Ebay and Pay Pal?

[Anonymous]

Did you read the link I mentioned ?
These problems have nothing to do with technology. PayPal uses the same technology as regular banks do. It is their policies and increasing number of complaints from people. There has been a class-action lawsuit and PayPal lost it.

[StillGrande]

Let's see. With Paypal as a buyer I can instantly transfer money to my account from my bank (and back again), pay without dragging to the Post Office for a money order I have to pay for, get free coverage for low cost goods, and cut down the wait while the person at the other end waits for the mail to come.
As a seller I can pay a small fee (get over it, my time not dragging back and forth to the bank is worth it), get my money faster, know it is not going to bounce or get lost in the mail (or mangled - you have not lived until you get a money order that was eaten by a postal machine), get access to more bidders for higher bids (there is a significant increase in bidding with paypal), and resolve my transactions faster.

Yup. No paypal for me. It is just too risky to trust technology. I am going back to my cave now. This lectricity stuff makes me nervous.

[Anonymous]

There is lots of info about PayPal here, not the stuff PayPal would like you to know, but nevertheless I found it usefull.


http://www.paypalsucks.com/

Of specific interest you may fing FAQ section

http://www.paypalsucks.com/faqs.shtml

One thing you should keep in mind is that PayPal is neither a bank nor a credit card company so government regulations and consumer protection of that type doesn't apply to them. If you happen to get ripped off (received broken item, didn't receive anything) and PayPal fails to resolve it for you (which happends often) DO NOT ask your credit card company for a chargeback. If you do - paypal will turn that to collection agency and your credit rating will be ruined. Again because they are not a bank you have no government protection in these cases.

[Anonymous]

Maybe if I was a business doing business everyday selling on ebay it would be fooli***o not offer Pay Pal. However, I don't care for the fact that the buyer is the one using Pay Pal and the seller is the one paying for it! This seems back- wards to me. Also, If the buyer decides he doesn't want to pay for the item, he can put a stop payment on the transaction! Yes, there is expensive legal recourse and there are actions the seller can take through Pay Pal, however, I would guess they are similar to the actions you can take with Ebay's Feed-back Forum, which is a joke, to say the least!

Ebay has gotten so commercial in the last year. I see business asking the same price for items I can buy directly from the manufacturer. I also see the same items running through the auctions weekly which are never bid on! I think man, thats one stupid ebayer!

I like doing business with Money Orders, it's simple and pretty safe for the seller! However, if Pay Pal items sell better, then I probably have to set-up an account.

Another option is stop selling and buying on Ebay, which is certainly an option!

[tatans]

Money orders seem to be the prefernce from sellers I have dealt with. I send by air mail( I usually get 2-3 day service to the seller) it's cashed the same day and they ususally mail the same day, remember, U.S. cheques have to go through a clearing house that can take up to 10-14 days(unlike Canada-it's instant) Also check with shipping by UPS -etc, you will be in for a big, big surprise when your item arrives in Canada, this fee does not apply when using the postal service and it's considerably cheaper---only slower.

[Anonymous]

I won't bid on an eBay item unless the seller takes Paypal. I think it's foolish for a seller not to offer it.

[Anonymous]

PayPal is great! Go for it! I had three auctions for non model railroad items that ended last night. I received PayPal payments this morning for two of them, and the items are already in the mail. The third one will be paid the same way on Friday.

Sure is better waiting around to receive a money order. Some auctions I've held in the past were paid by money orders, and a few took a month or so to get here. One fellow lived quite a way outside of a major city, and had to wait until he went in to town to get the payment. Then there's the wait to get the mail with the payment.

I do love ending an auction and mailing off the item the next day, sure speeds things up and makes for fewer parcels hanging around waiting to be mailed.

The only downside to my International PayPal account (I'm in Canada) the the minimum amount that I can have transferred to my bank account is US$25.00. So if I have less than that in credit, I can't get it. I can use it to buy things though, which I've never done yet.

Give it a try, you will probably get more interest in your auctions.

I have three model railroad items currently on auction, check on my seller ID arailfan to see!

