escrow? recommended payment methods?

Mods: Forgive me if I'm posting this in the wrong place. I did look first and couldn't find what I was looking for!

In the PM section, there's a glaring warning at the bottom:


I assume there's a reason behind this?

What's recommended instead? How am I to know if a payment I received from PayPal (if I were to use it) wasn't "Friends/Family"?

Are there trustworthy members out there who are willing to do escrow?

I ask because someone responded to a listing of mine in the marketplace, and it was his very first post, and in his PM he mentioned PayPal and Zelle, among other options. I've been scammed far too many times before, both as buyer and seller, and I'm trying to avoid it again.

Thanks!

 

This is for BUYER protection primarily - if you use fee-free payment, you’re (the buyer) on the hook if the seller scams you, because per the Zelle or PayPal friends transaction, you are gifting the funds to the other person. There have been some accounts hacked and people scammed on the site in the past, which is why the message is there.

You can do PayPal “paying for goods” but know that it carries 3.x% fee. The advantage is that the transaction is covered if you get shafted (again, as a buyer). Of course, as a seller, you don’t want to give 3.x% to PayPal (and it does come out of your total price), so you need to be clear that your price is “net” after fees and the buyer needs to add the fee amount to their total payment.

A shady buyer can still claim they didn’t receive the goods and you get hosed by PayPal unless you use the “for goods” function AND ship fully tracked and insured for total value (all of which cost more).

At the end of the day, there’s a degree of trust in both sides. Caveat Emptor, and don’t ever buy or sell if you’re not prepared to be out the money or the item unless you sell locally face to face for real cash.

I’ve bought and sold on a lot of sites - I tend to be leery of fresh accounts offering to buy from me except really small ticket items that I’m not really worried about. And the 50 “real” posts requirement (not fluff posts) on this site to be able to sell is also aimed at helping to foster a higher level of trust and accountability.

 

its there because tons of scammers will request payment in that form... which is essentially like sending someone cash. as soon as you hit that complete payment button, the seller can send you a message that says "haha, get lost sucker"... and you will never see the item you paid for, or the money you paid for it with again.

 

whatchya looking to sell?

 

Just comment on every new member post with hi like a bunch of weirdos already do lmao, instead of bumping a thread to help someone except the thread isn't even about selling anything and is a year old

 

Membership duration and contributions to the general community are not necessarily the same thing. What makes this a community and a wealth of resource for others is not 6 years of relative silence followed by a bunch of "bumps" on 2+ year old for sale threads.
FWIW - posts in the BST subsection and the new member subsection don't count anyway.
And know that if you're just fluffing to list something, you might find yourself on a vacation.
Lots of ways to be friendly and be part of the "crew"