Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Online Auctions, eBay Craigslist Petroliana noob? again..why are ppl afraid of paypal

seems to me a lot of people are like totally against accepting paypal as a payment.. I'm looking at selling something and now im wondering WHY? As a seller do they not protect you? I just need to know thanks in advance!

Paypal seems like the most secure. So im not sure why they wouldnt like it.

they don't want to pay any fees on there $$$$$$$$$ profits

How much sense does it make to give 3% of your money away? I take paypal on ebay because it's required but don't otherwise. To answer your question, no, they don't protect sellers at all, like totally

For me, it doesn't make sense to not accept PayPal. By not doing so, you are eliminating a large segment of your potential buyers. I'm hesitant to send a check or money order to someone I don't know. PayPal, while not perfect, provides a level of protection that far exceeds mailing a check or MO. If you are concerned about the 3% fees, just incorporate that into your prices.

What is 3% in the big scheme of things? I fail to understand why 3% is such a big deal breaker. I pay 40%+ income tax. I pay 12% sales tax. 15-20% buyers premiums. Looking at 30% inheritance tax on my father's estate. 15% tips to waitresses. Property taxes, road and bridge tolls...the government has got me so use to paying taxes that 3% seems so inconsequential.

E-bay is different. I fail to see what protection a seller needs in a private transaction such as on Oldgas sales. Seller is the one holding the goods and the money. Buyer is placing more trust in the seller then vice versa.

I don't need a large segment of potential buyers, 99% of what I sell on Oldgas or elsewhere sells easily. If someone isn't comfortable sending me a check then they can move on, no harm no foul. If someone wants to give money away then they're either very wealthy or never learned the value of money and working for it. Dave, just because you give money away to the government and others shouldn't make you not care about the 3%, it should make you care more. You have a choice. If someone walked up to you and said give me $30 out of that $1000 sale for essentially doing nothing would you just hand it to them? Yes paypal serves a purpose but as a seller why use them if you don't have to, seems silly to me but to each their own. Regarding those percentages you pay, would you still pay them if given the choice?

I don't sell on ebay, The 3% doesn't mean a thing to me. I just Don't like Them Telling Me What I Have to Do to sell.

For the buyer paypal is fast and secure and the seller can't say he never got your check or money order....lost in the mail ya know. For the seller he would know pretty fast if the buyer was really serious and not saying the " checks in the mail" and after 2 weeks you finally figure out he was just blowing smoke about buying your item, and now you have to start all over in trying to sell it. As for the 3%, either add it to your asking price or eat it. As for offering paypal as a form of payment, if you don't it will cut down on willing buyers, but then again if you have a hot item it won't matter as much and someone who really has to have it will be willing to pay for it in any form you want. The worst part in any deal is unscroupulous sellers AND buyers....another subject altogether.

Would anyone really pass on buying an item they want or need because a seller doesn't accept paypal?
I know I wouldn't.

All valid points. All are valid positions to take.



Kinda exactly what I was trying to say. as much as I wouldn't walk away from a purchase because of 3%. I wouldn't give up a sale or narrow the pool of potential buyers for 3%.

Neil, it's not that I don't place a value on money. It's as simple as, I value convenience and time (both as a seller and a buyer) more then 3%. Don't focus on the $30 so much that you fail to consider the $970. I'll give $30 away any day to secure a $970.00 sale. Most business models spend more then 3% on advertising to secure sales.

Most of us, use credit cards to to collect cash rebates, awards or points. The merchant where you made your purchase is paying similar charges (sometimes in excess of 3%) depending on the card. Those incentives paid by the credit card companies are down loaded to the merchants. For me 3% is simply another cost of doing business. Just like listing fees are a sellers responsibility in my opinion so should the fee's associated with acceptance of payments.

Anyways, no right or wrong position. Just a matter of personal preference, ones interpretation and position on buyers and sellers obligations and responsibilities.

The 3% fee isn't horrible IMO, just when you start adding ebay fees it starts to get out of control. You can't really find the buyers without ebay, so trying to save that PayPal 3% makes the whole transaction a little more palatable. If it wasn't for the instaneous payment aspect of PayPal I wouldn't use it either, that I like so I grudgingly encourage buyers to use PayPal. Also, PayPal isn't real friendly to sellers when issues come up. The up to 6 months to dispute a transaction is really ridiculous. I'm glad ebay spun off PayPal, maybe it'll get better.

It should be in the dictionary as: Paypal; fees suck.

In the big picture, any business that accepts credit card payments has to figure a transaction fee into the cost of doing business. When you buy gas, go out to eat or purchase things at a store, the business pays a percentage to the payment processor. Nobody likes fees. But they pay for the service and convenience you get.

