Cheeky sellers

[Paulineski]

I buy a few items now and again from eBay, Facebook etc. So many times the seller agrees a price and then sends me a message "Oh, and can you mark it as friends and family"? No I can't — you're not my friend and you're not family. Just pay the bloody Paypal fees you cheapskate!

I have never had this. Maybe say yes if you can come round theirs for Christmas.

If it's someone I trust I'll mark it as friends and family, or if it's someone I have no experience with but it's a small value item. I don't see why you'd force them to pay the fees unnecessarily.

Ha ha — I like this!

It is cheeky, even if it is a small value item. Those small amounts of money are scammers bread and butter.

The OP isn’t “forcing” them to pay fees - that’s EBay and PayPal’s setup. If the vendor doesn’t want to sell the item because they don’t like the fees charged , they are free to withdraw the item at any time

sellers like these prey on women who say to themselves “ah it can’t harm to help them out”..

Cheeky is a nice word for it.

@girlmom21 Paypal are offering a service, so if the seller wants to use that service they should pay the fee!
Plus, marking it friends and family means the Paypal buyer protection guarantee doesn't apply.

well I've just given in and done it again so let's see if my three pairs of cheap second-hand pyjamas turns up

@Ontomatopea Only if they are serving trifle!

But if you send payment as a friends and family one does that not prevent you from raising a dispute if not as described etc

Never had this - only Paypal maybe?
I'd probebly be more inclined to say yes on a small amount where the seller was clearly someone selling off a few items to declutter/raise cash, rather than running a small business.

@Gatekeeper according to Paypal it disqualifies you for buyer protection.

And, I just noticed this! Even more cheeky!

“When sending money via “friends and family”, if the person sending the money is using a credit or debit card then the payor is charged a 2.9% fee.”

Is this if you pay via card without having a PayPal account?

Why?!

You have no comeback if they don't turn up. This is a well known scam.

This is why I've moved over to vinted. eBay and PayPal fees were getting ridiculous, but I agree you should not be asked to mark it as friends and family if you don't know them.