Ron B.

Well Known Member
Hi Guys
We have our RV-10 listed on Barnstormers. We have a German resident looking at making a 10% deposit using PayPal. Being so far away and a different country I'm wandering what could go wrong giving out my paypal information? This transaction is moving along rather quickly and has me nervious.
Ron
 
you should be able to create a PayPal invoice. And the invoice should provide the rest. They should get a PayPal account
 
As far as I know he has a Paypal account. I'm just nervious giving out my information and have them use it to collect funds from me. I don't know if that is even possible?
Thanks Ron
 
Paypal

I think that the only thing you need to give your buyer is the e-mail address you use for Paypal. Your buyer will need an account and then contact Paypal to let them know how much they want to transfer to you. Paypal will then contact you to let you know the payment is ready. You then authorize the transfer. There is no way that your buyer can access your account directly.

If it is a transfer between friends or family, the transfer is free. ;)

If it is a sale, then there is a service charge.

Good luck
 
The only thing they will get is your email address (and maybe your address?). The worst they can do is send you an invoice, which you have to approve before any payment is made from your bank account.
 
Be careful with paypal. In a dispute, whether you are right or wrong, it's easy to have the money confiscated from you by paypal. In other words, don't treat is as cash. If it were me, I'd insist on wiring the money, or a money order. If you take a cashier's check or money order, don't treat is as cash either as they are easy to fake.
 
Ron, you should just give them your PayPal account name (could be your email address). PayPal will email you when they have the funds. No one can draw money from your account unless they have your account password. Having said that, make sure your password is a good one and change it often. Obviously, you don't want to give anyone your password! I once had my password hacked on PayPal and they hit me for a few dollars (less than $100), and when I filed a claim, PayPal promptly reimbursed me. Just one guy's experience. :)
 
I would strongly suggest insisting on a wire. Paypal is notorious for being buyer friendly on disputes and paypal can and will access your accounts to refund the payment to him. I had a guy try to steal from me on an ebay sale they held my money for almost 3 weeks, even after I provided a USPS delivery confirmation (they did finally give my money back as the guy finally admitted he got it). Also, I calculate the fee on a $10,000 transaction to be $290.30, a bank will surely do a wire for significantly less.
 
Beware!

+1 for not using Paypal.

They are grossly buyer friendly. Via ebay I sold an operational VOR indicator which I had just removed from one of my airplanes. I cleaned it up, protected the connector with a plastic cover and included installation documentation in a ridiculously well bubble wrapped and foam padded box 3 times the size of the indicator. I sent the box to the buyer. 3 days later the buyer wants a refund because the VOR needle is bent and 5 connector pins were bent over 90 degrees (these were in a recesed enclosure). They claimed the indicator was defecetive upon arrival. What happened in my opinion was they dropped it, then tried to force the wiring connector on backwards bending the pins. Anyway, I disputed the claim with PayPal but after 3 weeks of disputing they refunded the money from my account and left it up to me on how to get the VOR back. I closed my Paypal account after this...

YMMV
 
Send invoice

I have had no problems as a seller. You can just get THEIR email and send THEM an invoice. That way you might feel better about not giving out your info.
 
PayPal gives the buyer some protection if the deal falls through. Why would you expect the buyer to be totally vulnerable by having his money wired to you? YOU could be the scammer. I think PayPal is the fairest way for both parties. And we are only talking the deposit here. When the FINAL transaction takes place, then a wire makes more sense.
 
PayPal gives the buyer some protection if the deal falls through. Why would you expect the buyer to be totally vulnerable by having his money wired to you? YOU could be the scammer. I think PayPal is the fairest way for both parties. And we are only talking the deposit here. When the FINAL transaction takes place, then a wire makes more sense.

Yeah, I'd be willing to take the 10% by paypal -- but not the 90%. Be willing to lose any money you take via paypal. (And even have your item in a normal sale destroyed by paypal's instruction if the buyer utters the word "counterfeit".)

I'd make sure the buyer understood the terms of the 90% payment prior to taking the 10% though.
 
I would not use Paypal any more that I would access F*ceb**k. The plane is sold to the first person with cash/certified and verifiable check in hand.

Maybe a non-refundable $1000 via a secure method holds it for a week or so.
 
Wire transfers are best. You may not have immediate funds from PayPal - you will with a wire.

I've seen "certified" and "bank" checks bounce - beware.

Dan
 
wire transfer. costs around $30. i have had cert bank check bouce. the person went to a bank and had a bank check made out to my company, took it to kinkos, made a perfect copy, cut it to size and sent it to me. so far not really illegal. here's where it got me. he went back to the bank and for $4 he had the check voided. so when mine went to that bank it was rejected etc etc. he was arrested etc. so wire transfer has never bit me yet. a bank check or any check doesn't have to be on federal paper. any paper stock can be used. paul harvey wonce had a guy write a check on toilet paper and sent it to the IRS, because it had all the required bank info and numbers on it, it was legal. paul harvey, good day
oh yeah. the irs deposited the check.
 
