escrow?
Unfortunately during the early stages of this escrow would probably not be possible, as I need to buy the parts with the money from the purchases, so having the money come after I've tested and shipped the unit wouldn't hold well. Sorry :\
Keep in mind though that PayPal does protect buyers quite well, and therefore if I end up not shipping a product to you you could file a claim with them, and if I can't provide evidence of a shipping label, packaging, etc. then the money would be returned to your account.
Actually, Paypal does MUCH more to protect buyers than they do sellers. Sellers using Paypal take a very high risk of having their accounts froze and potentially never seeing the money they earned...I DO NOT recommend Paypal as an option for payment processing.
I've had 2 Paypal accounts frozen because of fraudulent buyers. Even though I was innocent and the victim in these incidences, Paypal froze my accounts, causing more lost money.
The first time, an Australian buyer tried to use a stolen credit card number to purchase from me. Account was immediately frozen and lost all money in it (which luckily wasn't very much).
This last time it happened, they actually went into my personal checking account and took the money in question ($300+) out to freeze in my Paypal account...without any warning! All because a buyer filed a claim, trying to get more items than he paid for. After the bounced check fees, NSF fees, etc. it ended up costing me nearly $1,000.
Obviously, I will never use Paypal again!
Moral of the story...if a seller is willing to take on the risk of using Paypal as payment option, you can trust that your investment is safe! If you don't get your item, simply file a claim and the seller's business and personal finances will be immediately and without warning, frozen until you get either the item or a refund.
I strongly advise working with the seller though before going to Paypal. Filing a claim, whether it's legit or not, can potentially destroy the seller's business or personal finances. I've read stories of businesses having their account frozen for 6+ months with 10s of thousands of dollars in them. That could financially ruin a small/new business and possibly put a family's livelihood in jeopardy.
