Pottstown, PA
Quoted from CubeSnake:Whenever I am selling something, not necessarily a pin, I always tell prospective buyers that, unless they're on the way as we're texting and we set up a specific time, I cannot hold it. Paypal/Zelle/Venmo me a decent amount for a deposit and I'll hold it up to a month. After that, they've lost their deposit. Yes, this has happened. A lot. I know it sounds like a dick move, but buyers are just way too flaky these days.
Beware of Paypal! I used to take Paypal deposits like you are doing and got screwed. Long story short - I was selling a cheap pinball machine and a guy from a few states away said he DEFINITELY wanted it but couldn't pick it up for a few weeks to a month. I said ok, he Paypal'd me $100 deposit and then the waiting began. We had several telephone conversations over the next 4 months where he continued to assure me he was coming and definitely wanted it. He continued to make excuses as to why he hadn't come. Everything from fear of Covid to his schedule changed. I offered to ship the game to him but he refused saying he didn't want to pay the shipping cost.
In the meantime, I actually turned down a cash buyer who was in my house, wanted the game, but I told him I had a deposit on it. After about 5 months, I finally gave up on the guy and sold it to someone else for $100 less than the original price. He called about a month later to ask if I still had the game. I told him it was sold and he wasn't getting his deposit back since I had stored it so long and ultimately took less than originally planned. He threatened to bad mouth me to anyone and everyone and then filed a complaint with Paypal.
This was 6 months after the initial transaction which is supposedly outside of Paypal's rules. Paypal contacted me and I explained what happened. They seemed insistent that since he had never received the item, he was due a refund. After review by their people, they refunded the $100 and demanded I reimburse them. I have refused to do so since it is not right in my opinion. What good is a deposit to hold something if it is refundable at any time?
Nonetheless, they sicked a bill collector on me and cancelled my Paypal account (good!).
Just on principal, I will never refund the $100 so I guess the bill collectors will be chasing me for the next few years, but I don't care. In short, if you take a deposit with Paypal, you got nothin'!!