How about going through an escrow service. I went through one when I purchased a 172. The info was given to me by the AOPA. They hold the monies, ensure any liens are taken care of and then transfer the money directly to your account. It's a bit of a hassle, but it gave me piece of mind. Just an option.
 
Plenty of scams out there even involving paypal.
If you must use paypal (wire transfer MUCH better), once the money is in your paypal account, request the funds be transferred to your CC or bank account. Once transferred and verified remove the CC or bank validation from your Paypal account. this way if there is a dispute they cannot "grab" funds to hold until dispute resolution.
if everything works out you can re-establish your account.
 
Don't use PayPal for large transactions!

Due to my fairly recent experience with PayPal and large transactions, from now on I will deal with wire transfer, escrow, or other means.

Specially if you do not regularly use your account or receive $1,000+ payments you will most likely have to provide information/proof that you own, and have in your possession the item(s). It can take 45 days or longer for them to release your money (in my case, it was almost 60 days). During this time, you are expected to deliver the item. They can, at any time during this process to return the money to the buyer and leave you SOL.

Besides their fees are high.

They are not a bank/financial institution so they don't have to follow any of the laws and can essentially do what they feel like.

buyer protection with little or no seller protection. A claim can be filed, and the money returned to the buyer, leaving you with no item, and no money for that item. Leaving you with the burden of proof that you are the party that's right. Hard to do without having the item (since you already shipped it to the buyer).

From a buyer standpoint, you are covered as long as you start the claim process within the allotted time.

Having said that, all but one worked out fine for me, it was the process that was a headache. The transactions I was involved in (both buying and selling) were all U.S. based. On the one that didn't work out, I lost nearly enough $$$ to buy the finish kit for my 7.

Good luck.
 
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Just an fyi...i put a motorcycle on Craigslist recently. Within a week i got 8 different emails and one call all giving a variation of the same scenario, ie; i'm either a long distance buyer or buying for someone else, give me some info on the bike and your paypal address and we'll finish transaction. All are scams. From my understanding, what occurs is after giving them your email, you then get a fake email from paypal saying there is a large payment to you that is pending your verification. It includes a fake link, once you hit it and sign in, they've got your paypal ID. Be VERY careful with this.
 
Ron---I've use pay pal to handle my transactions from all over the world. However, due to the large $$ amount, I would to a bank/bank transfer, or wire. The pay pal fee would be pretty LARGE!
Tom
 
Just an fyi...i put a motorcycle on Craigslist recently. Within a week i got 8 different emails and one call all giving a variation of the same scenario, ie; i'm either a long distance buyer or buying for someone else, give me some info on the bike and your paypal address and we'll finish transaction. All are scams. From my understanding, what occurs is after giving them your email, you then get a fake email from paypal saying there is a large payment to you that is pending your verification. It includes a fake link, once you hit it and sign in, they've got your paypal ID. Be VERY careful with this.

Oh, good reminder: if you get a paypal email, ignore it and login to your account directly in a browser instead.

Same as when you get email from your bank, UPS, USPS, of the $20M you just won. :p
 
There is no way known to man I would purchase something of that value without some form of escrow service in place. Almost any form of electronic payment can be disputed, even a bank cheque.

Some tips for paypal though, as I use it almost exclusively for online payments.

1. Open a separate bank account specifically for these transactions and ensure the balance is almost always zero.

2. Attach a credit card to the paypal account with a minimal limit and transfer the cash to it for purchases.

3. Upon receipt of any cash payments to your paypal account >$100 send the funds to your nominated account and withdraw them to another, which is not linked to your paypal account.

4. Always remember possession is 9/10's of the law.

5. If it feels suspect it probably is.
 
Be careful of long distance buyers. Do not give them any paypal, credit card, or bank account numbers or pass words. If you want to use paypal, check with them on the proper and safe way to do it. The same with using bank accounts. Check with your bank. Once thiefs have your numbers, they can wreak havoc with you credit and funds.

Roberta
 
Thanks everyone
We chose to direct the sale towards our attorney. If I were serious in a large purchase dealing with an attorney for money transactions, would not push me away. I would like to deal directly to the seller with questions on the aircraft condition though.
Thanks again
Ron
 
FWIW, I just sold an aircraft project to an overseas buyer that had "SCAM" written all over it. Strike 1 - Poor english, Strike 2 - poor product knowledge, Strike 3 - other side of the planet... etc.

My initial response to him was short and more than a little guarded, but he turned out to be completely legit. He wired the money to my account and the funds were locked up solid before the airplane ever left my hangar.

I had no problem giving out the routing number to my account - after all, its on every check you write.