Ebay selling idea

jtryka

This is somewhat off topic, but when I sold coins on eBay in the past, I accepted credit cards through Billpoint, mainly since they charged me a lower fee and Paypal had the worst customer service. Now that we will be forced to use Paypal for credit cards, I was thinking of offering a 1.5% or 2% discount off the final price for paying by check or money order. This would at least put me ahead of the 2.9% fee I would pay to Paypal. Does anyone know if this would be a violation of eBay rules?

beorn

if it isnt a violation the ebay will probably make it one as soon as they realize that some of their money is staying in your pocket

Petescorner

It is a violation to charge more for PayPal, but it is NOT a violation to discount all other forms of payment except PayPal! I had a multiple email conversation with eBay about this earlier in the year. It doesn't make any sense to me, but that's the way it is.

BigD5

That's not an Ebay rule, that's a federal guideline, I believe. You can't charge anyone extra for using a credit card. You can discount for check or money order etc. payments. No problems with that. I think if you look at the actual amount of money Paypal takes with their fees, and weigh that against the TIME involved with mailing checks via snail mail, waiting for them to clear etc. Paypal's fees aren't bad. $3 on a $100 item is peanuts. Especially when you can access the money right away in some instances. 2 weeks lost time waiting for a check to get to you, and clear your bank........for $3? It's almost funny.
I've used Paypal for a few years now, and never a glitch. If you use their system, and follow their rules, you will be ok. Most problems arise when some of the rules aren't followed, ie: A buyer pays via Paypal and would like you to send the item to an address other than listed as "confirmed" with Paypal. If, as the seller, you do that, you are on your own. If a claim is made regarding the charge, you are flying in the breeze solo. Paypal isn't going to help you, and they will take the money out of your account.
Are they perfect? Hardly. Their system can work rather efficiently if you let it.