I was going to take him up on his paypal offer, until he told me to send it as a family and friend gift. To everyone reading, you CANNOT dispute charges that are sent as gifts to friends and family on paypal. He has no issue with you using paypal to receive the money as a "gift", because paypal wont come after him when you try to dispute it because it was sent through the friends/family option.
That's a good point - it's a common scam I see from Alibaba sellers. NEVER send as friends and family if you are purchasing an item.
It does get them out of some fees I believe, so I just look up the fee schedule and offer to pay the fees. I've never been refused by an honest seller, but it is common to be asked for a friend payment regardless