Is this a scam?

[Monicka8311]

Good morning! I am a member of a makeup site and it's not uncommon for people from different countries to ask Americans to order for them then mail to them because it's cheaper and a lot of sites won't mail internationally. My question is, I just order almost $300 worth of stuff for a girl and she sent me the moneu through friends and family without a second thought. Now she keeps adding to the order and said she's planning to make several orders every month. Is there anyway she can dispute or have the funds reversed once I mail everything to her? I feel fairly safe with it being friends and family, but I'm still nervous.

[kernowlass]

@Monicka8311

Your very brave. Firstly if you are selling items and accepting payment via friends / family then you risk your paypal account being limited as its against paypal rules. I know you say its just buying stuff for someone else BUT you have to see how it looks to paypal and if it looks as if you are selling to them then its risky.

Secondly by using the friends / family option she can't open a paypal dispute BUT she can file an unauthorised transaction OR a chargeback via her card issuer. In that scenario as you did not use the goods / services option you would have ZERO paypal seller protection.  So she may get her money back and you would not be reimbursed.  

[Monicka8311]

Interesting, you learn something new everyday. I didn't realize selling and paying through f&f was against the rules. I actually emailed PayPal too and they recommended that she write in the notes what it is for, but they didn't tell me "selling" was against f&f rules. Maybe it was because I was purchasing for somebody, I'm not sure. That being said, even if we went through goods and services she could still state it wasn't authorized by her, correct? Just seems so risky for somebody to send that kind of money with no protection

[kernowlass]

@Monicka8311

Yes if she wrote in the notes that it was not for a sale then you hopefully would be ok, but you would still not be covered in the event of an unauthorised dispute OR a chargeback as you would have no seller protection.

Also whether they said it or not (and some customer service agents are just call centre staff and the advice is often very questionable), my information is correct but if you think I am posting inaccurate advice then read this from the user agreement  >>

9.1 Restricted Activities.

Request or send a Personal Transaction payment for a Commercial Transaction;

And as I have been on here for years with over 6000 (solutions and kudos) then I know for a fact that others have been suspended for doing the above. Its against paypal rules selling that way as paypal don't get their FEE.

Also if she sent if via goods /services and she said it was unauthorised then yes she may be refunded BUT paypal would reimburse you as you would qualify for SELLER PROTECTION.

If you want to accept what customer services told you thats fine, I just posted to try and help you.

[Monicka8311]

No, definitely, thank you. I wasn't questioning what you were saying, I was just stating that I was unaware of that and luckily customer service didn't ban me or warn me for doing something wrong. I'm considering refunding her and asking her to pay through goods and services. Although I'd have to pay a fee, I'd rather not take the risk of losing out on my money. Thanks

[kernowlass]

@Monicka8311

Whichever option you use please go read up on seller protection.

You are selling stuff for a lot of £'s.........well seems a lot to me so proceed with caution especially if the other party is international.