Direct Paypal instead of through eBay: Safe?

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Buying an item from a seller with a load of good feedback, and he's offered to take the payment directly though PayPal instead of eBay, saving him a load of fees, which means he will accept a lower best offer price, so we both benefit.

Do you still get the same protection as you would buying using eBay all the way? It's a £500 item, so I'm being overly cautious.

Thanks :)
 
Thanks guys.. But please tell me why I shouldn't. No buyer protection? Less buyer protection?
 
If you pay for it as goods I don't see why it would make a difference as you still get buyer protection for exactly the same amount.

The difficulty would be in proving something was not as described if it was outside of eBay because they have no advert to go on.......
 
I can't see the problem myself. It'll be like paying for something from someone on a forum etc. As long as you pay with goods/services and not gift it, you will have protection from PayPal.
 
BDEE said:
If you pay for it as goods I don't see why it would make a difference as you still get buyer protection for exactly the same amount.

The difficulty would be in proving something was not as described if it was outside of eBay because they have no advert to go on.......
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mushtafa said:
I can't see the problem myself. It'll be like paying for something from someone on a forum etc. As long as you pay with goods/services and not gift it, you will have protection from PayPal.
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That is exactly what the seller advised me, and I said I'd research before deciding.
 
It's fine.

People use Paypal here on members market after all, which has a less robust feedback system.

Sure, they might scam you, but you could say that about every trade on the internet.

This is assuming it's not a phone or something high value, and their previous items sold weren't 1p coins.
 
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If you are paying direct you will pay the same fee's so I don't see the benefit.

If you are paying direct and 'by gift' it means you have zero protection should things go wrong.
 
stigggeh said:
If you are paying direct you will pay the same fee's so I don't see the benefit.

If you are paying direct and 'by gift' it means you have zero protection should things go wrong.
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I paid a £66 final value fee on something I sold a few months ago so I can understand the seller's reasoning. They'll cancel the transaction on ebay to avoid the final value fees (£50!!) so there would be no ebay protection, just the feedback which they have, which should be sufficient anyway? (assuming it's lots of feedback rather than a few small recent ones)
 
Voodle said:
I paid a £66 final value fee on something I sold a few months ago so I can understand the seller's reasoning. They'll cancel the transaction on ebay to avoid the final value fees (£50!!) so there would be no ebay protection, just the feedback which they have, which should be sufficient anyway? (assuming it's lots of feedback rather than a few small recent ones)
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but the op couldn't give negative feedback if he got scammed could he?

looks like you could have a ebay business selling lots of legit cheap stuff with good feedback then everyone in a while stick up an expensive item, get a bunch of people top pay you via paypal gift off site to a different account then happily sell the item to a legit customer on ebay.

you still have all positive feedback some mugs got mugged with no recourse.
 
I wouldn't bother trying to be greedy. You were happy to pay what you were initially.

You will have paypal buyer protection, but it becomes uncertain where you don't have an advert and communication to go on.

Paypal buyer protection outside of ebay, is only reliable when buying from a proper retailer with a website.

The seller is opening themselves up for a world of hurt if you decide to scam them. After the seller cancels the listing, tell paypal the payment was for that ebay item and as the transaction was cancelled you would like a refund.
 
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Didn't Ebay change the final value fees rules such that you still get charged them if you cancel a transaction under some circumstances (I forget the detail)?
 
cheesyboy said:
Didn't Ebay change the final value fees rules such that you still get charged them if you cancel a transaction under some circumstances (I forget the detail)?
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No.

The only thing you lose on a completely cancelled transaction is the 20p extra paypal charge.
 
muon said:
No.

The only thing you lose on a completely cancelled transaction is the 20p extra paypal charge.
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I've checked - I was thinking of when you cancel an active listing which has bids on it (after the first 24 hours) - you get charged the Ebay final value fee on those.

Possibly, that could apply in OP's case (?)
 
I done this a lot of times as a seller and never had any problems.

If you still using Paypal, you still have seller protection though Paypal and to further protect yourself, you can send him a invoice so there is a official paper tail between you two.
 
IronWarrior said:
I done this a lot of times as a seller and never had any problems.

If you still using Paypal, you still have seller protection though Paypal and to further protect yourself, you can send him a invoice so there is a official paper tail between you two.
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what if they say you sent them a brick in a box?
 
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