Interesting that when we collected money for Dick Bennett's widow, 99% of you sent the money via Paypal. Only a few sent it as a "Paypal gift" and very few as a check. I never mentioned fees or that I would cover the fees. I was very happy to get what we got and Paypal made it easy for me. I personally think we raised more for her because we used Paypal.

The 3% should be a non issue to the seller, just name your price and say buyer pays all PayPal fees.

I'm surprised at the amount of people that defend the fee. If I was in the selling business maybe I'd see it differently. I sell at fair prices and don't see the need to jack my price up to line someone elses pockets. I have owned my business for 16 years and have seen my credit card sales jump from 25% to over 50% in that time, fees have gone up accordingly, I eat that rather than raise prices, cost of goods is hard enough to keep up with. like I said if I narrow my buyers pool but my fairly priced item still sells then I guess I'm doing just fine without PP. I also don't like paying extra for something unless I have to. PP probably loves reading how people are "used" to paying extra, sets it up perfectly for them to raise the percentage.

I don't agree with sellers who want PayPal as sole means of payment, but make the buyer pay for it. If they offer other payment options and buyer wants to use paypal and is willing to pay the fees that is ok by me. What MANY, including all those who ask for gift payments or whine about PayPal taking a cut, forget is that PayPal is providing a service to both buyer and seller. They should get paid for that! Would any of you that feel otherwise like to go to work for free? 2.75% for a smooth fast payment transaction is worth it to me as a seller when the buyer wants to use it. When possible, I prefer to have them use a credit/debit card through my card processor as the rates are about 1% less.....

Bottom line, don't like it, don't use it. Do I wish the fees were a little less, or maybe a sliding scale for larger transactions, sure. However, I really value the use of the service and fully expect to pay for it. As they say, it's one of the "costs of doing business".

I absolutely will not buy from an unknown eBay seller that does not accept PayPal. My first thought is that the seller is trying to circumvent the protections that PayPal offers. Second, it crosses my mind that if the seller does not have PayPal, he may have financial issues. Third, a PayPal account is more difficult to get for overseas individuals. Therefore, the lack of a PayPal account may indicate a bogus eBay account.

Why would I send a check to someone given the concerns that I just raised? PayPal protects me, and if the seller has raised his price by 3% to cover the fee, that is fine to me. I'd much rather pay 3% extra than have to try and hire a lawyer or call the police for a shady seller that took my check and ran.

Now, I will send checks to OG members because this is a closed community. I would also send a check to an eBay seller if I absolutely know he is legitimate.

My thoughts on many cases where people refuse to take ppal or check is that they have some deep control issues...and many times because they themselves would harm others. Fees are a cost of doing business...at worst case discuss the options of them with buyer.

they charge about 3 bucks on a 100 dollar sign...
I pay more for peanuts to watch the monkeys screw at the zoo!
Its all about time and Instant payment!
Not...Mail a check(wait 3-4 days), they wait til check clears(7-10 days) then ship item, you recieve WEEKS later!
With paypal you Win an item, pay immediately, recieve 3 days later
As a seller I adjust my price accordingly so I dont eat the fees...simple...

I guess you didn't buy on ebay before paypal existed.

wow! a lot of valid points.. I don't care about the paypal fee, to me there is a lot to having the transaction done securely.. my thought was perhaps paypal had a way for a buyer to "weasel" out of the money they sent you somehow...or if paypal has seller protection, I know they have buyer protection..but where are the fine lines? im just being overly cautious I guess. I have a pretty nice piece that I want to sell, I don't want to ship it to someone and thet turn around and say this or that and get me for the item..i guess im old school where when you make a deal, and shake a guys hand..thats one thing..people usually cant stab you in the back if your looking them in the face so to speak..

PP has it's place, I accept it on Ebay and I pay for the stuff I buy on Ebay with it. I've had to file two cases and won both as a buyer, never had a case against me as a seller. I just don't see any reason to use it on Oldgas, never have. PP is a relatively new creation, I was on Ebay for years without and never had a problem, it's great to help combat thieves on Ebay, luckily I haven't met any on here. It's become more and more heavily slanted towards buyers. If you want to feed them money by all means do so, just remember you have a choice.

I love paypal as a buyer as it makes an easy transaction. Many other stores are starting to use paypal more as a payment method along with credit cards. I will pay will paypal at any of those stores if I can so I do not have to give out my credit card number.

As a seller I don't mind it as again it makes a fast transaction as I get paid fast and don't have to wait a week to get a check and wait even longer for it to clear. Get paid and ship right away and I am done with it. Also if you sell on Ebay many times the item will sell for more than you can get in other markets and it is more than worth the fee. I also figure the fess into my prices.

