A word of caution

[Jacklitsch]

Originally Posted by Rob D.

I demand an apology, and I've never even requested a buyer use the gift option.

No. You just demand that the buyer send a check.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by Jacklitsch

No. You just demand that the buyer send a check.

Please take your place in the apology line.

[JP]

Yeah, if you gift someone through Paypal, the option to dispute it is not even available. And if you fund it with a credit card and try to chargeback, you'd be trying to take money back from Paypal, who will have every recourse necessary to ensure you DON'T succeed. I only gift on BST here, side deals with people I've done deals with in the past, and eBay "best offers" (to provide incentive for sellers to accept my bid).

[usernamealreadytaken]

The CC shouldn't care who/what/where other than the fact you were defrauded. Not only any supporting documents that the money was for a purchase (i.e. emails) but even in the PP message itself. (if it says "Happy Birthday!!" you are screwed) If you message "For 1914 CJ Cobb PSA 2. Please ship to:" PP would have to see the writing on the wall. Feedback?

[Abravefan11]

That's a good questions for the lawyers on the board....Jeff?

Can you legally ungift a gift?

[Chicago206]

Originally Posted by usernamealreadytaken

The CC shouldn't care who/what/where other than the fact you were defrauded. Not only any supporting documents that the money was for a purchase (i.e. emails) but even in the PP message itself. (if it says "Happy Birthday!!" you are screwed) If you message "For 1914 CJ Cobb PSA 2. Please ship to:" PP would have to see the writing on the wall. Feedback?

If thats the case, both the CC and paypal are going to ask why you didnt use standard paypal for the purchase. Paypal "gift" was not set up so that users could avoid fees, it was set up so people could send "gifts" to eachother at no expense. Its probably a poor idea on paypal's part, as I dont see how they benefit. I also suspect it will not last very long because of exactly what we are discussing here. People are very much abusing the new feature. The way I see it, the "gift" option actually helps the buyer more than the seller. You save that extra 3% by using "gift". If someone wants to use standard paypal with me, thats fine...just add 3% to the total. So you see, as a seller, I do not benefit at all, I get the exact same amount of money.

[sbfinley]

Well luckily some of the members of this board have henchmen, so if a deal goes sour. Well, you DON'T want a deal to go sour.

[Shouldabeena10]

Another thing some people don't realize when using the "gift" option ... is that the Paypal receipt doesn't show the mailing address. You need to either put it in the comment box or send it separately.

[uffda51]

No one likes a re-gifter. Who could forget Tim Whatley? And the label maker?

[lsutigers1973]

If the PP gift is funded by a CC, the same PP fees will still be charged just as if it were for a regular payment.

I have sent and received hundreds of PP gifts as payment for cards on numerous card forums and have never had an issue.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by Chicago206

If thats the case, both the CC and paypal are going to ask why you didnt use standard paypal for the purchase. Paypal "gift" was not set up so that users could avoid fees, it was set up so people could send "gifts" to eachother at no expense. Its probably a poor idea on paypal's part, as I dont see how they benefit. I also suspect it will not last very long because of exactly what we are discussing here. People are very much abusing the new feature. The way I see it, the "gift" option actually helps the buyer more than the seller. You save that extra 3% by using "gift". If someone wants to use standard paypal with me, thats fine...just add 3% to the total. So you see, as a seller, I do not benefit at all, I get the exact same amount of money.

Paypal charges me a 1% fee to send the "gift" when I use cash from my bank account. It is my understanding that everyone who sends a gift via Paypal must pay the 1% fee, even for cash. So the choice is between 3% off the recipient's total, or 1% added to the sender's total.

And I agree with other comments that it would likely be tough to go back later and say a "gift" was not really a gift if it didn't work out for you.

Cheers,
Blair

[JP]

Sometimes Paypal doesn't charge a percentage at all to gift, but if you do it alot, the percentage pops up on ocassion and becomes higher each time, it seems. I just tried to money to a fellow board member, a larger dollar amount, and they tried to add about 2.8-2.9% to the total...