Scamming is very rare here. In my time as mod so far, this looks to be the only situation that isn't going to be resolved. The other couple cases I've dealt with everyone got their money back because there was just a misunderstanding between the buyer and seller.
And honestly, a higher post and membership requirement won't stop someone who has decided to do this. You can reference major cases like itsmedeka, soxfan, and citizen as proof of that. Those were all very active members here who one day decided to pull scams and leave the site. The most we can do as a forum is offer the advice and rules we've laid out in the stickies and do our best to make sure the rules are followed when threads are created.
can someone explain to me 4% sorry dont know where to post this
PayPal charges a service charge to people who receive money through their service. Adding 4% to the sale price of an item will cover that cost for the seller so he doesn't end up with less than he was asking for after fees. If you were buying a shirt from someone for $50 and the seller asked for $50+4%, he's asking you to include PayPal fees, so you'd send $52. Some sellers will factor that into their price and say so in their ad.
The reason some sellers ask for people to send the money as a gift is because PayPal doesn't charge a fee when money is sent as a gift. The major downside to this is you forfeit your right to buyer protection from PayPal if you send the money as a gift, which means if you get scammed you can't dispute the payment with PayPal. The most you can probably do is notify PayPal that you were scammed and I believe they will revoke the sellers ability to receive gifts. Past that, you probably won't get any help from them or your money back. Honestly, I see no reason to ever use the gift option when buying an item from someone. If a seller is selling a $50 shirt, he'd only lose $2 to fees and he could just as easily ask that you include that in the price, so anyone who will only accept payment as a gift probably has something else in mind. A legitimate seller isn't going to hassle a buyer about that. You aren't dealing with a department store here, you are putting all your trust in someone you don't know, so the best way to protect your money is to use PayPal's standard method of payment.
If you read the sticky about the gift option in the marketplace, we strongly advice people not to use it. Even when dealing with a seller with great feedback and a history here, there is an obvious risk involved when you forfeit buyer protection and send your money as a gift. In my opinion, any seller who only takes money as a gift should be avoided, because there is absolutely no reason for a legitimate seller to not accept a standard payment with his fees covered.
As for you Pete Martinez, you're a low life "sub human piece of waste" - quote PK.
