Gift Option: Is it against Arena Rules?

[starrypawz]

I always check with the seller, but I used to send as gift or in some cases 'personal payment owed'  but now I send as goods.

[Tirac]

;A; I always pay as gift.
Is that bad?
I thought it was being nice because you pay the fee instead of them but is it wrong?

[Strandperle]

;A; I always pay as gift.
Is that bad?
I thought it was being nice because you pay the fee instead of them but is it wrong?

Usually noone pays fees with gift option (at least that's what I think?), and I don't think it's wrong, it's very kind of you. Just remember that you have no security that way.

I just figured out that I have to send with tracking when getting money without gift option -.- great. Makes shipping even more expensive.

[tulagirl]

;A; I always pay as gift.
Is that bad?
I thought it was being nice because you pay the fee instead of them but is it wrong?

Its not really the best idea:  its just that if you don't get your pony you can't open a case and get your money back through paypal if you sent the money as a gift.  Also since its against paypal rules to send money as a gift when its clearly to pay for merchandise..that could be considered not so good to break that rule.

[Tirac]

;A; I always pay as gift.
Is that bad?
I thought it was being nice because you pay the fee instead of them but is it wrong?

Its not really the best idea:  its just that if you don't get your pony you can't open a case and get your money back through paypal if you sent the money as a gift.  Also since its against paypal rules to send money as a gift when its clearly to pay for merchandise..that could be considered not so good to break that rule.

Ohhhh, alright. I'll not send as gift from now on then.
Unless kind people I see good feedback of ask nicely.

[Rhubarbpie]

I have had a few sellers ask that I send as gift or pay extra to cover PP fee's. I have never really argued against it because its not too much, and paid (albeit begrudgingly). I have thought twice about buying from these sellers again though. 

I will send my payment as a gift to sellers I have had a good rapport with, or who have been really nice and held something for me for a while. Also if I am paying for shipping costs (say for something I have bought on ebay US from someone who won't ship to the UK) for a kind person who will be acting as a 3rd party to send something to me, I will send that as a gift too.

[scarletjul]

As a seller, I never ask buyers to pay with the gift option but occasionally I've had buyers offer to do just that.  I appreciate when they do so but I never ask; I think it's the seller's responsibility to cover the fees.

[Sugar]

Thanks for bringing this up.  I've been paying for a lot of transactions lately with "gift" as an option; after a few sellers asked for payment this way, I kind of just got into the habit of checking the gift option as a matter of course.   I never even thought about the possible ramifications, plus I'm just so non-confrontational about stuff, I wouldn't want to naysay a seller.

However, after reading the original post and all the replies, I think I'm going to have to insist on "goods" from now on.  Yeeek... insisting on something... sooooo out of my comfort zone...

[pop-girl]

Before the Arena moved to it's new home we had an official thread posted warning members against paying with the gift option.

This is just a friendly reminder that any time you pay a seller and select the "Send as Gift" option, you have just opted OUT of ANY Buyer Protection services that Paypal offers!

Send as Gift= you may not file a claim! Ever!

(not to mention it's rather dishonest and cheats Paypal of their cut- I know, they won't go bankrupt because they lost your $0.63 fee )

You *may* be able to get around this with your credit card fraud department, but I do not know if this has been tried yet, so I wouldn't count on it.

When selling between friends of course it's your prerogative, just remember that once you send it as a gift, it's gone for good.

It is inappropriate for sellers to require buyers to ignore Paypal's Terms & Conditions and send payments as "Gift"s! Don't put your buyers in that awkward position, they would be fully justified to refuse to complete the transaction. Sellers who are members at the Arena, who take payments as "gifts" and then have an issue with a sale here will be expected to work with the buyer exactly as they would if the buyer had Paypal's protection in place.

I know this has all been discussed here before, but it has always been amongst other issues. Seems like it's time this get adopted into the common trading etiquette since it looks like the change to Paypal is permanent.

I hope we'll never see a disappointed buyer here who has no recourse because they tried to be nice and save the seller a couple dollars in fees.