I assume I’m getting scammed? FB marketplace

[countthestars]

A lady messaged me about a large item I’m selling on marketplace and asked if she could come get it Sunday. I said sure. She messaged me a couple hours later and asked if I wanted payment through PayPal so I’d hold it. I said sure and she sent it with a note that it’s going to come from this blogger’s PayPal. She screenshot the receipt and I also got it in my email. The item was $65 and she sent “$67.50 - to cover fees”. Now she’s asking if she can come Monday instead. I’m totally getting scammed right?

[lauren170]

Why do you think you’re getting scammed? She paid and you have the money right?

[isabel]

Did the funds actually come through? Can you transfer them out of Paypal into your bank account?

If you don't pay someone as a "friend" they do charge a fee, so maybe that's why she sent the extra. I don't know that I'd necessarily assume it's a scam.

[tacokick]

Oct 29, 2020 21:50:28 GMT -5 isabel said:

Did the funds actually come through? Can you transfer them out of Paypal into your bank account?

If you don't pay someone as a "friend" they do charge a fee, so maybe that's why she sent the extra. I don't know that I'd necessarily assume it's a scam.

Yes, when I’ve had to pay acquaintances via PayPal I don’t chose the friend option so I can dispute the charge if needed and I alway pay an extra dollar or two to cover the fee if they didn’t include it themselves.

As an aside, a friend of a friend offered to make me some custom masks for my dad (to accommodate his hearing aids) to wear while my mom was in hospice and she threw a fit when I didn’t chose the friend option and she was charged like $1.20. I just assumed that since she was selling masks she had added the fee to her price like a normal person would.

Anyway! It doesn’t scream scam to me if you did get the money and were able to transfer it. Unless she seems sketchy in some other way. Is the item something that would really be worth it to someone to want to put a deposit down so you’d hold it? I’m not sure what they’d get out of this if it was a scam.

[pizzaandtulips]

I don't think you are being scammed - I've had people do the same thing for things I've sold that are less than $5. They just pay ahead so that I hold it, especially if they see others have commented on the FB post that they are interested.

[countthestars]

Thanks! I guess it feels like a scam because she had someone else pay me and then she pushed back the pick up date. The money does look to be in my PayPal so I’ll see if she shows up on Monday, I guess!

[boiler717]

Did she send F&F or regular? If she sent regular and accounted for fees I think it’s fine.

[ssmjlm]

I mean, it could be legit, hopefully she comes to pick it up by Monday!

FWIW, sometimes on FB BST the paypal emails are just weird. They're in the husband's name or they have a special FB BST PP like "Suzy's Closet." As long as the money clears and I send the item or they get my money and I get the item, I figure it's just one of those weird things.

[ohgillian]

I think this sounds okay so far.

[twilightmv]

Could be. From an article on top FB marketplace scams:
For PayPal, make sure you never select friends and family payments. This will completely negate your ability to get a refund and be protected by PayPal. The seller may claim they want to avoid fees. A buyer may claim they want to help you avoid fees as well. This is all to give them the ability to get the money from you, and give you no ability to protect yourself. It's against PayPal's Terms of Service for a good reason.

[twilightmv]

You would have 0 seller protection if you sent the phone NOT to the registered paypal account address of the sender of the payment.

Per my googling.

[sent]

Did she pay by Goods & Services? That may be what the extra was for. The scam I can see happening is if she paid that way because she plans to dispute later that she didn't receive the item or that it was defective. I belong to a group where people sell pricey bags and a woman who did a local handoff of a bag had this happen to her. The buyer claimed she never received the bag and the seller didn't have a picture of the bag being picked up at the local handoff spot. You may want to photograph her with the item & a paper showing her name and date as "proof" if you're worried.

I usually pay local people with Friends & Family but I pay when the item is in my possession since I'm not going to dispute it at that time that I didn't receive it.

[chickadee77]

Oct 29, 2020 22:36:12 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Oct 29, 2020 21:50:28 GMT -5 isabel said:

Did the funds actually come through? Can you transfer them out of Paypal into your bank account?

If you don't pay someone as a "friend" they do charge a fee, so maybe that's why she sent the extra. I don't know that I'd necessarily assume it's a scam.

Yes, when I’ve had to pay acquaintances via PayPal I don’t chose the friend option so I can dispute the charge if needed and I alway pay an extra dollar or two to cover the fee if they didn’t include it themselves.

As an aside, a friend of a friend offered to make me some custom masks for my dad (to accommodate his hearing aids) to wear while my mom was in hospice and she threw a fit when I didn’t chose the friend option and she was charged like $1.20. I just assumed that since she was selling masks she had added the fee to her price like a normal person would.

Anyway! It doesn’t scream scam to me if you did get the money and were able to transfer it. Unless she seems sketchy in some other way. Is the item something that would really be worth it to someone to want to put a deposit down so you’d hold it? I’m not sure what they’d get out of this if it was a scam.

Off-topic, but tell me more about these masks. It's such a pain to wear a mask with hearing aids! Add sunglasses to the mix, and, well...

[tacokick]

Oct 30, 2020 16:46:19 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Oct 29, 2020 22:36:12 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Yes, when I’ve had to pay acquaintances via PayPal I don’t chose the friend option so I can dispute the charge if needed and I alway pay an extra dollar or two to cover the fee if they didn’t include it themselves.

As an aside, a friend of a friend offered to make me some custom masks for my dad (to accommodate his hearing aids) to wear while my mom was in hospice and she threw a fit when I didn’t chose the friend option and she was charged like $1.20. I just assumed that since she was selling masks she had added the fee to her price like a normal person would.

Anyway! It doesn’t scream scam to me if you did get the money and were able to transfer it. Unless she seems sketchy in some other way. Is the item something that would really be worth it to someone to want to put a deposit down so you’d hold it? I’m not sure what they’d get out of this if it was a scam.

Off-topic, but tell me more about these masks. It's such a pain to wear a mask with hearing aids! Add sunglasses to the mix, and, well...

They are pretty much like regular fabric masks but with over the head elastic. Similar to these etsy.me/2G215qi

[countthestars]

Thanks everyone!! She picked it up today, so I guess she was just an odd buyer but not a scammer.

Thanks!