Using PayPal safely..

[rawkinrich]

Hi all,

I have been scammed before by selling a domain to someone on here that is new and unrecognised.

How can I sell a WebSite and ensure that the money I receive from a PayPal account is safe and legit?

Under normal circumstances I would use Escrow.com but the domain I have for the site is .co.uk. Co.uk transfers from nominet are painfully long (sometimes 2,3,4 months etc). So to wait for the funds to be sent from Escrow after selling the site would take way too long.

What would be the best way to sell the site, receive the funds and assist the buyer in getting the site, all the tools and for the buyer to actually host the site and run it while the domain is under 'change of ownership' at Nominet?

 

[GT Web]

wow, I was just about to ask this exact question...

I am selling a site to someone I dont know for high $xxx through Paypal. I have heard if you send the buyer an invoice stating the website is a "Service" they have no recourse to win a chargeback case. If that correct?

Thank you

 

[SouthernTn]

A about a year or 2 ago I had a problem in PayPal where a guy I sold a design to, did a chargeback. Even though he had the website and still used it, he was an un-verified user. Which I believe could give him a chance to say the Credit Card was stolen and etc. Thats what Paypal told me.


I don't know if this will help 100% but, since then I've only dealt with Verified Paypal members. or atleast try hard to.

 

[rdmedia]

wow, I was just about to ask this exact question...

I am selling a site to someone I dont know for high $xxx through Paypal. I have heard if you send the buyer an invoice stating the website is a "Service" they have no recourse to win a chargeback case. If that correct?

Thank you

they do not provide chargebacks for anything that is non-tangible to my knowledge.

 

[seeker]

unfortunately for us, they do allow chargebacks for non tangible goods.
It is unfortunate when we get scammed, but it is good to protect us.
I had prepaid 6 months for a dedicated server last year, and the company owner sort of just 'left'.
I did a chargeback, and paypal assisted me, but there wasnt much money in the account, so I didnt get anything.
It was a big discussion at WHT. The company was angle networz

 

[GT Web]

I think DCG said if you call it a "service" on the invoice the buyer can't do anything...a service is different than a intangible product

 

[rawkinrich]

I think DCG said if you call it a "service" on the invoice the buyer can't do anything...a service is different than a intangible product

So it would be an idea.. instead of the buyer sending you the money directly, me, the seller, uses paypal to request the money from the buyer and class is at a service?

Can anyone clarify this?

 

[768768]

I think DCG said if you call it a "service" on the invoice the buyer can't do anything...a service is different than a intangible product

Are you sure about that?

...services not rendered

 

[Domagon]

After checking out Nominet's site, I'm so glad I never registered any .uk domains - talk about hassle!

However, with that said, are you sure it takes months? ... according to Nominet's Customer enquiries page, things seem to happen a bit quicker than that...

http://www.nominet.org.uk/CustomerEnquiries.html

Ron

 

[rawkinrich]

I've known a bunch of .co.uk domains to take 2 months. But I suppose times change!

 

[labrocca]

I have always thought that you could agree to make the payment for a CD copy of the site which included for free a domain transfer of X domain. Essentially this is a sale of a tangible item in this case. If you ship it with tracking then you can fight the paypal chargeback. You still must follow the terms of paypal by shipping to a confirmed address though and you only get protected if they are a US address.

It' just one possible solution. I would suggest NOT accepting paypal on someone you don't trust. I accept paypal from most buyers but sometimes require other more secure form of payment like a money order or escrow.

One thing I tend to do on a sale that might be paypal fraud is give a waiting period for whois transfer. Normally paypal fraud happens within 2 weeks. So I will sell a site and tell the buyer they must wait 30 days for me to change whois to them. I can still forward DNS and give them full site control but I maintain the WHOIS for a grace period to allow any possible problems with payment to happen.

Buyer and seller must agree on terms. If a buyer can't make me comfortable I will pass on the sale. If it's legit they understand and will try to work with you.

 

[rawkinrich]

Im in the UK, can you give me more information on the money order. I have a sale on low x,xxx and I really don't want to use paypal. If I use escrow I have to wait a long time to get paid.

Rich

 

[labrocca]

Ask for wire or escrow. If you don't want paypal then don't use it.

 

[Stinos]

yeah indeed, if you don't trust it, just don't use it