Bonanzle seller wants me to send payment as "gift"

spiffdeb

spiffdeb

O.G.
Mar 11, 2007
323
0
#1
I'm looking at a bag on Bonanzle. I made an offer to the seller at a bit less than the asking price. She says she is willing to take the offer if I pay her via PayPal as a "gift" to avoid (I think) whatever fees Bonanzle has. I'm not familiar with Bonanzle (I've always bought and sold via eBay) and I'm feeling a little nervous about this proposition.

Would I have any recourse if something went wrong with this transaction?:wondering

Thanks for your advice.
 
#2
I would not do it!!
If you buy it on Bonanzle she will only have to pay 5$ or something like that.. maybe $10 tops. And if you mark it as a gift and you have a problem (like seller doesn't send the bag) Paypal will not protect you because you are giving her the money as a gift not in exchange of goods. I would move on and buy something else!!
 
#3
^ exactly... ita.

If you do pay by gift, your only recourse is to file a claim with the CC company if you pay by CC, and that could take months! You'd have to trust that this seller will refund you if there are any problems and if you don't want to go thru the CC.
 
#4
It's actually to avoid the Paypal fees, probably.
Paypal won't charge the 3% fee when you send payment as a"gift." However, I doubt you will be protected under Paypal (as much "protection" as Paypal gives with a Bonanzle purchase, but I digress...) if you send it this way.
 
#5
2 things.. as a "gift" you have ZERO protection, and quite frankly, even your CC may balk over that one, as you do not show any purchase of merchandise. I'm not so sure they would file a charge back on a GIFT send of cash. Not a good plan, IMO.
Use a CC to pay w/ PP via the BONZ transaction which will show merchandise purchased. Be aware that because this is NOT an ebay transaction, you will not have any PP Buyer protection, only Buyer Complaint for INR.
 
#6
You won't even have 'item not received protection' if you do that, definitely don't do it! How do you dispute this on your credit card when you've indicated that you are giving someone a gift?
 
#9
Thanks everyone.

We worked it out and I bought the bag thru Bonanzle/Paypal. I felt a little bad about being nervous as she is a TPF'er and TPF'ers are a bit like family to me. But, at the end of the day it was a lot of money and I felt better handling it thru normal process cause you never know what can happen. She was cool with that.
 
#11
Good to hear you worked it out, and just a word of advice.. just because a seller is a TPFer it doesn't mean she/ he is good.. there are many horror stories about TPFers scamming other TPFers.. always watch your back and make sure you are protected. Don't make the same mistake I made, I trusted a TPFer and didn't check his feedback, at he tried to scam me.. always be careful!!
Good Luck!
 
#13
Glad that you worked it out! I know you want to trust PFers, but you never know what may happen (lost in the mail & uninsured, etc.). You made the right decision... I also want to know what you bought! :graucho:
 
#15
mbparcia said:
Good to hear you worked it out, and just a word of advice.. just because a seller is a TPFer it doesn't mean she/ he is good.. there are many horror stories about TPFers scamming other TPFers.. always watch your back and make sure you are protected. Don't make the same mistake I made, I trusted a TPFer and didn't check his feedback, at he tried to scam me.. always be careful!!
Good Luck!
Click to expand...

Amen to this! There's no screening process or background check before people can join tPF, and unfortunately, some real turds have scammed people by touting themselves as tPF members. :sad:
 
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