Scammers and Safe Payment Methods, lets share this knowledge

Hey,
I have read so many posts about people getting scammed that ever since I joined this site I have not bought 1 single item from anyone or anywhere! Just reading the recent post about getting scammed even after using Paypal got me worried more. Not like I have not been scammed before. I was scammed after using Paypal thru Ebay. I had bought 9 perfumes from the same seller and they all turned out to be FAKE! So contacted the seller and was told to send them back for exchange or refund. I wanted refund. The seller got the items back, then started telling me stories about the Paypal account being suspended. I waited, I waited, I waited and finally I saw a lot of negative feedback piling up on the seller's feedback. Then I filed a dispute. I got nothing back from it at all. The seller closed the account and disappeared. Paypal could not recover any funds from the account. Ebay only covered items above $25 and that ruled out like 6 of the perfumes as each item was looked at individually. For the other 3 Ebay wanted the items verified by some third party or professionals so it can be proved they were fake! The items were already sent back for refund! So there was no way I could get them verified! But at that point I had said goodbye to my money as Ebay would only cover UPTO $5 per item for those 3 perfumes! I had paid a total of $299.52!

So that is one of my stories. Then I got scammed when I used a Money Order! But the reason I am putting this post up here is so that we can all decide once and for all what is the safest way to go.

I now know after reading so many posts that Western Union, MO, Bankwire Transfer or T/T is not safe unless you have a reliable seller.

Lets hear about the following services from all you guys:

1) Escrow

2) Paypal

3) Paymate.com

4) Moneybookers.com

5) Auctioncheckout.com

6) COD

For all the senior members and experts please post your advice on the best practices for any form of payments. E.g. Using Paypal with a credit card and not with the bank, is that safer by the way?

Also post advice on HOW TO about COD, Escrow etc for the newbies like me.

Any other payment forms that I have not listed and you guys know about, then go ahead and share it with us all.

Also share some good suppliers that are reliable when using unsafe payment methods as well as safe payment methods.

Lets make this a family battle against the scammers!

Interesting post. I am sorry for you to go through this experience. Terrible news to hear. I am sorry.

You know I just got scrammed on my EBay account few days ago. I already purchased several items from two different sellers at a price range from 20 to 30 dollars. I used Paypal to purchase these items. Fortunately, I was notified by E-Bay staff that someone had attempt to list an item without my knowledge through my eBay account. Immediately, I change my e-bay password and double check my paypal account and bank account.

I believe that there may be some e-bay sellers who are actually real life scammers. If this is true, then you may want to keep an eye out for any strange activities. It might be best to keep track which sellers you bought from to avoid them in the future.

Another helpful idea about Paypal account is strongly recommend changing your password every month. If you have a habit of forgetting your passwords, then suggest setting up 5 different passwords and rotating each password monthly.

Last but not least, I do not trust international supplier. Time and money is always a problem.