PayPal or No-PayPal...A Question???

VMFA115

While discussed before I was curious of a summary opinion from the board. As I get ready to list a big ticket item (well over $10k…I hope) I am faced with the question of accepting PayPal or not. It seems from all I have read on the boards that the two most common themes are (1) PayPal greatly increases the number of buyers for your item and (2) PayPal can significantly increase your overhead on a large ticket item.

Assuming these two views, should you accept PayPal for a large ticket item thus reducing your profit potential using the assumption that interested buyers items will be scared off w/o PayPal or should you avoid PayPal to increase your margin of profit on the assumption that you will not scare off too many buyers?

I have seen threads on related topics but I am interested on your opinions for a big ticket item and the effect of PayPal on the “saleability” vs. overhead.

In advance, thank you for the help.

Dave C.

lostdart58

More then likely the increase in bids due to taking paypal will more then overcome the extra fees.

gaspipe26

On regular items , Paypal has worked out great for me. On this type of item, my opinion is if the bidder is buying a $10000+ item Paypal wont matter.

KansasJayhawk

Agree with items mentioned, you also must take into account that even with Paypal fees, you will be paying less than most any Auction house will want to charge you.

DaBigHurt

For a $10,000 item, if you have sufficient feedback, whether or not you accept Paypal should not impact the number of bidders in the auction.

Onlypsahockey

< On this type of item, my opinion is if the bidder is buying a $10000+ item Paypal wont matter. >

gaspipe

Bob

sagard

Paypal will take $290 of the sale. The will provide no protection for you on a chargeback and cover the buyer only to $1500. Nice work if you can get it.

rbdjr1

If I were you, consider selling a high ticket item (i.e., $ 10,000) in a major auction. Ask what type of material has already been consigned, and see if your item fits in. I think buyers with deeper pockets are receiving auction catalogs. If your item is worth 10K, you will have a better chance of getting it from an auction. Plus it is safer. Pay the "vig" (and don't be afraid of asking for a discount vs. putting your item with ebay. You may be suprised to get a discount, rather than losing you to ebay!). Good luck no matter what!

Every time I sold a 3, 4, 5 thousand dollar item on ebay, I "sweated-it-out" each time. I felt I was going to "get screwed" each and every time! I was lucky! But I wasn't selling a $10,000 item!

One thing for sure, regarding ebay and a $10,000 "big ticket item", I would not except credit cards (with PayPal). Checking only! Most likely, for very high amounts when using Paypal, the only option, other than credit cards, is the eCheck option. Just wait until PayPal receives payment, and it posts "cleared" in your paypal account. And you should have no problems. In fact, if the buyer wants to pay you via paypal, I would only except the eCheck method for $10,000.00, unless you really know the bidder!


rbd

gemint

I'm with those who think Paypal won't make much of an impact for a big ticket item. It's probably not worth the added fees it would bring if someone did use it. If it's a $10k item, I doubt bidders would use Paypal anyway.

Good luck!