What seems like a totally easy way to save a few bucks has turned into a way to scam people. PayPal gift payments!

Sure it all sounds good send the seller a gift payment save them a bit of money and get your stuff. In a lot of cases this is true, but now not a week goes by without a member getting screwed or the run around about a PayPal gift payment.

So we are clear

Sending "Gift" payments eliminates any recourse you have against the seller.

You will not be able to do a charge back or file a claim with PayPal.

After many discussions in the Mod area we are not "banning" gift payments but are saying

Nintendoage STRONGLY recommends you do not send GIFT Payments for Purchases! Unless you are 100% comfortable with losing your money or really confident in your seller.

Of course 99% of these transactions are probably fine. BUTWe do not want to see anyone get scammed, and PayPal offers a fairly decent service, anyone remember the days of the check is in the mail?

A tip for the sellers that don't want to pay fees add 3% to your selling price before you post it!

Thank you for your time!

Good advice.. I never pay gift payments... If thats all they will take, im happy to walk.

I usually offer gift as an option, but I don't make them send it as a gift if they don't want to.

PayPal Mexico doesn't accept that option for a reason...

Even when I effed with Pay Pal, I always ate the fees! Nickel and diming on a buck or two (even though it adds up) is crazy.... Especially here on the age(since we don't have to kiss a big % cut of the sale bye bye like they do on the bay) Paypalers are being victimized all over. I am with the CEO of Team Pats: be cheap if you want to.....but don't come crying to the Nintendo Age Fam At Large when someone gets ghost with your money. As long as that person is in good standing at that moment, they can empty that pay pal account of your gifted money, close the account and go full vapor! Don't step over dollars to save pennies!

Good to know, I'll only use gift with close friends or with cheap stuff.

If its cheap theres even less reason to send gift payment..

oh my. I didn't quite realise we weren't protected if we gift them (I just thought it means we pay the fee for them, but it is still a transaction with the same rules). I never use the method unless I trust the person anyway, but still... to me Paypal should give a warning everytime you use this option for the clueless (like me).

Also people, don't send payment via Amazon giftcards unless you are very comfortable with the other person in the transaction. I know we had a scammer a couple of months ago that got a few people to bite.

Basically just use your head, if something seems too good to be true it probably is. Also refresh yourself on the FAQ, the guidelines are there to protect the community but only work if you use it.

Thanks for the information, that was helpful to know.

i used that option. and hope that will be fine. no problem happen so far

Bump, for the "concerned member" out there - Satoshi_Matrix doesn't send his shit out, makes excuses as to why and appears to require a gift payment on items.

SO - to the "member" out there who sent me a colorful PM - do not send me your high and mighty opinion thinking NintendoAge is my playground to flaunt my ecock. I back my shit up 100%. When you get scammed by someone, don't come to me crying foul. You can almost guarantee that not a single MOD or ADMIN will help your sorry ass. BOING!

Ya when dealing with a new user with 0 feedback i always ask for them to send first and 5% of the time they actually agree to send first. I think about 75% of my feedback is via gift payments. I think gift payments should really only be used with long time members or someone youv talked to alot etc

For the record, I ask people to use gift payments because of PayPal's fees.

To any future customers(because I know me and they'll probably be a lot more to get rid of), I PREFER PayPal gift payments. If you don't want to do that, let me know and I'll work at it the regular way. I've never ripped anyone and I won't start now. I'm clarifying this because I'm technically a new user and I want you to shop with confidence from me.

I usually have people pay me by gift payment because the fees suck ass lol.

Conversely, someone accepting a gift payment can still get screwed if the sender used a credit card to fund the transaction, then files a chargeback.

I usually ask for gift payment, but not due to the fees. I would just have the buyer pay an extra few percent to cover fees anyway. I actually prefer gift payment specifically so the buyer cannot screw me by filing a claim. I am always completely honest and upfront about what I am selling, and I ship securely and quickly. I know I am performing on my end. I don't need some newb who doesn't receive their game within four days to file a claim and screw me. It is especially critical if the buyer does not want to pay for tracking. If I am using a trackable method, I don't care how the buyer pays, as I will be protected from claims.

I am the first to say the fees don't bother me in the least. I am happy to give them 2.9% of my transactions for the service they provide. I remember waiting for checks and money orders in the mail and it sucked. Sure PayPal has its faults, but even Google charges the same exact fee, it is a cost of doing business.

So basically you are saying if my package shows up damaged (you are responsible to get goods to me in the same condition you describe). You would just say oh well, you paid gift.

I havent had a transaction on this site yet, becuase most people want to use the gift method and Im personally not very comfortable with that.

Yeah, people, you have to understand that 2.9% is a very low processing fee. I think people need to pony up on this - imagine if Dain took 2.9% every time you ran a transaction on this site. paying a merchant fee is just part of selling stuff this day in age - and circumventing the system is, in my opinion, dishonest.

Also, anything else specified under the "Personal" tab (payment owed, other, etc.) still gives you the same lack of protection as paying with Gift. There was another scammer asking for payments as "Payment Owed", which on the surface sounds like you'd be protected.

I bet a whole lot of people who use paypal all the time (including me) think that any transaction via paypal implies some protection. It most likely is in the fine print so paypal are covered and it is ultimately the person's fault, but it is kind of dishonest that paypal doesn't make more of an attempt to make it clear how the gift option works. Glad I have NA.

Well why would someone have to do a charge back on a gift? Seems a bit silly doesn't it.

Seriously...3%...not much of a big deal unless you're selling something worth a lot of money.

I normally won't accept gift payments, as a seller.

I thought this was obvious but I guess it is good to inform the people who are unfamiliar with paypal and the system.