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Paypal seized my funds


McNeil

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So,

After years of using Paypal for buying reloading stuff on EBAy, I sold my AR-10 on Gunbroker and the buyer asks me if I accept Paypal. I say "sure"

He sends me the money. I transfer it into my bank account and all of a sudden I am a violator.

Yes, I have violated the rules of Paypal. I sold a gun. Now they have 429.00 of my money and I can't have it back for 180 days.

I wrote them and explained how everything was legal and I realized that I broke the rules, and I am sorry, and they said there is nothing we can do. I am so sick of hearing that. If there's nothing they can do, then who?

Anyway, dont be an idiot, learn from my mistake and stop using the services of those rat bastard, anti gun, knee jerk reactionary boneheads at Paypal.

-Neil

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I haven't looked, but I'm sure it's in their user agreement that you have to accept. When you pay the lawyer for the lawsuit their response is going to be "On xx/xx/xxxx your client accepted the user agreement terms of service which prohibited certain activities...." you get the picture. It may be unreasonable and BS, but you'll likely run out of money before they do :(

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PayPal is bad juju to use for selling/buying loaded ammo, gun parts and complete firearms. Just about anything else, you are pretty much good to go. The policy is specific and doesn't leave much wiggle room. Just wait it out and pull the cash ASAP once it clears. Then never touch the big three again with PayPal handled funds. It's good to have a PayPal account, just like it's good to have a clean AMEX card. Just understand how it works and use it accordingly and to your advantage where it's advantageous.

Most of this world has something most of won't like in some manner, or another. Just learn the way something works and punch the buttons accordingly. PayPal is the most reliable and secure low cost internet payment gateway there is at the moment, it just has it's limits with certain products. Understand the tool and use it for what it does best. I can't really think of a thing in the mainstream public face world that doesn't have some form of firearm bugaboo going in it's demeanor, I just assume this from the start and have no disappointments as a result. Heck, I'm even pleasantly surprised now and then ;)

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Paypal has long since banned the use of their services for firearm payments. Anything to do with firearms, mags, gun parts, etc. has been prohibited by Paypal for about a year now (maybe a little more).

There is a form field during the transaction process that buyers fill out to send the money through Paypal, that asks what the payment is for .... most people fill this field out simply because they were asked to ...... if you tell buyers to leave it blank or give a bogus answer this might not have happened.

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I had issues with them and refuse to EVER use their service. If you agree to their TOS, you give up a lot of rights.

I use them for non-gun purchases, but I refuse to get a "paypal verified" account since that requires giving them access to reach into my checking account - not gonna happen. I'm much rather be disputing an unauthorized charge than trying to get money that is already gone put back.

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The good is, there are a *lot* of folks out there who will buy something if they can use a credit-card, but might not otherwise.

But the bad simply isn't worth it to me, anymore. The fees are outrageous, even on non credit-card funded balances. And if you get a charge-back, maybe *months* after you sold something, you're SOL.

Imagine this happy story:

You sell John Doe a 1911 pistol for $1000, and he pays using PayPal and his credit card. You tell him not to put "gun" or anything in the description. You get the funds, and spend it, and life is good.

Two *months* later, he gets in a financial jam, or maybe hates the gun, or either way is a jerk, and files a charge-back with his credit-card company. Wham -- PayPal freezes your account, and pulls $1000 from your bank-account on file. Since you unwisely linked your checking account to PayPal, and don't keep a large balance, now checks you wrote on your $1000 balance start bouncing. Etc. <grin>

And PayPal's not your friend, anyway, in a chargeback situation. Imagine how happy they'll be when they find out you collected funds for a firearm.

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The good is, there are a *lot* of folks out there who will buy something if they can use a credit-card, but might not otherwise.

But the bad simply isn't worth it to me, anymore. The fees are outrageous, even on non credit-card funded balances. And if you get a charge-back, maybe *months* after you sold something, you're SOL.

Imagine this happy story:

You sell John Doe a 1911 pistol for $1000, and he pays using PayPal and his credit card. You tell him not to put "gun" or anything in the description. You get the funds, and spend it, and life is good.

Two *months* later, he gets in a financial jam, or maybe hates the gun, or either way is a jerk, and files a charge-back with his credit-card company. Wham -- PayPal freezes your account, and pulls $1000 from your bank-account on file. Since you unwisely linked your checking account to PayPal, and don't keep a large balance, now checks you wrote on your $1000 balance start bouncing. Etc. <grin>

And PayPal's not your friend, anyway, in a chargeback situation. Imagine how happy they'll be when they find out you collected funds for a firearm.

Yeah just another reason I am going to close my account when my last transactions clear.

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Send them an email CC'd to an obvious Law Office Address, and advise them that this is the last attempt you make to rectify the situation before you contact the FBI about "INTERSTATE WIRE FRAUD CHARGES" that seems to get internet companies attention.

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McNeil,

Their acceptable use says "certain firearms, firearm parts or accessories, ammunition, weapons or knives". Send them an eMail saying that without a list, there was no way to know which "certain parts" were prohibited and which were not. It is not hard, EBay has a list that very detailed, ask them why they don't. Tell them if they had a list, you would have followed it.

Their user agreement says " We may hold your funds for up to 180 Days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability " Ask them what risk of liability they have that holding your money solves?

Copy the letter to you State AG.

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Chris said you can't sell gun products (such as the Wilson Combat items in my store) via PayPal.

Does anyone know about reloading equipment? Holsters?

If reloading equipment is prohibited, I should close my PayPal account. I currently have PayPal as kind of a low priority option in my store. To pay with PayPal in my store, you have to work for it, but now and then some do. It's usually low-dollar purchases though, so I haven't worried about it to much.

be

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so I haven't worried about it to much.

be

I'd just let er' ride and leave the option available for those that wish. If you don't keep much in the account, then no real issue for ya' if they freeze it. Having a PayPal account is very handy whenever you run across a situation where it is handy, if you get my drift ;)

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I know someone who purchased a firearm from someone out-of-state not too long ago using PayPal. I believe the memo line stated, "machine parts".

**The names have been changed to protect the innocent. I disavow any knowledge of this transaction, even though it was very simple. Any resemblance between the above views and those of my employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely coincidental. Any resemblance between the below and my own views is non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. No purchase necessary. Shading within a garment may occur. Use only in well-ventilated area. Check here if tax deductible. Wait 30 minutes after lunch before going back in the pool. Some equipment shown is optional. Price does not include taxes. No anchovies unless otherwise specified. Restaurant package, not for resale. First pull up, then pull down. Call toll free before digging. Don’t run with sharp objects. Driver does not carry cash. Decision of judges is final.

:rolleyes:

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