Originally posted by smc If someone receives your lens/camera, and swaps it out for a brick, takes a picture of your package with the brick sitting inside, then files a dispute, how is Paypal going to know what really happened? Because Paypal has no way of confirming what is happening, they will almost always side with a buyer.
Generally, PayPal will look at your past transaction history, Ebay sales and feedback (if applicable), and anything else they can easily dig up on you. If you're an experienced seller with a good reputation, you don't have too much to worry about from this kind of scam.
You need to worry a lot more about a buyer deciding he doesn't like an item, smashing it, and then taking pictures of the broken item in the packaging. You should ALWAYS always always thoroughly document the item, pictures of it before sending, pictures of the packaging, and if it's a big ticket item have it packaged by the Post Office themselves. At least with damaged items you can often be reimbursed by the Post Office, even if it was actually the buyer that damaged it (of course you wouldn't know that with surety anyway).
If you're a newbie seller, you're a lot more vulnerable. That's true of many businesses though. Those that exploit and scam in a given field/area will always target the new and ill prepared first.
Originally posted by smc - Avoid leaving large sums in any money transfer service account.
- Try to limit your use of money transfer services like PayPal to smaller purchases (transactions under $500 or so). Consider an escrow service for larger purchases.
These two points are good advice, and you're right, that site is interesting. PayPal is a fickle one. They can be great for someone for years, then just suddenly turn on you seemingly without reason. They're way under-regulated IMO, and don't always make the best decisions. Still, for many people it's currently the best and most pervasive gateway available.
Credit cards, especially when used online, pose their own set of risks, but I think that's a bit beyond the scope of the topic. Cheques, well, they don't provide any buyer protection at all.