Paypal experience and tips?

[JKKJ]

A friend just sold his mtn bike online, and has agreed to take payment via Paypal. My reaction to this form of payment (based, I admit, on an old and vaguely-recalled memory of it being a bit if a bear to get one's $s out of Paypal) has made him a little anxious. I'm feeling a little bad about it, because I can't back up my comments with anything factual. It's a significant amount of money, and he wants to make sure he'll make out OK.

Anyone have any current experience or tips I can pass on before his fingernails are completely gone?

Thanks

 

[Buck]

I successfully use Paypal for my customers who purchase through my online store or when I bill them through Email. They do not need a Paypal account to pay me. In addition, having registered a bank account with my Paypal account, I can electronically send the funds I receive through Paypal directly to my bank account (or visa versa if I pay someone through Paypal). This is helpful for me because it allows my small business to easily accept credit cards without an elaborate setup. There is a slight service charge for this service, about 3% per transaction.

 

[Jake the Dog]

I've used PayPal about a dozen times to invoice people who wish to pay me via CC (since I'm not a CC merchant.) In those cases I've received US dollars deposited from a Aus CC which I then withdrawn and place into one of my local bank accounts. It's always worked well for me and the whole process takes about 3 days, despite notices advising it will take 5-7 days. My largest transaction has only been US$1700 and I would be happy to run a US$5k transaction through PayPal.

my 2c.

 

[JKKJ]

OK, looks like fingernails can be saved, and my info is out of date.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Tea]

There are lots of horror stories. Maybe they are true, maybe they are not. But the stories are so bad that I won't go near the organisation. There are websites full of them. Places like www.paypalsucks.com www.paypalwarning.com www.paypalalert.com

 

[timwhit]

Paypal was bought up by eBay awhile ago. I have used them probably over 100 times without any problems. Don't pay attention to the people that bad mouth paypal.

 

[Buck]

There are lots of horror stories. Maybe they are true, maybe they are not. But the stories are so bad that I won't go near the organisation. There are websites full of them. Places like www.paypalsucks.com www.paypalwarning.com www.paypalalert.com

Who is your parole officer?

 

[JKKJ]

Oh dear. So do I believe the people or the monkey? The escaped-from-parole-monkey no less.

The linked website have a certain, um, rabid quality about them that scares me almost as much as the paypal horror stories they recount! I particularly like the "Devoted to stoping [sic] the MAFIA style" comment! That being said, now I remember that it's those sorts of frozen accounts stories that were my reason for baulking when I first heard about this with my friend. (All this info's in my brain somewhere, it just that the bus is saturated and sometimes it takes a while to retrieve).

Hopefully this will turn out fine as my friend is the recipient, and can, presumably, keep his account in good order.

 

[sechs]

PayPal is an inherently unsafe way to move money. If you read the fine print, every policy is setup to protect PayPal, not buyers and sellers.

On another site, with an auction forum, virtually daily, a PayPal problem is posted. I've seen some bizarre situations; in one case, someone sold an item to a person, who, two months later, sold something else to someone who later did a credit card chargeback, and PayPal reversed his transaction to cover the chargeback on the other person's account!

PayPal is not a bank. It is not regulated. Your money is not protected.

 

[Handruin]

As long as the party has paid the money, I doubt you'll have problems moving it out of paypal. I have it linked to a designated checking account and the funds are electronically withdrawn. I've recently transfered $400+ with no issue. Granted it's small compared to some people, but I had no issues.

 

[Fushigi]

http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2004/11/15/82647/387

and

http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2004/8/30/04337/5416

and

http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2004/1/24/171120/510

and

http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2003/5/7/10613/86612

 

[sechs]

Yep. I've heard of PayPal taking money out of bank accounts without specific permission. They'll do the same thing with credit cards, but you'll have recourse.

 

[Jake the Dog]

OK, so we have two distinct opinions thus far. The pro PayPal mob are those that have/are using PayPal and those against ... apparently haven't!

 

[Tea]

OK, so we have two distinct opinions thus far. The pro PayPal mob are those that have/are using PayPal and those against ... apparently haven't!

