[hawk232]

I notice that alot of people request payment via paypal gift (vs for goods). I assume that this alleviates the 3% fee? Any penalty or risks with using this option? If not, then why would anyone use the goods option anymore??

[jolepp]

Apparenty this is supposed to be used for its literal purpose and so there is no recourse in case it was used to pay for something and there is a problem (such as non-delivery, not as described, ...) which - IMO - is fair enough if one considers the fee as an insurance against such problems.

[hawk232]

could one theoretically "get in trouble" for using the gift option to pay for goods??

[jolepp]

Given Paypal's inscrutable TOS one can always get in trouble anyway . In practice I'd say the loss for a buyer would be limited to losing the money involved, but ultimately we won't know until Paypal goes too far with someone stubborn enough to take them to court about it.

[les3547]

Here's an interpretation I've posted a couple of times before. The category at Paypal is "Personal," and then under it "gift" is one of several more subcategories, including "other." I believe hobbyists, such as those found acquiring photography or stereo equipment at a hobbyist website (as this one is), are not in selling and buying to make a profit, but rather are primarily trading equipment. Hobbyists trading equipment is a personal thing, and I believe that qualifies us to use the "other" category under Personal without concern we are being deceptive. As far as getting in trouble, I've used "other" a couple of dozen times for trading equipment without Paypal objecting.

[hawk232]

les, that is a good way of putting it. i suppose i will try doing gift from here on out and hope that it doesnt come back on me!

[stanleyk]

I sold a bunch of lenses and people paid me as a gift. Paypal caught it pretty quick and threatened to close my account.

[les3547]

les, that is a good way of putting it. i suppose i will try doing gift from here on out and hope that it doesnt come back on me!

I wouldn't mark it "gift" since that isn't what it is; I'd mark it "other," to indicate you are not buying and selling for profit.

[RioRico]

If you're dealings are on eBay and other auction sites, it's IMHO insane to use GIFT payments, which cut you off from any recourse. As Les suggested, fee-skipping may be appropriate for trusted trades that don't involve auctions or commercial sales. Otherwise the 3% fee really is cheap insurance. Don't try to mess with Paypal; they're bigger and meaner than you.

[dgaies]

If you're dealings are on eBay and other auction sites, it's IMHO insane to use GIFT payments, which cut you off from any recourse. As Les suggested, fee-skipping may be appropriate for trusted trades that don't involve auctions or commercial sales. Otherwise the 3% fee really is cheap insurance. Don't try to mess with Paypal; they're bigger and meaner than you.

RioRico is correct. On eBay you would be insane to try and use a gift payment to avoid the fees. However, on a site like this one, the decision is a bit more gray. I've regularly receive both regular and gift payment, and I've sent both types as well when buying things. By doing so as a buyer, you give up all your rights should there be an issue or dispute. Think of sending a gift/personal payment in the way you'd view sending cash/check/money order. Once you've sent it, that's it, you have no recourse should the seller not meet their end of the transaction. So if you wouldn't be comfortable sending a seller a check or money order, you gain no additional protection by sending a gift/personal payment.

As to the issue of PayPal and personal payments, they clearly frown on it. They also don't care if you mark it gift or "payment owned". They pretty much view all personal payments the same way. I've been warned before about accepting too many personal payments on PayPal. I then tried to minimize my use of the "gift payment" for a while and then started back up again. Ironically, I bought so much stuff on eBay in the past year that PayPal "upgraded" my account to "VIP" and now they don't seem to care what I do in terms of payments (I even have their "VIP" phone number to call if I need them)

Anyway, bottom line to the OP, if a seller you don't know and/or trust is asking for a gift payment and you wouldn't don't feel comfortable sending them a check, don't send them a gift payment either as it's basically the same thing in terms of risks and lack of protection. In terms of you getting in trouble for sending one, I've never heard of that being an issue; PayPal seems to focus on the sellers accepting gift payments in situations where they feel a regular payment should have occurred.

[Ed n Georgia]

having once purchased a K7 from another (now banned) forum member, using the gift option, I will no longer use that option for buying or selling.
The K7 was DOA and I had no recourse through paypal.

IOW.... Don't do it.

[stormtech]

This is the only venue I've been involved in with so many sellers requiring the be paid as a "gift" As summarized above, I will absolutely will not do it - in fact I've passed by quite a few ads here that I was interested in, but didn't pursue buying anything because the seller required being paid as a "gift".

I mean, come on people - a lot of these ads listed with shipping included on the CONUS - that shipping rate can vary quite a bit if shipping within a few states or across the country. But, they are worried about that 3% PayPal fee. So, if the item sells for $100 and weighs 2 lbs - to ship that 2 pounds Priority Mail, the range is $4.97 to $9.37 - the PayPal fee for $100 is $3.00. So the seller is willing to loose the difference of shipping ($4.40) but won't pay the PayPal fee of $3.00?

When I sell something here or on ebay, I know what my transaction and shipping fees are before hand and make sure I am doing alright with those fees included in my selling price.

/rant over/

[dgaies]

This is the only venue I've been involved in with so many sellers requiring the be paid as a "gift" As summarized above, I will absolutely will not do it - in fact I've passed by quite a few ads here that I was interested in, but didn't pursue buying anything because the seller required being paid as a "gift".

I mean, come on people - a lot of these ads listed with shipping included on the CONUS - that shipping rate can vary quite a bit if shipping within a few states or across the country. But, they are worried about that 3% PayPal fee. So, if the item sells for $100 and weighs 2 lbs - to ship that 2 pounds Priority Mail, the range is $4.97 to $9.37 - the PayPal fee for $100 is $3.00. So the seller is willing to loose the difference of shipping ($4.40) but won't pay the PayPal fee of $3.00?

When I sell something here or on ebay, I know what my transaction and shipping fees are before hand and make sure I am doing alright with those fees included in my selling price.

/rant over/

You're correct. As I've pointed out in several other similar threads about PayPal, sellers tend to be very short sighted when it comes to how they create their ads. The last thing a seller should want to do is irritate potential buyers, and demanding a paypal gift payment (or requesting a 3% surcharge) is one of the quickest ways to piss potential buyers off.

As a seller, I'm not against a buyer sending a personal payment (or a check or a money order). From my perspective it doesn't much matter, and if the way the buyer pays saves me a few bucks, I'll kick that savings back to the buyer. That said, you'll never see one of my ads ask for a gift payment, nor ask a buyer to add 3% onto my asking price... it's just bad business.

Edit: If you think sellers are bad here, check out fredmiranda.com. It seems at least half of sellers there require either a gift payment or require you to add the 3% fee on top of their asking price.

[hawk232]

well until this point i continue to pay via the regular "goods" option simply because i feel that paypal earns this by being so convenient. same reason i will go to a small local hardware and pay a few cents more for the convenience than at one of the big boxes.

I always have a funny feeling when i see a seller requesting payment as a gift... this thread was to either justify or take away my doubt. glad to see that others feel more or less the same way!

in regards to asking for the 3% fee i have always thought it was bad marketing to ask buyers to pay that. honestly, on higher dollar items where the fee may turn into more money, i would just increase my asking price by the 3% in order to cover it

[Ed n Georgia]

Edit: If you think sellers are bad here, check out fredmiranda.com. It seems at least half of sellers there require either a gift payment or require you to add the 3% fee on top of their asking price.

I offered one seller on Fred Miranda an additional 3% for me to use the standard payment method. He refused. I went elsewhere.