If you have a PayPal account, then you have probably heard of PayPal Friends and Family. It is essentially a service that allows family and friends to transfer money to each other. Some sellers will ask you to buy their goods this way, but you should be very careful.
They are basically asking you to do this because they do not want any sellers fees coming out of their PayPal account. This will happen if they use the normal, correct PayPal method. At the end of the day, if they are not your friends of family, then you shouldn’t buy any goods via this method. If you do choose to do as they ask, then PayPal Protection will not cover you; so always state you will only buy via PayPal (the normal method).
It’s not a scam as such, but it’s essentially a seller breaking the rules, so if you’re asked to pay this way, refuse!