Loco, was the 'Send Money' request to their bank account or via PayPal?
If they were just asking you to send money to their bank account, then yes, I'd say they are either trying to avoid PayPal fees, avoid PayPal Buyer Protection, or both.
If it was via PayPal they must have PayPal accounts to do a 'Request Money'. The normal PayPal fees apply to the seller if a buyer uses PayPal Send Money and makes a payment under the Purchases tab.