I’m not a lawyer but I play one on tv...

Are you William Shatner?
LOL!

God, I wish.

This was before the day of gifted transactions but makes no difference to what you claimed. What I quoted from you was that if you withdrew the funds already, paypal couldn't do anything. Which is 100% wrong.

Regardless, a Paypal gifted transaction can still be subject to chargeback as they can simply claim unauthorized transaction, or could be a compromised account/card. You're thinking about this transaction in terms of what paypal's site says and typical transactions between reasonable human beings. There's a different level to things, you're going to want to be very careful.

People are making this into a bigger deal than it is and are probably people that have no experience doing long distance deals. Call the guy on the phone. Feel him out. PayPal friends and family is fine. I dealt in collectible bikes for years and never got burned. These were prewar Schwinns that cost thousands. If you don't do paypal, give him your bank account number and he can deposit money by walking into your bank. Fast, done, money in hand. Postal money orders or wires work also. I need to start selling tin foil hats on this site. I'd make a killing.

Lots of fool proof advice there, good luck!

I’m pretty comfortable with PayPal, but would have my reservations.

I would want a copy of their DL. I would only ship to confirmed Paypal address and only if it matched DL. STI would be safe, but make sure destination address on paperwork is identical to PayPal confirmed. Let the buyer know you will hold up shipping if this doesn’t match.

I prefer paid PayPal transactions when dealing with someone unknown. Avoid friends and family. PayPal will not have your back if shit goes south when they are working for free. They want to get paid too.

Make sure you have lots of well documented photos and a date stamp of some sort...current newspaper or something to prove date of photos.

I would still have reservations why they are purchasing from across the country, unless it’s a rare title or they are in a very remote area.

Where the hell is the OP?

BTW...DON'T DO IT!

See, it's fud like this that freaks people out. "avoid friends and family". You like paying fees and giving the buyer, who you are worried about, more protection?

It should be a requirement that you have completed long distance deals before commenting.

No, everybody would be too freaked out about how to pay you for them.

ESCROW.COM or SAFEFUNDS.COM!!!!
ESCROW.COM or SAFEFUNDS.COM!!!!
ESCROW.COM or SAFEFUNDS.COM!!!!

Period. End of story.

Please see post #34.

It was me that contacted him through craigslist. I buy pins all the time, drama free from all over. Pay with paypal f/f and use michelle B. Never ever 1 issue buying or selling, paying or getting paid.

I bet I've done way more transactions then you. I've used Friends and Family plenty of times too, but OP was asking 100% safe. Nothing is, but your more likely to be defrauded that way and to save a hundred bucks or whatever (split between buyer and seller). If I use F&F with a stolen card to pay you, come cry to me when Paypal reverses the charge and doesn't give you the time of day.

But hey, you can just feel em out over the phone.

In god we trust all others pay cash

OK Flip side how would anybody give a GIFT and expect to be able to get it back!!
what ever.. I'm just glad not everyone is as paranoid as some of you, or I wouldn't have half the machine's I own, since I used pay pal to buy them.
time to drain this thread...

“Dear PayPal someone used my credit card to give a gift I didn’t authorize”. Funds locked up and pissing match begins.

Bottom line - if you violate PayPal’s terms of service and think they will bend over backwards to help you - then good luck.

I like being paranoid. Have I lost a deal or two along the way? Absolutely. But no one has stolen my money.

There ya go.

Well to each his own, I take a reasonable amount of precaution with my transactions, if I still get scammed so be it. There’s a lot more important things in my life then Money. Everything you do has risks, buy the way did you know most car accidents happen within two miles of your home.. You should move: )

Is that really safe? For example, let's say I have a pin that needs some really rare or expensive boards or parts. No problem, I buy the machine you are selling that has all the parts I need, put my money in escrow and wait to get your game. It arrives, I swap out your working parts for my broken parts, refuse the machine, I get my money back and you get your machine back. I now have a working machine for free, and yours is now broken. Does escrow really protect against this scenario?

Doomid is a straight shooter OP...

Good point!
Always take lots of photos for proof.

Why risk it at all, wait for a local with cash. If the other buy is real and interested enough to scour all states for a game, they can drive over and meet like a real addict.

I've dealt with doomid a few times. He is pretty well known in SoCal. You should have no problems.

Following closely as I have a potential buyer in adjoining country wanting to use a cashiers check and STI shipping after payment clears. Reading this thread makes me nervous to say the least.

You can trust in God, I'll use an Escrow service.

If you are new to the world of pinball collecting, let me offer some respectful advice when it comes to Craigslist pinball sales SPECIFICALLY.

Bottom Line:
"If you cannot pick the game up from Craigslist, cash and carry, don't buy the game."

1 ) This is not a pinball broker, dealer, or distributor.
2 ) There is no discussed "warranty" as it applies in this part of the sale world.
3 )This deal is not shown to be an established collector with contacts.
4 ) You cannot technically inspect the game, unless you use another collector for appraisal.
5 ) Escrow does it job, but does not guarantee the QUALITY OF THE GAME for what is being bought, which is not being fully evaluated.

If a seller backpedals with escrow, LEAVE THE DEAL.
If a seller backpedals from a local pickup offer with cash, LEAVE THE DEAL.
You do not need this kind of nonsense in your life.
There will be other identical titles available, unless this is some type of "rare", true HUO, or other type of game.
Consider temperance of impulse.

Learn from watching the mistakes of others that came before you with significant experience, or take a complete unnecessary risk.
This principle applies for sellers selling games to unknown buyers as well.
If a buyer does not want to travel, sell at your risk, or pay consequences in all sorts of ways, including "buyer's remorse" or other problems that are beyond the scope of this response.

Finally, there are NO "gentlemen agreements" in this world when it comes to property, even if you know the seller.
Another common error.
Use an PROPER sales invoice, always.
If a seller backpedals from a signed invoice, LEAVE THE DEAL.
PM if you require a proper example.

I have never lost money on a pinball purchase in nearly 30 years with this advice.
This includes long before things like CL and the internet even existed.

Keep flipping,

- TBK

If you accept a gift payment via PayPal, the buyer loses all his protections granted by PayPal. This means if the buyer tries to dispute via PayPal he will probably lose even if he claims his account was hacked.

However, the problem is the funding of the money the buyer used. If the buyer paid via a credit card, he can disputes the payment via the cc company and there will for sure be some story he can tell to win that dispute. Now PayPal will never be out money. If the buyer disputes and the bank takes the money from PayPal, PayPal can and will take the money from you. If the money is not in your PayPal account they will drain your bank account or charge your linked credit card.

In addition, PayPal is not a bank and has no federal regulations. They can lock your account or hold funds anytime they want with really no recourse.

I’d never take PayPal for anything serious.

Anyone ever used Zelle or one of the other quickpayment methods offered by the major banks?