Using Paypal for a purchase
 

Can someone provide me with some info or experiences in using paypal to send money to someone for a purchase that was not an online auction or something?

I've used paypal many times before for ebay auctions, but never for a transaction like this that is not associated with an online auction. I'm just trying to provide myself some protection obviously.

I thought of asking the seller to post the item on ebay with a buy it now price for our agreed upon price and then I can use paypal to pay for the item.

i use paypal for all kinds of things, ebay or not. if youre worried about the guy ripping you off ask for a copy of his drivers license. or you can wait to you are with the person and transfer the money while you two are together.

I would avoid Paypal at all cost. They are not considered a bank and therefore unregulated. Read the user agreement that you sign. Paypal is the final word on everything associated with Paypal. Too many people have been ripped off BY Paypal, not just through Paypal.

I use it all the time too, more now for non-auction items than auction items. Go to "Send Money", and when you enter their email address and go to the next page, you will see their reputation next to their name. As long as it's +10 or so, you don't have much to worry about. I've never been ripped off via PP, but have read many reviews from people that were and got their money back. I also agree on having them send a scan of their DL - I've done that with larger purchases.

I have even used PP with friends, and for local stuff on craigslist. You can pay someone a large sum of money right there on the spot, and put it on a credit card.

lol!

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

Interesting. Maybe I've just been lucky, or adept at spotting scams. And, there are always 3 sides to every story. I have wondered how PP has the resources to investigate any disputes.

I've used it a bunch in the past for sending and receiving money for auction and non-auction money and never had problems. They've even been able to give my money back a couple of times with a couple of bad sellers I've had.

I use Paypal for purchases and to send money. Just don't buy anything non-local from an individual that you can't afford to take the risk on losing. There's very little protection for that.

This is all helpful but not helpful. Good experiences and bad! I've used it many times for online auctions as I said before, but nothing like what I am trying to do.

The thing that sucks is the item is a fairly new Z5 cargo rack for a great price and the seller is leaving Thursday for a week of vacation. I'd like to get it done before she leaves, but I also don't want to jump into this too quick without having some protection (and she understands that and also wants the same for herself).

She is not local. I'm in NJ and she's in TX. Anyone have any other ideas? I did mention the DL scanned copy in an email, we'll see.

I've used paypal for years with no problem. How much money are you talking about. For big sums their fees get high, also only deal with a verified member. You will be no more protected by having the seller put the item on ebay than you are by just dealing direct through paypal. If you've talked to the seller on the phone and you feel she's legit then go ahead and send the money. Short of driving to TX it's the safest way of handling the transaction between individuals.

Where in TX?

I paypal for everything.