getting scammed last year. My advice would ask for Zelle or better yet avoid altogether. I haven’t bought from another hobbyist before but if I did I’d feel safer doing it here on R2R.

 

[GlassMunky]

I’ll never trust PayPal on Facebook Marketplace after getting scammed last year. My advice would ask for Zelle or better yet avoid altogether. I haven’t bought from another hobbyist before but if I did I’d feel safer doing it here on R2R.

That’s funny.
Zelle is waaaayyyy more notorious for scammers than PayPal.
PayPal almost always sides with the buyer even when the seller isn’t in the wrong

 

[ReeferBill]

That’s funny.
Zelle is waaaayyyy more notorious for scammers than PayPal.
PayPal almost always sides with the buyer even when the seller isn’t in the wrong

That’s exactly what I was going to say. Zelle has screwed me before

 

[ReeferBill]

This is the coral

 

[James M]

Wouldn’t trust Paypal completely. They sometimes side with sellers
Was sold a broken light and tried to get a partial refund and PayPal sided with the seller because it wasn’t broken when he shipped it.

 

[steveschuerger]

That’s funny.
Zelle is waaaayyyy more notorious for scammers than PayPal.
PayPal almost always sides with the buyer even when the seller isn’t in the wrong

Funny thing is then, I’ve had probs with PayPal in past but never with Zelle . Live and learn I guess

 

[GlassMunky]

Funny thing is then, I’ve had probs with PayPal in past but never with Zelle . Live and learn I guess

Your one experience doesn’t trump the thousands and thousands of Zelle scams that happen.
It’s sooo bad most banks had to directly tell people not to use Zelle and if you do, they have zero recourse.

That’s like the opposite of PayPal which over the years has an almost spotless reputation in comparison

 

[ReeferBill]

That has been my experience as well. Zelle was the only thing the scammer said they would accept. Then I got screwed. So consensus though. Would paypal protect me for this or should I pass?

 

[steveschuerger]

Your one experience doesn’t trump the thousands and thousands of Zelle scams that happen.
It’s sooo bad most banks had to directly tell people not to use Zelle and if you do, they have zero recourse.

That’s like the opposite of PayPal which over the years has an almost spotless reputation in comparison

I understand that, hence the live and learn. Admittedly I’ve only used Zelle with people I know personally.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

This is the coral

Do not pay $350 for that!

 

[exnisstech]

As a seller PayPal sucks (unless your making them lots of money (see below). I quit selling years ago because 3 months after I sold an item a guy requested a partial refund because the box had been opened. No s$&#t how did he think I took the pictures of the item I had in the listing. They issued the refund but I had drained my PayPal account and removed my bank account so I didn't loose any money (take that PayPal lol)
As far as protecting the buyer that usually works unless it's a larger user that makes them more money. Then they tend to side with the seller. Speaking from experience here.
I don't buy anything from Facebook because I don't use FB but if I did I would only buy if I could do a face to face transaction.
PS: don't let emotions (I want it) cloud your judgment. First intuitions are ussualy right.