PayPal is great as a buyer. Nobody can dispute that.

The 3% for the seller isn't that big of a deal as all business' that accept credit cards pay that.

The buyer protection is the point everybody is missing as to why PayPal is terrible for sellers.

If you sell your antique widget and send the buyer the same widget in your ad, the buyer can easily replace it with their own lesser grade (or even broken) widget and cry foul. They will send you back the ***** widget and not only will you be out your original widget, but you'll be stuck with the shipping both ways.

PayPal will side with the buyer every time and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Take all the pictures you want, but you have no way of proving that the widget you took the pictures of is the same one you sent.

There are 2 types of eBay sellers out there: those that this HAS happened to, and those that this WILL happen to.

Agree with bp, it's the buyer protections that are getting out of control. It just like ebay, slowly drifting more and more towards the buyer disregarding the seller. Predictable pattern really, PayPal was more balanced at first so that sellers would accept PayPal, then paypal became universal, so now they can afford to push too far in the buyer behalf - allowing 6 months to file a complaint for example. Hate wondering if someone's going to wait five months after I sell them something, file a frivolous complaint, and then I have the funds locked up by PayPal.

I'm curious about ApplePay and how that will unfold. Would be good to have two viable services fighting for sellers, might make things more balanced again. The sad thing is that the additional protections don't really help honest buyers anyway.

I agree with Paul... Buyer Protection is a mess. I used to sell on eBay and got excellent positive feedback. But... the Buyers who complain about shipping fees(yet also left positive feedback - go figure) and leave the low-star ratings for shipping costs ended up getting me booted off of eBay as a Seller. What irritated me the most was the fact that the eBay shipping fee is right below the bid amount on eBay. If someone doesn't like the fee, then don't bid on my item - win it - leave positive feedback - and then shaft me with low-star ratings on my shipping fees... which got me kicked off as a Seller. Not once did I ever profit on any of my shipping fees. I always used brand new boxes and packing materials, and my postal fee that I paid was always a few dollars more than I collected. Okay... I gotta go breathe a little now... but thanks for listening to me guys!

they charge about 3 bucks on a 100 dollar sign...
I pay more for peanuts to watch the monkeys screw at the zoo!



Now , That's funny!

I accept all 4 major credit cards by Google Square. I've had it for about 8 weeks and so far, I love it!

[quote=Dave's Garage]What is 3% in the big scheme of things? I fail to understand why 3% is such a big deal breaker. I pay 40%+ income tax. I pay 12% sales tax. 15-20% buyers premiums. Looking at 30% inheritance tax on my father's estate. 15% tips to waitresses. Property taxes, road and bridge tolls...the government has got me so use to paying taxes that 3% seems so inconsequential.[/quote]

That is well said, and works great when you're buying something of value like a laptop and need it quick. On the other hand I've been selling on a handful of small websites and have saved just over $450 in ebay/paypal fees the past 4 months.

[b][size:10pt]$450 can buy you a lot of doughnuts....!!!!!![/size][/b]

Don't even get me started when the Paypal machine docs/debits your account for say -$125 because some scammer in France was smart enough to game their automated system. Twice, the ebay phone rep told me there was NOTHING they could do to bring MY money back. At 6 months, we kicked it up to the supervisor, and got MY money back. Translated, the money in the paypal account really never is yours until at least a month has passed, past delivery. I don't have deep pockets, and to have say a large $500 dollar deal get held up and frozen for 6 months is just ain't an option for many sellers.

This is funny. You dont seem to care about taking 2-3 points VIA your credit card terminal, but no way.. not 3 points from paypal. LOL

Just busting your chops Neil!

I can understand both sides of the story. I prefer paypal, as well as using my credit card terminal here at the shop. Obviously everybody loves cash. I see less and less checks every year from Joe public.

Yes but the difference is I'm required to do it at my store, part of my franchise agreement. I wish it was only 2 to 3 points, transaction fees etc have gone up. I do take paypal for every transaction on Ebay, same reason, forced to by Ebay. Life is about choices usually, it's not the 3 percent, it's the fact that it's rammed down your throat. People seem to be dwelling on it's only 3%, I pay more here and there yada yada. When you become numb to things that's when you're vunerable. It's happening in many aspects of life today. I choose not to roll over for it, that's all, I certainly don't fault anyone who does.

After taking a break from selling on ebay... I came back and it was right when they started that strong arm forcing paypal *****-o-la. I remember vividly how the Paypal fees alone at the end of the week were $32.00 and some change. Again, that's money that should have been in my pocket.

$32.00 can buy a decent amount of doughnuts..... or 4 Sirloins.... or a Good Pizza and Good Beer Night Out....

Someone enjoyed that $32.00 and it wasn't me.