It has been 4 years since I bought anything using Pay Pal. However this scam remains and it is completely legal.

If a buyer uses a credit card, they can reverse the charges on you. Pay Pal list these reasons for a reversal:
1. The purchased item never arrived.
2. The item was significantly different than advertised.
3. Their credit card was used without their permission to purchase the item fraudulently.

A buyer who is working a scam, may claim item 1 if you shipped in a method you could not track. Or would claim item 2 and dispute that you sent them the proper item.

While the scam may happen rarely, pay pal will draw the funds out of your bank account to cover a reverse charge. It is better if you take payments that were made directly from the Pay Pal account, or directly from the purchaser’s bank directly through Pay Pal to your account.

Since scams may happen rarely, for me it comes down to how much risk I am willing to take. Small items I don’t mind the risk. Large items I tend to ask for checks and wait on the money to clear.

Here is another scam, fake money orders and checks. The scam goes something like this; you get a check, put the money end and ship the item. Two weeks later you find it was a fake check or money order and the bank takes the money back out of your account.

What is the best for things sold on this site? I would say know your buyer. Knowing they are legitimate can save you allot of heartache. When I was using Pay Pal to receive payments you could specify that the payment had to come directly out of the buyers Pay Pal or Checking account, I am not sure they still offer this, but for a larger item it was the most secure way to go.

As far as the types of payments you listed, all of them can be used in a scam.