Can paypal protect me?

Your Pay pal payment should be in secured gateway.

Yes, you will be protected

Here is my story about PayPal.
I purchased a GHD straightener through ebay. One minute after winning the item I tried to pay for it through Paypal but the item was listed as already paid for so I couldn't complete the transaction. I then received an invoice from the seller which looked identical to the legitimate invoice. I paid for the item through Paypal but apparently the seller had removed the item number so the item was now considered an an off ebay item. When I received the item it was obviously fake but Paypal are refusing to protect me. Even though I can prove I won the item on ebay and paid for the exact item I won and the exact amount, they don't care. Their policy is so rigid that even if you are a genuine buyer who can prove the purchase was an ebay purchase, the simple matter of not having an item number and you are screwed! Not to mention the incredibly unhelpful and very annoying staff who would not try to listen to my story. All very frustrating and disappointing.

If you are aren't happy with the service as in you don't get your good or they are damaged and the company wont do anything about it, you can contact paypal, and send them all your correspondents with the company and resolve the issue for you.

I am not sure. On one hand I have heard that Paypal is meant to protect customers, on the other hand I have heard a lot of scare-stories too. I think as long as you buy it over ebay, with an auction that officially offers paypal as a payment option it should be ok

I haven't used paypal for any online transactions yet..

It depends on what you buy and the reputation of your seller.

I hate Paypal, they really do not protect the merchant nor the consumer. I have been on both ends of the spectrum.

depends on case to case basis. I haven't encountered any problem with paypal.