Paypal "Gift" Option?

Not to be the ethics police, but I say it's a dishonest practice. Paypal provides a great service at a very reasonable cost (ever send something western union?). If you don't want to pay the fees just build them into your price or have the buyer add 3%.

That's exactly right. I have sent and requested Paypal gift payments here at the CCF for my buy, sell, and auction items, and is linked to several bank accounts and credit card back ups. If the buyer or winner of any of my items is ever incurred any charges through this option, I will pay or refund any amount that is in question

Exodus is right...there was a member here who ripped off a bunch of us, including myself, when he demanded the gift option as the only payment method.

With that said, I simply won't do it again from the buyer standpoint or the seller standpoint.

From the buyer standpoint, you lose the protection as they expect no exchange of goods. When I told Paypal what happened it was a major uphill battle and eventually got nowhere despite the overwhelming evidence. Maybe I wasnt persistent enough but I just didnt have the time to harass them every day.

From the seller standpoint, I feel it's a bit shady to ask for this option to get around the fees. There's a cost of doing business with every transaction, and by asking for the gift option the cost is being passed on to Paypal strictly.

Say what you want about them or ebay, but at the end of the day it's a dishonest practice as there is an exchange of goods and not simply giving money to a friend or family member. Just my Two Cents worth. I know from talking to Paypal when I had my dispute that they are aware that this is a growing issue for them and they told me they were taking a closer look at it.

I know some will disagree with my view, and that's fine. But I will ask you this. If you were the owner of a company like Paypal, how would you feel about tons of people finding a loophole in your system to get around your fees (aka revenue)?

FYI, here is another thing to consider. I have a friend who sends and receives money as gift only and paypal actually suspended his gift option so now he can only send as a payment, even if its a gift.

This is an option that is frequently overlooked and it cannot possibly be considered "fee avoidance". It is still a fee-free transaction when using PP balance or checking account linkage and it is appropriate for small personal purchases. I have always been leery of overusing the gift option for fear that there may be an invisible limit that will affect your account if too many gift transactions occur.

I don't really buy the whole morality thing, because paypal and ebay will milk people for as much as they can because they can (they're a monopoly, so much for the 'if you dont like their service dont use them'). As long as it wouldn't hurt their profits, they would keep milking to the limit no matter what. If people want to get around that to an extent, then more power to them. Paypal's rules aren't morals, and capitalism isn't the same as 'morals'. It's a system, nothing more. I don't really consider paypal evil either, just an inevitability in a capitalist society. It's more of just a game than anything.

I don't think its really the same at all, but no I don't really have a problem with fee avoidance when you're talking about monopoly companies. Principles don't matter when dealing with something that has no principles.