So ... Did you actually expect that it would be the other way around?

 

[Fushigi]

Actually, I've used PayPal numerous times and am verified against one of my checking accounts. But that's not to say I currently care for the service. My opinion is that it has steadily gone downhill.

I maintain maybe $30 balance in my account there; not enough to fret over losing. It's there more to keep the account alive than anything else.

Anyway, the point of my links above is that with any site you should read, understand, and agree to the terms of service and privacy policies before you commit your transactions. That goes double for companies that you are granting access to your finances.

Sechs, I think you'll find that recourse through PayPal is a joke. They are quite well known to being unresponsive to most manners of inquiry. This is why people don't like the verification process; using a credit card you can protest the charges through your cc company; using your bank you are at PayPal's mercy if a mistake occurs.

 

[RWIndiana]

I've been buying and selling for close to two years now, and I have no complaints at all (though they could improve certain features, such as the process of switching payment method from bank account to credit card, which has to be done every time you want to pay with CC). I was warned beforehand by PayPal that they would put small transaction fees on my account. Apparently, not everyone reads the agreements they agree to, which to me is foolish. There is nothing criminal about paypal at all, based on my dealings with them (that's several hundred transactions). I know there are plenty of conspiricy theorists who would like to tell you otherwise, but they are slightly insane. I never once got a charge on my account that I didn't know exactly what it was for.

 

[Clocker]

I've used PayPal since it started and I have never had a problem with the service. I used to have one of the business type accounts where you can accept credit card payments but I've recently changed to just a regular personal account that does not accept credit card payments. I can only accept balance transfers and checking account debits. The fees (~2%) too high for me to justify the ability to accept CC payments and I don't think my eBay auctions have suffered as a result of switching to the personal account.

I think serious retailers would definitely need to accept CC payments though.

C

 

[Howell]

Although I usually buy and have done so successfully many times since the service started, I recently sold my rowing machine ($800) using paypal.

 

[JKKJ]

Sounds like Paypal is hurting with the CC % cut and transaction fees, but they seem pretty high-handed about how they deal with the problem. I would've thought that for a company that provides a service only that things like service would be, um, important.

I can't say that I fully understand how they can make money purely on transaction fees. Banks seem to make their money on the lending interest side, not so much on the transactions. It's not that I've ever looked seriously at Paypal though, I don't have an account. Heck, I buy very little online, and only from established bookstores and the like, so I'm definitely looking at this from the outside.

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll let everyone know how this one works out.

 

[Clocker]

Just to clairfy:

When I sell stuff and use PayPal to receive money, there are no transaction fees because I only have a personal account.

Also, just FYI, PayPal always charges the seller the transaction fee. Buyers don't pay transaction fees.

See Ya,
C

 

[Fushigi]

I'm sure that, similar to a bank, PayPal invests the majority of the account balances in various devices to earn additional interest/profit. They can predict with reasonable accuracy how much the aggregate balance of all accounts is at any given time and do short-term investing with the bulk of it, leaving just enough liquidity to cover the payouts they have to make.

 

[sechs]

OK, so we have two distinct opinions thus far. The pro PayPal mob are those that have/are using PayPal and those against ... apparently haven't!

I decided to stop using PayPal when they took about $3000 from me for a "suspicious transaction" to my roommate. I've joined one of the several class-action lawsuits.

PayPal seemed great to me until there was a problem -- at which point I had zero rights over *my* money. If everyone has to have an experience like me in order to realise how unsafe PayPal is, then they will continue to make money hand over fist.

 

[sechs]

Sechs, I think you'll find that recourse through PayPal is a joke. They are quite well known to being unresponsive to most manners of inquiry. This is why people don't like the verification process; using a credit card you can protest the charges through your cc company; using your bank you are at PayPal's mercy if a mistake occurs.

Mistake? They do this stuff on purpose. PayPal is setup so as to obfuscate and make difficult any system of correcting an error not in their favour.

I was speaking about recourse through one's credit card. They, generally, actually care about you.

