Yeah man that sucks. Stupid Paypal and their stupid ass fees. I only had good success with these situations if I call PayPal and talk to someone live and explain then they may change something in your favor.

While you only got "ripped off" for 12.80, here are lessons many others have learned:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-to-not-get-ripped-off-in-pinball-vids-guide

What a pain in the ass; sure the monetary damage is minimal, but the hassle and stress of the ordeal can really take a toll.

I learned long ago (via experience) that pinball seems to attract more than its fair share of scumbags for some reason, and decided that "cash on the glass" with in-person pickup was the only way I'd sell. Sure it takes longer, but the peace of mind is well worth it! In addition to minimizing the odds of being ripped off and/or dealing with Paypal/bank ridiculousness, it helps to ensure that the buyer can't reasonably accuse the seller of misrepresenting condition or concealing damage/malfunctions; it also seems to help stem the tide of "tire kickers" and other non-serious people spamming with silly questions or ridiculous requests.

There are simply too many ways that things can go off the rails with Paypal, cashier's checks (can be forged), bank transfers (can be reversed after the fact due to insufficient funds), and money orders (potential fraud).

Paypal is terrible, I was thrilled when eBay dumped them. Ultimately when I sold my pins I didn't use payment services, didn't accept payment schedules, didn't accept the various methods people pitched to me to buy my games. I kept it super simple, want the game? Cool, bring cash and come take it. I'm not a bank, corporation or storage center, I don't have the facilities to deal with payments and paperwork or to hold the game for a buyer, if you really want it then just come get the game. I "lost" many potential buyers that way, with lost in quotes because I doubt many of them ever actually intended to buy. The minute someone would add a complication I would always politely decline the sale and move on. The people that did buy were for real and the transactions were simple as it should be.

I completely believe that this happened, but it's still unbelievable.

If someone wants to give me a deposit to hold a game, it had better be cash-equivalent. PayPal F&F or Zelle.

You got off easy. $12.50 he's out of your life forever.

No way of knowing the hell you'd be in if he actually got the game. And then wasn't happy or a switch needed adjusting.

LTG : )

So besides Cash.......if your selling a pin from someone local or shipping. What is the best way to accept payment and not get scammed ? Thx

Jeezus I can only imagine what the rest of this kind of person’s life is like. Must be an unholy dumpster fire of half finished nonsense.

#1 Is this paypals fault?? Did I miss something? You took the deposit via paypal as an accepted form of payment? Looks like your fault.

#2 It is pretty standard in the pinball world to keep deposits on backed out transactions. I have done it several times and the people who paid deposits where totally fine with it for the inconvenience. A friend of mine got to keep a $1500 deposit on a $6k game one time.

Try disputing it with PayPal and indicate the deposit was non-refundable. Who cares at this point? Tell the scumbags at PayPal whatever they want to hear and get your money back.

I had a friend who sent money to a scammer on PayPal and PayPal sided with the scammer. I’ve NEVER see them deny the “buyer” until then. It’s such a shitty company

I still accept personal checks when selling a game, I mandate however that the check clears before the game leaves (and I mean really clears, not simply funds made available...usually takes about a week after deposit is made but can take several weeks on occasion).