It is certainly regrettable that we have to be dealing with scammers, what is important here is for us to learn the lesson. It isn't Paypal to be blamed here, it's the nature of the business one is practising. Looking for cheap "second hand" stuff always comes with a level of risk that the buyer should evaluate and decide if he can take it or not. In your case, we can see you wanted to save around $60 on a vBulletin and lost another $100 instead. At the end of the day, you realise it would have been "cheaper" to just get it from the original software developer. And that's how things are going. Unless you know the buyer, your money isn't safe. Paypal is not at fault, it has delivered the funds, now it's up to the seller to deliver the product. Blaming the 3rd party whenever things go wrong is not quite appropriate. Paypal aren't an escrow company, only a payment processor, an affordable one that many seem to be kicking but still rely on it afterall. Hitboy, try to dig who the scammer is, and see if you can get your money back. As a last resort, you can initiate a chargeback at your bank but that is what Paypal does not appreciate and you might not be welcome there once you do the chargeback. Good luck, and beware scammers in the future!
Just get a credit card... or a paypal credit card.. heck there are so manyc redit cards out there! Get one from a reliable company like Visa and your set!
Someone said earlier " Dont rely on Paypal" Now I hate paypal but will I use them again? Of course lol the reason being thats what most people use as payment on the net and normally they wouldnt want to try another payment processor. Not using it would limit me but it just sucks how they are handling things.
I got scammed by someone a year ago and paypal refuse any refund because it is a non-tangible item. 99% of website related items is not covered by paypal and they have it in their TOS. I didnt read it and they could be bothered Sorry for your loss