Why sellers ask for my paypal e-mail address? Why can't I pay directly via paypal without this step? Is it safe to give out this information

[screemingworm]

Hi,

I never bought anything on e-bay. When I decided to buy something I couldn't pay directly via paypal. I got the message to contact the seller or try later. Seller told me to message him my paypal email address and not to use @ sign as it won't go trough. Maybe I am too paranoid but that sounded fishy to me. Isn't the whole point to use paypal to eliminate giving out important information?

I guess what I want to know is....am I still obligated to pay for the item and how? I do not want to give out my paypal e-mail.

Thanks!

[scifan57]

There is no harm in giving out your PayPal email address. Everybody who receives a PayPal payment from you automatically gets your PayPal email address anyway. If the seller sends you an invoice referencing the listing in question,then there should be no problem in paying. Yes,you are still obligated to pay for the item,but only to a PayPal email address associated with the listing in question. If the seller is telling you to send your payment to another email address because the one associated with the listing isn't working it's a violation and can be reported.

[femmefan1946]

Thank the seller for his advice and tell him you will try again later.

There is no problem with giving out your PP address, after all it appears on every invoice, but the stuff about leaving out the "@" sounds odd to me.

You have up to four days to pay before the seller can start an unpaid item dispute and while we sellers do get antsy about slow payers, you are within that time period.