PayPal is the service many use to pay for or accept money for transactions for online items, including many transactions which take place here at the Trading Post. When you log into your PayPal account, click this button to send money: You will then be prompted to decide whether or not you are using the money to send as a gift to friends or family, or as payment for merchandise: You can view PayPal's full user agreement and terms here to read up on the specifics of Purchase Protection: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full In a nutshell, when you Pay for goods or services, you are financially protected by PayPal because you pay a small fee. If you are the buyer and your item is never shipped, you can get your money back. If you are a seller, you are similarly protected against fraud. If you Send money to friends or family, there is no fee, and likewise no protection and no sure way to get your money back in the event of fraud. Beware of sellers who only accept payments in the gift format!! Send money using this format AT YOUR OWN RISK and only with people you know and trust!
I never give as a gift. I just calculate what the fees cost and add them to the total if a seller tries to ask for a gift payment. I know many legit sellers that do, but I would never trust it.
I do the same thing. I pay fees. I am not going to mess with gift option on anything unless its one dollar.
