http://genkigami.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] genkigami.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] artists_beware2013-06-12 04:45 pm

Asked to pay as gift: Do I say anything?

While my post may be about collectibles, I feel it also applies to art and craft goods as well which is why I'm posting here.

I buy and sell collectible toys fairly often. Several times when buying a toy I've been asked to send payment as a gift (instead of goods which it should be) on Paypal. I've been on this comm long enough to know that A; it's against Paypal's ToS to ask your buyer to do that and that the gift function is not for goods, and B; if something goes wrong I can't dispute it.

When asked to send as a gift I send the payment as goods the fees on top so the seller gets the exact amount and so far nobody has been upset and in fact have been very polite about it.

When asked, do I tell the seller that it's against Paypal's ToS to ask that goods be sent as a gift? Tone isn't my forte so if yes, what would I say without coming across as "lecture-y" for the lack of better words?

[identity profile] candycornsnake.livejournal.com 2013-06-18 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
I would just say. I am sorry but it makes me uncomfortable to do that. - and leave it at that. You don't need to explain themselves. Everyone knows the rules.

[identity profile] marus-puppy.livejournal.com 2013-06-18 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Not everyone knows the rules, though. I'd say maybe 80-90% of the people will just click their agreement to the policies of a particular site without actually reading them.

[identity profile] candycornsnake.livejournal.com 2013-06-18 12:20 pm (UTC)(link)
If they are asking you to mark as a gift...they know the rules.

[identity profile] tealmoonxiv.livejournal.com 2013-06-18 05:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I know someone who didn't know it was against the rules, they just knew you didn't have to pay the fees.
Edited 2013-06-18 17:12 (UTC)

[identity profile] sbneko.livejournal.com 2013-06-18 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Just chimming in to agree that it doesn't mean they know the rules. When I first started out, all artists I knew were using the gift option, because artists they knew were using it. So when newbies asked for help, that's what they were instructed to do. It's only later I found out, from AB, that it's against the rules and why.

Commissioners are the same. Most commissioners will send things as a gift if you don't tell them not to because that's what they think they're supposed to do. So a good amount of people don't actually know about this stuff.