I have to agree with Easy above. I never ship a high ticket item until I have confirmation from my BANK that the PayPal transfer was completed.

I explain this to the customer and it's generally accepted. I'm aware of a few horror stories where buyers transfered money into the sellers PP account, only to turn around and file complaint/cancel transaction. At this point the seller has already shipped the merchandise and the buyer has effectively "Frozen" the sellers account (All of it... not just the amount in question). I NEVER keep large amounts in my PP account!

My practice is (and it really depends on the item) to immediately initiate a transfer of the buyers money into my bank account on receipt (the "You've got cash" email let's me know that the buyer made their payment). I acknowlege to the customer that their payment was received by PayPal. While waiting for the PP funds to hit my bank account, I box/crate/prepare the item for shipment. PayPal has never taken longer than 3 business days for the funds to reach my account. Upon the deposit into my bank account, I notify the customer that the transaction is complete and I immediately ship their item.

Now... some may say - "I have to wait 3 days for you to ship my item?" Hey... they'll understand. It takes 4-5 days for a MO to reach me on average, so PayPal is still quicker.

This way, we're both protected. The buyer uses their CC for the purchase and I wait 72 hrs. for the cash. I have never been burned using this method and I been a member of PP since the very beginning.

My .02

Craig