Paypal Question

[AWA85]

After a few failed google searches, does anyone know if there is a limit on how much can be given in a paypal gift without fees? Is there a cutoff after say a $1,000 gift or has there been no problem with large transactions?

Thanks for the advice in advance AWA85@live.com

[sctizzle]

I received a 'gift' payment of over 2,000 and it worked for me and I received it all without fees, however a few days later, my account was flagged and they noticed I had received too many gift payments and said that if this activity continued, I would no longer be allowed to accept personal payments without fees. I had probably received 6-8 payments over that month that were sent as gifts--a few of them I looked back had comments in the notes saying what item it was for--so I think they somehow filter the comments to make sure that people aren't sending payments as gifts to avoid fees, but I think the main reason was because of the high $$ amount.

Bottom line, make sure whenever you accept a payment as a gift, make sure the sender does not include anything in the comments about what the money is for.

Scott

[xpress34]

You can also avoid the 'flagging' by sending or receiving money as 'Personal' and 'Money Owed' and claim it as a service fee.

It works the same as a Gift - NO Fees - and less chance of being eyed by PayPal as they see GIFT as Item Purchased.

- Smitty

[trsent]

Everyone needs to remember, if you pay for an item as a PayPal gift, it is like sending a Western Union Money Order - You have no protection from fraud or loss.

[legaleagle92481]

Everyone needs to remember, if you pay for an item as a PayPal gift, it is like sending a Western Union Money Order - You have no protection from fraud or loss.

But you can protect yourself better than on Western Union. 1. Get email chain laying out the entire deal. 2. Attach note to the payment saying what it is for. If you get stiffed that is more than enough to win you a small claims court judgement. Plus if you use it for only small transactions that chances of getting stiffed are pretty low (i.e. under $500). But I agree with you when it comes to the big deals I would not use it unless I knew the seller well and had prior dealings with him or her because the bigger the judgment the harder it is to collect and the bigger the payment the better chance you have of getting ripped off.

[trsent]

But you can protect yourself better than on Western Union. 1. Get email chain laying out the entire deal. 2. Attach note to the payment saying what it is for. If you get stiffed that is more than enough to win you a small claims court judgement. Plus if you use it for only small transactions that chances of getting stiffed are pretty low (i.e. under $500). But I agree with you when it comes to the big deals I would not use it unless I knew the seller well and had prior dealings with him or her because the bigger the judgment the harder it is to collect and the bigger the payment the better chance you have of getting ripped off.

You are going to travel to small claims court for a few hundred dollars? Even a thousand dollars? It is just as unsafe as Western Union.

The judge could tell you that he is not honoring the deal since it was through a system that is meant for honest gifts, not for purchases that does offer some sort of protection if proper fees are paid.

I just don't understand your reasoning. Who travels from say, Idaho to Ohio to sue a guy? It would cost too much and you could lose anyway. What kind of advice are you giving? Pay the PayPal fees to protect yourself in the situation of fraud. I usually pay for items after clearing my PayPal balance to zero so I can charge it to a major credit card to protect my order if I don't receive the item. You can't use a credit card for a gift unless you pay fees, so this is not an option.

I say sending a PayPal Gift is just as dangerous as sending Western Union. Please give advice to protect people, not just for chatter as this is a serious issue if someone takes your advice and then has to travel across the country to sue a guy because he read strong advice from The Legal Eagle.

[Tedw9]

I see a lot of people asking for items to be paid for with the Paypal gift option and I for one am not comfortable with that. Why put your or my Paypal account in risk to save a buck or two?

I have a site bookmarked that I can punch in how much the person wants to receive and it shows me how much I have to send for them to get that amount. I just pay the fees myself and I still have the protection Paypal offers. And I have no worries on having my account flagged for sending or receiving too many Paypal gifts.

[both-teams-played-hard]

I see a lot of people asking for items to be paid for with the Paypal gift option and I for one am not comfortable with that. Why put your or my Paypal account in risk to save a buck or two?

I have a site bookmarked that I can punch in how much the person wants to receive and it shows me how much I have to send for them to get that amount. I just pay the fees myself and I still have the protection Paypal offers. And I have no worries on having my account flagged for sending or receiving too many Paypal gifts.

http://www.rolbe.com/paypal.htm