Bob Boudreau

[jfugate]

The seller pays the fees on Paypal, same as your standard bank merchant account.

Non-commercial PayPal accounts (no credit cards) are free, but merchants (will take credit cards) pay 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction.

As volume goes up, the fees drop. For merchants that sell over $100,000, for example, the rate is 1.9% + 30 cents per transaction.

Paypal is about as good as it gets online for sending and receiving money. They are well known, lots of ecommerce software and helps exist for selling things from your own website with Paypal if you like.

If you are worried about conducting business online, get yourself a separate bank account for online business (maintain a low balance), and/or get yourself a credit card to use separately online.

That way, if someone does steal your card number or account info, it does not affect your personal account in any way. The worst thing in the world is to use a debit card tied to your personal account, because if someone does steal your card number, you are screwed. Oh, you can probably get the money back, but your personal account will be a mess for weeks while you sort it all out.

With a separate *credit card*, you just dispute the charges, cancel the card, and get a new one. Your personal bank account is untouched.

And as to PayPal, as long as you ignore all the spoof emails from would-be fraud hounds, wanting you to give your login details to "avoid your account being suspended" (don't believe it), you are fine. In my experience, Paypal is more secure than using a credit card to order over the phone or online.

[Anonymous]

One thing to take into consideration, it that the SELLER eats the credit card fee if his buyer is charging the purchase (i.e. not checking acct funds). That is why you see many Sellers either not take PayPal CC payments, or add a fee to the overall purchase price.

I forget the actual percentage - but when I sold an item in the $50 range - and the winner paid via CC - I got hit with about a $4 transaction fee. And that is independent of eBay's fees entirely. I estimate that was another $4... so I was $8 in arrears at auction's end. I made $42 roughly (then you take out what you had into it, and there's your profit margin).

[cacole]

You can send money to anyone who has an e-mail address via PayPal. I have used it to pay for DCC components made in England, and the recipient said it allows him to avoid currency conversion charges as well, so it's faster and cheaper for both of us.

[Anonymous]

Mark,

I once had a question about Paypal and called them. The person I talked to was very friendly and described how the transaction process works, from the buyer's point of view. I'm sure if you were to call, they could walk you through what a seller has to do.

I've bought things from ebay using personal check, money order and paypal. I prefer paypal as I don't have to wait for my check to clear, don't have to go somewhere to purchase a money order, don't have to pay for a money order etc. Paypal allows me to pay for the item as soon as possible and it's relatively simple. I am even willing to pay more for an item (price plus shipping and handling) if I can do it via paypal.

On the other hand. I don't know what all is involved from a seller's view point. A couple of the transactions I've had, the seller was having problems with paypal. Perhaps they were new, because each time the thing was straightened out. I would assume the big advantage of paypal is that the seller gets his money right then and there. No going to the bank to deposit a money order. No waiting for a check to clear. I guess from your point of view it depends on what the fee is. I would also be very sure to go through the paypal procedures to make sure everything is correctly set up before using it so you and your buyer don't get frustrated the first couple of times.

[n2mopac]

I have used Pay Pal as a buyer only and have had no problems. I too prefer to send money orders, but I won't let the "Pay Pal only" criteria stand in my was of purchasing an item if I truly want it.

Ron

[Anonymous]

Stick with money orders

[orsonroy]

For standard auctions, the seller pays a small transaction fee. If all you want to do is buy things on Ebay using Paypal (a great thing) you don't have to pay anything.

[Anonymous]

When Ebay has been discussed on this forum, a vast majority of you have stated you prefer paying with Pay Pal. I am considering setting up a Pay Pal account again. I have been to the Pay Pal site and can't determine whom pays for this service, the buyer or seller. Certainly someone is paying for this service, as what would be the point in Pay Pal existing? Do any of you know and can you lead me to the place at Pay Pal's site, where Pay Pal explains whom pays for their service?

Thanks for your help! Oh, by the way, I have three nicely weathered Athearn 50 foot box cars with Kadee # 5s for sale as a lot on Ebay at this time. The ITEM # is 5932159705. Cars are a single door ATSF, Double door MKT and Double door GN. Selling alll three for $18.00.