It shouldn't be this hard to buy off a Web forum.

Jonesy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Michael C. Winther wrote:</div>
no one is being forced to buy anything, so why try to force the seller to behave a certain way?

i sell lots of fishing gear via a few buy/sell groups on Facebook. when i post the ad, i list “PayPal as Friends/Family only.” nope, i’m not taking money orders, i’m not taking checks, and i’m not paying any fees. i want my full amount paid immediately and then i’ll mail out the stuff. if someone doesn’t like that process, or doesn’t trust me to ship it, don’t try to buy it. simple.

i also buy lots of gear online in the same way, using PayPal Friends/Family almost exclusively. i haven’t been burned, and i figure that if i can’t afford for the item to get “lost” in the mail, i can’t afford to buy it in the first place. if i’m buying something expensive enough that i need some kind of assurance, i buy it new from a store or else insist on meeting in person and seeing the item before handing over the cash.

don’t mean to sound harsh, just trying to offer some real perspective about possible reasons sellers like me insist on using the fee-free PayPal options.

In my opinion if I offer to cover paypal fees, which I will always do if asked there is in my mind zero reason, other than the seller being deceitful, that they would not accept this method. Really it is the standard of online payment methods.

Jonesy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Michael C. Winther wrote:</div>
no one is being forced to buy anything, so why try to force the seller to behave a certain way?

i sell lots of fishing gear via a few buy/sell groups on Facebook. when i post the ad, i list “PayPal as Friends/Family only.” nope, i’m not taking money orders, i’m not taking checks, and i’m not paying any fees. i want my full amount paid immediately and then i’ll mail out the stuff. if someone doesn’t like that process, or doesn’t trust me to ship it, don’t try to buy it. simple.

i also buy lots of gear online in the same way, using PayPal Friends/Family almost exclusively. i haven’t been burned, and i figure that if i can’t afford for the item to get “lost” in the mail, i can’t afford to buy it in the first place. if i’m buying something expensive enough that i need some kind of assurance, i buy it new from a store or else insist on meeting in person and seeing the item before handing over the cash.

don’t mean to sound harsh, just trying to offer some real perspective about possible reasons sellers like me insist on using the fee-free PayPal options.

In my opinion if I offer to cover paypal fees, which I will always do if asked there is in my mind zero reason, other than the seller being deceitful, that they would not accept this method. Really it is the standard of online payment methods.

My guess is that the guy wanted friends/family option to avoid a transaction that may lead to filing a 1099K form.Can’t avoid that on feebay,but I think gift transactions do not count against the limit of PP transactions before you get dinged with a 1099K.Just more IRS BS

well, just speaking for myself, i’m not requesting Friends/Family in order to “be deceitful” and rip people off. and i’m not a business so i’m not trying to avoid taxes on a non-taxable private-party sale of used goods.
whether other people like them or not, my preferences for online sales transactions aren’t a character flaw…

I wouldn’t do it especially after you told him you pay the fees that Paypal charges, so he gets the same amount as doing it as a gift. Sounds like a scam or he doesn’t really want to sell. If it took him a week to respond do you honestly think he will mail it out in a timely manner?

i deal with pp as gift all the time. in many communities its the norm. Don’t just assume its a scam when they won’t budge. What it sounds like is he doesnt’ understand that if you are willing to pay the fees, it makes no difference to the seller.

hnd wrote:

i deal with pp as gift all the time. in many communities its the norm. Don’t just assume its a scam when they won’t budge. What it sounds like is he doesnt’ understand that if you are willing to pay the fees, it makes no difference to the seller.

Perhaps. I have moved on so I’m not worried about it. I did not realize that there were tax implications if you accept too many paypal payments. I have seen too many horror stories in the performance car part sites where people are out 3-4K dollars because it was sent as a gift.

Anyways thanks for the discussion everyone.