PayPal Questions For The Experienced

matteproof

I'm about to sign up for PayPal. I'm very loathe to use it but I'm hearing more and more that buyers demand it for online transactions. Many of you have graciously offered some sage advice concerning PayPal on the boards. It seemed to me from those comments that PayPal works well for buyers but is a potential hassle for Sellers. Question. Can you give me some ideas of how to BEST use PayPal as a Seller? Any tips? For example, should one use a "seperate" account for PayPal use only? How does one protect against a buyer reversing a charge after getting a coin, and then not returning the coin? Is there some way of using PayPal to best assure against such improper uses? Last question please, is there some other form of "online" payment that removes some of these PayPal risks? Thank you all. matteproof

Wolf359

If you get the free PayPal account, it only accepts Bank Transfer and existing balances; no credit cards. That's what I use.

I always withdraw the money when I immediately get it, leaving a zero balance.

It takes up to 3 business days to appear in my bank account. I don't know how a buyer could cancel his/her payment. I suppose in a worst case scenario a fraud claim could freeze the account. At least that's what I've heard.

So wait until the money's in your bank before the coin is shipped.

Louis

It is my understanding that if you set it up to accept credit cards they will charge you a higher percentage even on non credit card transactions.

eureka

I use two separate Paypal accounts. 1 basic, 1 accepting credit cards. This helps alleviate the annoying fees. Both are tied to minimum balance savings accounts. On larger transactions, I make sure I use proof of delivery with shipping just in case.

BigD5

You want to have a paypal exclusive checking/savings account. Something that's not going to cost you anything at the bank. You want this exclusive of your regular account, so in the fluke instance Paypal puts a freeze on your account, you still have the "real" account with your money, and no hang ups. Once you transfer money into this "exclusive" account, you must then transfer the money into your "regular" account. A bit more legwork, but worth it in case you run into a problem.
Ship items only to "confirmed addresses" provided by users. That means they have a credit card tied into a checking account, and paypal will back you, as a seller if something comes up, as that customer is much more likely to be legit. Ship to non-confirmed addresses, and paypal isn't going to do diddly for you if something comes up and a buyer makes false claims of not receiving items etc. Most complaints with paypal come back to this point. A buyer will purchase the item, and request that you please ship the item to an address other than the confirmed address. Trouble. Check paypal's terms and conditions. You can also request that paypal payments only go through with users with a confirmed address.
For those that don't have confirmed addresses, I always pleasantly inform them to take matters up with paypal, and that I also accept checks and money orders.
I've been using paypal..........seems like forever, and have never had a problem. That doesn't mean I won't in the future, but most buyers on Ebay use Paypal, and it's worth it for me.

matteproof

Thank you all for the great information. I appreciate it. I like BigD and Eureka's approach of the "two accounts" which is exactly what another friend of mine had suggested. I also like Wolf's idea of withdrawing the funds quickly. Louis makes a great point about the fees too. Paypal is not cheap when your selling a bigger ticket item. It does all seem a bit confusing and complicated to have a dedicated "paypal account" (and bank account) and then moving those funds to a regular and seperate account! But it does make sense given the potential problems with using the Paypal service as a Seller. It seems sad that so much jumping through hoops has to be done in order to do what should be a very simple transaction between two parties. I still believe strongly in the old "handshake" deals. I miss such simplicty (and the personal connection). Nevertheless, I'm happy to hear that most Paypal transactions work smoothly. Thank you all again for the great suggestions. matteproof

BAJJERFAN

<<"Ship items only to "confirmed addresses" provided by users. That means they have a credit card tied into a checking account, and paypal will back you, as a seller if something comes up, as that customer is much more likely to be legit. Ship to non-confirmed addresses, and paypal isn't going to do diddly for you if something comes up and a buyer makes false claims of not receiving items etc. Most complaints with paypal come back to this point. A buyer will purchase the item, and request that you please ship the item to an address other than the confirmed address. Trouble. Check paypal's terms and conditions. You can also request that paypal payments only go through with users with a confirmed address.
For those that don't have confirmed addresses, I always pleasantly inform them to take matters ">>

Its sorta contradictory when yu want a buyer to pay yu with an echeck or from an existing balance but yu don't care to ship to an unconfirmed addy cuz the guy has only a personal account. Its lowdown and conniving on the part of PeePal to try to force everyone over to a premier account so they can collect a fee on all transactions.

razorface1027

<<"Ship items only to "confirmed addresses" provided by users. That means they have a credit card tied into a checking account, and paypal will back you, as a seller if something comes up, as that customer is much more likely to be legit. Ship to non-confirmed addresses, and paypal isn't going to do diddly for you if something comes up and a buyer makes false claims of not receiving items etc. Most complaints with paypal come back to this point. A buyer will purchase the item, and request that you please ship the item to an address other than the confirmed address. Trouble. Check paypal's terms and conditions. You can also request that paypal payments only go through with users with a confirmed address.

Well stated Tom! I'll SECOND that!....