 

[JKKJ]

I'm sure that, similar to a bank, PayPal invests the majority of the account balances in various devices to earn additional interest/profit. They can predict with reasonable accuracy how much the aggregate balance of all accounts is at any given time and do short-term investing with the bulk of it, leaving just enough liquidity to cover the payouts they have to make.

As I said, I don't know much about the actual business process with Paypal, and maybe there's something in the agreement about it, but what if everyone calls their money at once? Sounds like that's part of the problem: you can't necessarily take your money when you want to.

Mistake? They do this stuff on purpose. PayPal is setup so as to obfuscate and make difficult any system of correcting an error not in their favour.

Sounds like UPS, and that's enough to strike them off my list until the end of time, and then for a long d#%$ time after that. Hint: I don't like UPS

I was speaking about recourse through one's credit card. They, generally, actually care about you.

Not sure about that , I think the CC Co's just have a stricter code of operational conduct that they're held to, either by legislation or public pressure. Amounts to the same thing from our end, I know.

 

[Mercutio]

I use paypal in the same way that Buck does, mostly because I am far, FAR too lazy to get a decent merchant account someplace.

Personally, I think banks and other financial services organizations are highly under-regulated to begin with. Paypal lives in its own special little loophole, though, and I've always viewed it with concern.

I don't leave any - not even a cent - money in my paypal accounts. Ever. It slows down transactions (mostly it's used for money coming in to me, not going out). When I get notice that I have money in the account I take it out. The majority of the horror stories I've heard have been something like "I left $3000 in my Paypal account and then they froze the account and now I can't get my $3000".

On the plus side, using a service like ebay is obnoxious without it. And its merchant fees are some of the most reaonable I'm aware of - I don't need to rent a card swipe machine or have a permanent shopping cart service, so full-blown merchant services are overkill for me even without the fees and monthly charges associated with them.

 

[Tea]

It may be different in the US, but Oz banks are only too happy to arrange a credit card facility. Banks never pass by a chance to make money. Mind you, it gets trickier if you need to work on-line.

But let me put it this way: if I lived somewhere sensible and wanted to buy something from Buck, for example, I'd wind up buying it from somewhere else that does credit cards because he only does Pay Pal and I don't trust Pay Pal. There are probably more people like me.

 

[Buck]

But let me put it this way: if I lived somewhere sensible and wanted to buy something from Buck, for example, I'd wind up buying it from somewhere else that does credit cards because he only does Pay Pal and I don't trust Pay Pal. There are probably more people like me.

I haven't had a complaint yet. Most people don't really care because they don't need a Paypal account to pay me through Paypal, they just need a credit card.

 

[sechs]

I was speaking about recourse through one's credit card. They, generally, actually care about you.

Not sure about that , I think the CC Co's just have a stricter code of operational conduct that they're held to, either by legislation or public pressure. Amounts to the same thing from our end, I know.

Beyond the regulatory issues, credit card people want you to use them. Everytime you make a transaction, they make money; and they make even more money when you carry a balance.

 

[flagreen]

Even I have used it many times without any problem at all.

 

[Jake the Dog]

OK, so we have two distinct opinions thus far. The pro PayPal mob are those that have/are using PayPal and those against ... apparently haven't!

So ... Did you actually expect that it would be the other way around?

Not really though I did load my comment in an attempt to fish out a bad experience that a forum member may have had. Opinions of people I know or know of provide me with much more value than an anti-[insert company name] website and I though sechs may feel the same way. You know how it is, whilst some anti-xxx website factually shed light on poor company practices, there are too many that are a completely unbalanced source of information and are misinforming readers.

I decided to stop using PayPal when they took about $3000 from me for a "suspicious transaction" to my roommate.

Sorry to hear that mate Hope it worked out for you.

 

[sechs]

Hardly.

If it'll bring people to their senses, I'll use all-caps.

DO NOT USE PAYPAL!

 

[JKKJ]

Well, the money's in the account. Or should I say that numbers are being displayed under a collection of letters like b-a-l-a-n-c-e.

We'll see what happens now!