Question. What to do with what I found as less then ethical behavior and how does this forum respond to it?

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humblepie

Limp Gawd
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Aug 27, 2004
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So I just recently contacted a forum member, who at this point shall remain unnamed, about a product they were selling. The product happened to be one of the latest expensive video cards. I asked a few questions and then told them I would buy it once they sent me their paypal info. They said if I sent paypal I would have to include the 3% extra. I was like fine. So they gave me their paypal info and I tacked on 3% using my computer calculator onto the price that they quoted me. I sent that payment last night to them. This morning, while I was working, they message back saying they received payment but I was a few cents short. Yah a few cents. Before I had a chance to respond the other party about sending them another payment for the remainder if needed, the other person already sent me a message saying they sold it to someone else while refunding my money through paypal.

Now I did get the money back. But I find the whole ordeal a really less than ethical move. I have other words I would express but I am keeping it clean here in this post. Point is, if I was willing to send them over $2000 for a part, that another less than a $1 amount I would have no problem with. I thought we had an agreement and I fulfilled my end of the agreement by making payment. I am not sure how this forum handles behavior like this by sellers. I have been here a long time and have never had anything like this happen to me. If any forum mods want to contact me for further details then I am happy to oblige.
 
FrgMstr said:
Always ask what the price is. As to FSFT rules, price must be posted.
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I did, they told me the price and if I used paypal add in 3%. I plugged the price into my calculator and times it by 1.03% and sent it. They said it was a few cents short somehow. That was with them using the online usps postage guesstimation for shipping on top after I gave them my zipcode. Like I said, I think it was was a very unethical thing for them to do there once I sent payment after we agreed upon terms. I could have easily sent another $1 through paypal with FF so there would be no charge as well. Someone paying over $2K for a computer part isn't going to quibble over less than $1 in miscalculations.
 
You can report them to PayPal for violating terms of service for demanding that YOU pay the service fee. They could possibly have their account closed or restricted. It is expressly forbidden for sellers to directly charge others for these fees. This is the only forum that I participate in that lets people openly charge others for their service fees or ask for payment via Friends & Family in PayPal and I honestly don't know why it's allowed here.

I know there are circumstances where maybe if you have history with a member and trust them or other similar situations that maybe you would be inclined to pay their fees or side skirt them via F&F but to openly demand compensation for fees or payment via F&F is not cool. I expressly avoid doing business with people who make these demands.
 
If it IS allowed here, then it shouldn't be.
This forum has rules, and the rules are upheld on a regular basis.

There's no point in acting like we need the "freedom" to charge other people for the fees that Paypal demands, especially in such unspoken ways, where OP doesn't even know how much they actually owe until it's too late.
The receiver paying these fees is part of doing business using convenient tools like Paypal. A person who uses Paypal in the first place is already signing agreements to Paypal's terms.

This forum should just add the rules that complement the already established rule that the seller must state their prices.
If they want extra money for Paypal fees, they should state the exact amount ahead of time, and not play weird games that cause FUD in normal buyers like OP.

OP was potentially a second away from losing access to $2000 for what could have been weeks if Paypal decided to hold the funds or something, due to further terms and security policies.

Don't look at me or OP like this is unheard of. The "Ok, I sent it, now it's your turn" moment is always one of potential worrying, considering it'd certainly be a hassle if a person was being dishonest or troublesome.
No one ever feels truly "secure" sending money to a stranger they've never met via a forum sale. These are "over the counter" type sales, with very few security measures in place, compared to eBay, or buying new or refurbished from an established retailer. If we are to post ads and do sales on a forum with rules, then let's have rules that benefit us and rules that we want to have.
 
CraptacularOne said:
You can report them to PayPal for violating terms of service for demanding that YOU pay the service fee. They could possibly have their account closed or restricted. It is expressly forbidden for sellers to directly charge others for these fees. This is the only forum that I participate in that lets people openly charge others for their service fees or ask for payment via Friends & Family in PayPal and I honestly don't know why it's allowed here.

I know there are circumstances where maybe if you have history with a member and trust them or other similar situations that maybe you would be inclined to pay their fees or side skirt them via F&F but to openly demand compensation for fees or payment via F&F is not cool. I expressly avoid doing business with people who make these demands.
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Thats just some stuff PayPal makes up to make it more enticing for buyers. In reality PayPal is a pain too use anf there is a cost of business associated with using them which I have no problem with people explicitly charging for. F&F has a fee as well now.

Ive bought items with a fee (or shipping) tacked on to the price (as they advertised) and I will just send a message confirming the amount before I send it.
 
humblepie said:
I did, they told me the price and if I used paypal add in 3%. I plugged the price into my calculator and times it by 1.03% and sent it. They said it was a few cents short somehow. That was with them using the online usps postage guesstimation for shipping on top after I gave them my zipcode. Like I said, I think it was was a very unethical thing for them to do there once I sent payment after we agreed upon terms. I could have easily sent another $1 through paypal with FF so there would be no charge as well. Someone paying over $2K for a computer part isn't going to quibble over less than $1 in miscalculation
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Next time get an exact number/price.

We do not police PayPal's TOS.
 
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