For anyone that has a Paypal account to receive payments....
Is it safe?? I would assume it is since so many use it, but,,,,,,, I've been burned so many times by people it's not even close to funny.

I have someone in CO who is interested in a coat I listed on Craig's list, and said they could pay by Paypal, but I don't have an incoming account (I've only used it to buy stuff). I'd gladly
open an account to receive payment if it is safe - not iffy...

I'd appreciate any input..Thanks

I am not sure if it is the same, but my DD is in New Zealand and I have used PP to send money to them and then they sent money to me to repay the loan, no problems and it cost very little. When I had the bank do the transfer to her bank over there, it cost $65

Paypal is perfectly safe.
I have used it both ways for years.
Make sure your own Security is up to date.

I have used it for years and never had a problem. They should have a checking account to back it up and it shouldn't clear to you unless it is covered. You don't have to mail until the sale is confirmed.

I've used Paypal both ways also and haven't had any trouble with them. Love the fact they take the risk of solving problems also.

just don't give them your Bank info. Crooks have been hitting paypal recently. mainly large sellers but still, it's not good to put your cking account info out there.

Over the past three years, many of my customers have paid me through PayPal. I have never had an issue. I'd rather pay the fee than deal with a bounced check.

I am not sure, but I think that your PP account has to be linked to a checking account or credit card.

If the buyer is just going to send money to you via PayPal for "personal" use, then you don't have to do anything. The buyer isn't too smart doing this, as it offers her NO protection at all should anything go wrong with the transaction - you're a deadbeat seller, the package gets lost or damaged, it's not what you said you'd send,etc. She'd be SOL.

Buy you'd be fine.

However, if you you're going to accept payment for this transaction via PayPal, and she's paying for "goods," make sure you cover your tuchis as a Seller.

Send a "request for money" to the buyer, and clearly state that it is for "goods" described as the "blue coat with pink buttons and green velvet collar, size 10" listed on CL.

Include the cost for postage (via Priority as it's the easiest - free boxes). The buyer should pay for it since she/he wants it shipped. Charge $10.95 (Medium Flat Rate Box). You won't have to pay for the box or label, plus ...see below.

Keep a printout of the CL listing.

When you receive the payment, click on the Ship Now/Print Label button next to the transaction, and follow it through to buy and print the label in PayPal.

This way you (and PayPal) will have a record of the whole transaction, and the Delivery Confirmation number. Btw, you'll get a discount on the postage, plus the DelConf is free. This will help offset the PayPal fee.

If it's an expensive coat (and definitely if it's over $250), you must send it with Signature Confirmation

If you want, you can buy insurance for the package. Note the insurance is for your protection. If the package never arrives or is damaged, the buyer can file a claim, and WILL get all her money back.

Isn't it fun being a Seller? :roll:

Good luck!

I really recommend against selling outside of your local area for Craigslist; the vast majority of people contacting you outside of your area are going to be scammers.

I did a posting on Craigslist recently, and I would say easily half of the people responding to my post were scammers. There are some obvious clues:

- being outside of your area
- lots of misspellings or grammar issues
- they don't actually mention your item in the email they send you. They'll just ask if the thing/item you listed is still available. If they don't actually use the word "coat" anywhere in the email, don't trust them.
- offering to pay more than the item is worth

One of the more common scams is detailed here: http://www.intelliot.com/2009/10/cra...t-paypal-scam/

Basically, the scammers will offer to pay for the item, and ask you to ship it to them once they pay. Then you'll receive a very real looking email from Paypal -- but it's not actually from Paypal! The email will ask you to log in to verify the money, and send you to a site that looks like paypal, but isn't -- and of course, once you log in, they have your login and password.

I'm not exaggerating -- because the item I had listed on Craigslist was over $1000, I was receiving a TON of these kinds of emails. I had to read the responses I received very carefully.

Now to answer your original question -- Paypal itself is very safe, for both receiving and sending money. I use it all the time, and have for several years now. But you have to be smart about how you use it. And never EVER click on a link within an email that will supposedly take you to Paypal to login. Ever. EVER! Because 9 times out of 10, that is a phishing scam.

MTS put it very well, thanks for saving me all that typing!!

Please be aware, there is a lot of scamming going on with CL, Be wary if someone sends you too much money and then wants you to send some of it back to them. Definite scam. They usually do it with fake cashiers checks but I wouldn't be surprised if they had a way to do it with Paypal.

The only problem I have had is they tried to "make" me order their credit card. Don't have 1 Don't want one! They froze my account while we battled it out.

Uh, yes??? :*)

I sold on ebay for two years, six months one year and four months the other year and I had a great time selling. I got rid of a lot of stuff.

Then ebay made the new rules, that you have to take pay pal and that is when I quilt selling there. I dont' need it. I was getting paid by personal checks, money orders or cashier's check and have never had a problem and my customers always gave me good points.

I have used paypal for a number of years and never had any problems with it. The one thing I would suggest is when you set up your paypal account use a seperate bank account for your paypal... I have a seperate bank account that is for paypal only. I wouldnt have paypal or any other service like that linked to my personal account, its to risky. and even though I have never had any problems with Paypal you never know when something may happen..

Paypal has been safe. Be sure you have a secure access with them before giving them any information like your checking account. In the past, scam artists have used a fake paypal notice when emailing you. Be certain, Paypal will NEVER ask for any information through your email. You must log into the Paypal site (not thru email) and proceed with your transactions.

As far as I know, the only crooks hitting paypal are those that created a fake paypal by contacting persons through emails. I am certain that as long as your site and the site in paypal shows a secure symbol and you did not log on to them through your email, it should be secure.

I would definitely agree with this. Keep the minimum amount in that account, and anytime it goes over the minimum, just transfer the extra out to another bank account.

That way if anything goes wrong with PayPal, there's a limit to how much of your money they have access to.

i use it and have had no problem

Me too..never had a problem for years. i have it hooked to a savings account, sometimes i transfer the money to paypal, when i buy something,sometimes i just let it pull the money from the savings account.

Thanks to all for the information. Think I'll give it a shot, even though I won't be selling much!

I have hundreds and hundreds of transactions via Paypal, both buying and selling and if there ever was any kind of hiccup, it was always fixed! In my opinion, VERY SAFE!

I love paypal, they have wonderful customer service, if you have any questions or concerns give them a call, i know they would be happy to answer any question you have. I highly recommend them.

It is safe and I think if you have an account already established it works both ways-for payment and receipt, but check on that.

I have used paypal for many years. only to buy and I have only had 1 problem when a scammer got my money. I still haven't had a reply from the complaints department.
but I also have an account I only use for paypal and only keep a small ballance in it. so the scammer only just got a few dollars.

I've used paypal for many years. Only problem I have with it is when I sell something the fees are to me unreasonable. But still safe

I have had great success and reliability with Paypal for items I have sold on ebay.

i use paypal and love it , it is so easy to use both ways

Paypal is safe, both ways. You have some buyer protections that way, as well. The only problem is that the fees for receiving money really eat into your profit. Especially when the amount is small. On my acct. they charge a 'per transaction' fee of $.30, as well as charging nearly 3 percent of the amount. If I sell $4.00 worth of fabric here, the paypal charge would be $.42, which is more than 10% of the payment received! I have started adding that charge back to the buyer, if they want to use Paypal. Be sure to take the charges into consideration. They add up.

We use it and feel it is very safe! :D

I have used both ways for several years and is totally safe- :thumbup: :thumbup:

I've been using Paypal since it was created and have only had one serious problem - not Paypal created. They have been good to work with and I'll continue using them. I have a debit card so I can spend my money that I receive into the account.