If someone pays me, am I safe once the money is in my acct?

I'm selling a computer, and someone contacted me from another city wanting me to ship it to them, and asked for my PayPal.

Once the money shows up, can I then ship the computer off without worry? Could there be some scam?

(I'm mostly worried because the person's second email was in ALL CAPS and it just looked like a Nigerian Prince ad.)

 

The buyer has 45 days in which he could raise a dispute and as a seller you need to prove that the item is being shipped.

If you feel icky about the whole transaction then it is best to listen to your heart.

 

I was already thinking 'listen to my gut'. Thanks guys!

I re-read the email; I noticed he kept saying "THIS ITEM" instead of "the computer" or something; he didn't seem curious in the least about the computer's specs or condition, and it just had a general tone of a form mail with stuff plugged in. I told him no thanks, can't ship it.

I'll wait for someone to come by my apt and hand me cash

 

Good decision
Bcoz it happened wit me too.
When i shipped the item paypal asked me tracking info which i cudnt give but luckly i won the dispute by making calls and giving the info to paypal .huh!

 

That is pretty suss.

 

What is the adress of the buyer ? maybe if you can provide the proofs to paypal you won't have any problem !

 

If you DO ship the item keep the tracking numbers and you should be fine.
If possible get him to pay via other means (cash, cheque, e-gold, moneybookers etc.) instead of paypal as they aren't exactly the best at making decisions.

 

The strange thing is, I got another email from someone else before this, same deal - same town, wants it shipped, but different email. I turned him down because I just didn't feel like shipping it (don't have the original box, etc, too much hassle).

I was interested in this second offer because I've become more desperate to sell, but in light of everything I've turned them both down. The more I think about it the more fishy it seems! So I'm holding out for someone in my town who can come pick it up.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

If you want to make sure try asking him to pay you in e-gold. They have no chargeback policy and you can sell your e-gold to exchangers.