Would you be happy with this or does it sound dodgy?

[pasturesgreen]

As I wanted to order I few items from the same seller, I messaged her to ask for an invoice which included combined shipping.

Seller said that was fine, but instead of just sending the invoice via ebay as you would asked for my paypal address and sent the invoice there.

She's now asking I don't complete the transaction on ebay, just send her the money via paypal leaving a message to say what it is that I want to order.

Obviously I wouldn't use the 'friends & family' option, but the 'send money to a business' one, which I gather still gives me protection. However it's the first time I've ever received such a request and it does sound slightly ...unusual.

Would you go ahead or does it definitely sound dodgy? Seller has 100% positive feedback and has been on ebay for more than 10 years

If you 'won' on ebay, then you need to complete the transaction on ebay. OR cancel the transaction and do the whole thing off ebay. I would not mix it up.

At face value, this sounds like a Seller who is trying to avoid the 9% or 10% Final Value Fee on eBay. It's possible that she might have misunderstood your request for an invoice, and moved to PayPal as it's easier to create a formal invoice there, but that doesn't explain her suggestion of striking a deal outside eBay.

I would reply and clarify that you just wanted to know the new total once combined shipping had been applied but you would prefer to complete the transaction through eBay. If she continues to push for an off-eBay sale I would shop elsewhere and consider whether you want to alert eBay to the offer you received.

Have a look at this page pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html and especially the last section;
"Why does eBay have this policy?"
"Offers to buy or sell outside of eBay are a potential fraud risk for both buyers and sellers, and are not protected by eBay Money Back Guarantee programmes. Additionally, these offers may be an attempt to avoid eBay fees. This is unfair to other sellers and is in breach of our policies."

I wouldn't like that. It's quite easy to create a combined invoice with eBay.

I have done this before as a seller purely because it was easier for me to sort the postage. I believe that you are covered if you pay business not friends and family, and the transaction is still completed on eBay as the seller may have collect as an option so once you paid she will mark it on eBay as paid and then mark as posted when she posts