Buyer wants to pay and have courier collect. Is it a scam?

[Dedmind]

I have received the following email from a potential buyer of an item of furniture I am selling privately. Does it sound like a scam? Should I discontinue the transaction?

"Thanks for your response, Please cancel every other appointment regarding it as i am willing to pay your full asking price because i need to buy it for my cousin as a gift, i have read through the advert and I'm totally satisfied with it,sadly i would not be able to come personally to collect due to my hearing loss and me being in wheelchair.I have a courier agent that would help me to pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money and i'll pay you via PayPal. Meanwhile you can send me your PayPal email and registered name so that i can send the money as soon as possible and choose a good time for the pick up after payment has been received."

[kernowlass]

@Dedmind 

100% TOTAL SCAM.

They encourage you to accept a direct Paypal payment.
No funds or activity of the transaction shows in your Paypal account and any emails may go into your junk/spam folders.

They don't quibble on cost and may also say they can't view the item as they are disabled but will arrange a shipping agent or courier to collect it.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.

The fake paypal email will tell you that the buyer has paid for the item + shipping costs but you must send those shipping costs to the courier/ shipping agent via another payment processor than Paypal or by providing some vouchers or tokens before the funds are released to you.

They are not interested in the item, they just want that couriers/shipping funds and you will never see money in your paypal balance.

Paypal NEVER tell you to do anything until the payment is showing in your paypal account.
Paypal NEVER expect you to use a rival money transfer service eg Moneygram, Western Union, Bank Transfer or any sort of gift token or voucher.
There is no seller protection on paypal for any type of item that is collected by the buyer.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

Personally I would never use Paypal for items that are to be collected by the buyer, cash on collection only or bank transfer BEFORE collecting is what I accept.