This happened to a friend of ours once. She was looking to sell her car for around 6k I think it was at the time. She had a buyer that didn't want to even view the car but just pay via PayPal and send a courier to pick it up.

After doing lots of research she discovered that this indeed was a con as paypal transactions can easily be reversed which would have left her with no money and no car.

Bank transactions are the easiest / safest way to go nowadays (for both partys) and I'd be cautious of any potential buyer who suggests otherwise.

Update, the buyer collected the car this morning having paid by bank transfer a couple of days ago, so all’s well that ends well. Nice chap and concerns were unfounded

 Current: 2011 FFRR Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8
Previous: -
2004 FFRR Vogue 4.4 V8 with LPG
1997 P38 4.0 SE with LPG
1997 P38 4.6 Vogue with LPG

FWIW, PayPal is fine for a seller if buyer transfers the money as a gift. There are no protections this way.

In the case of using PayPal's 'pay for goods and services' method, it also charges the seller a fee, so you'd lose out.

PayPal can be a legitimate way to pay if, for example, the buyer wanted to use a credit card for whatever reason. Sometimes cards have deals like 0% interest for 12 months. Useful on an expensive purchase like a car if your limit is high enough and you were planning on using credit anyway.

I agree with the comments above. Bank Transfer only!

Jim

Buyer probably wanted PayPal so he could use a credit card to partly fund it. As many have said, don't do PayPal. I also had an item (£500 video tripod) returned by a seller who broke it (as I dropped it off and it was fine). Ended up getting eBay to pay my out of pocket expenses (including the manufacturing repairing it) for letting the buyer return it broken. Aviod Paypal for payment for anything expensive now. Current: RR L322 2010
Past: RR L405 2017, RR L322 2012, 2008 & 2004, 2018 D5, 2016 Defender, 2011 D4, a few Disco2s, P38, RR Classic, couple of Disco1's, SIII SWB

I’ve pretty much given up on eBay, because PayPal is so skewed towards the buyer, that the seller has pretty much no comeback in the event of a dispute.

Glad it got sorted out by other means. Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

I have given up on eBay as well, I got scammed when selling some Porsche gearbox Bowden cables to a buyer in the States, the buyer said the were broken on arrival, this was impossible and well over packed, you could throw them out of an aircraft or run them over with a forklift and not damage them and that’s before adding packing, which was in bubble wrap and double cardboard boxes.

All the buyer had to do to get a refund was say they were damaged and PayPal refunded them! I offered to repair or replace them locally (as they were made in the States) to the buyer and all I asked for was photos of the ‘damage’ and any damage to the packaging but PayPal and eBay said no, the refund would stand and if I wanted the parts I would have to pay shipping upfront so I would be out of pocket another 100 pounds on top of the first shipping costs, eBay costs and the value lost of the item.

EBay/PayPal should protect both buyer and seller and both sides should provide reasonable evidence. I had photos of the item just prior to packing and at each stage of packing and also handing over to the post office with the tracking and labeling all clearly shown on the counter and the post office staff taking the package, all provided to the buyer upfront as to provide them a level of security and comfort in the process. No more as it was all worthless to PayPal and EBay.

Use PayPal Family and friends ONLY !  All my spelling errorz are belong to me!

2023 FFRR L460
2020 Range Rover Velar

It’s a pity they have swung so far but n favor of the buyer, there are scammers and genuine people on both sides. They take enough in fees off the seller so should offer a fair service