Why I Use PayPal For Buying Metal Collections

A frequent question I get when buying heavy metal record and CD collections is, “How to can I trust people to actually send what they describe?”. Most often, the seller lives out of state or outside the country, I rarely see the actual items before buying.

The answer is simple: I use PayPal.

When you use PayPal for “Goods and Services, it activates PayPal Buyer Protection. PayPal Buyer Protection is best described as a type of escrow, similar to when you buy a house. PayPal acts as an escrow account between the buyer and the seller. This protection keeps the buyer in the deal while simultaneously holding the seller to their end of the bargain.

Once a deal is negotiated and the price set, the seller will contact me 24 hours before shipment. I send the entire payment to them as “Goods and Services” through PayPal, plus shipping costs (if applicable). PayPal holds the Payment as the middleman until the deal is complete.

It’s as easy as that.

Frequently Asked Questions

I compiled a list of questions I get most often below.

Will you send the money as “Friends and Family”?

No, this is one of the biggest scams on the internet. There is no Buyer Protection, the seller can just disappear, and there is nothing I can do about it. Also, there are fees when send as “Friends and Family” and the sender pays them.

What are the Fees?

PayPal charges the seller 2.99%. You have to break some eggs to make an omelet.

How long do I have to wait to get my money?

Technically, the money is supposed to be available when the buyer reports the transaction complete. However, in 99% of transactions, the funds are available to the seller long before this. I’m not sure why it works this way, but it just does. With some newer PayPal accounts, I have noticed longer delays, but they are infrequent.

If there is a dispute, can PayPal take my money?

As far as I know, they do not. I have done hundreds of goods and services transactions and have had only two minor disputes. The seller can open a ticket inside of PayPal for up to a year if there is a problem with a transaction. This ticket gives the buyer and seller a 30-day window to attempt to resolve the dispute. If the buyer chooses to, he can “escalate” the dispute to PayPal, and they will send a person to fix it. PayPal does not extract the money from the seller as this creates an opportunity for “reverse fraud.” I do not know if PayPal does anything to collect the money. They are a multibillion-dollar company, so I assume they take it as a loss.

Can I input the tracking info into PayPal?

Yes, you can, and I encourage sellers to do this.