Foo - What are the cons of using PayPal?

A lot of times I've come across private online sellers not wanting to use PayPal for the transaction, and I was just wondering why? It seems pretty easy, fast and safe. What are the downsides of using PayPal, and why do so many people not want to use it?

The downside for sellers:

A) They charge you a base per transaction fee, plus a nominal percentage on the total.

B) It's possible for the buyer to 'contest' the transaction if the item gets lost in transit (the seller can defend against this by appliying a tracking number to the parcel) or if the item has been materialy mis-represented in the auction (the seller can again defend against this by being honest and accurate in the description or even being conservative in their grading of the item offered.

We handle about 100 +/- PayPal tranactions each week and love it. We get our money fast, and the inventory moves out. No fuf, no muss, no ring around the collar. After all it's all about cash flow and moving inventory, right?

The downside for sellers:

A) They charge you a base per transaction fee, plus a nominal percentage on the total.

B) It's possible for the buyer to 'contest' the transaction if the item gets lost in transit (the seller can defend against this by appliying a tracking number to the parcel) or if the item has been materialy mis-represented in the auction (the seller can again defend against this by being honest and accurate in the description or even being conservative in their grading of the item offered.

We handle about 100 +/- PayPal tranactions each week and love it. We get our money fast, and the inventory moves out. No fuf, no muss, no ring around the collar. After all it's all about cash flow and moving inventory, right?

Regarding the fees: From what I can make of it, the fees are up to 2% of the total plus 30 cents per transaction (for a small-time seller). Does this sound about right?

Not to mention all the phishing that is directly aimed at Paypal users. I used it for years with no problems but closed my account recently. I am a computer guy by trade and I almost got conned by one of the sons-a-beeches. If they can (almost) scam me, they can scam anyone. Some of the scams look very very legit. If you accidentally give theses criminals your username and password, say bye bye to your identity and to you bank account. I for one, will NEVER use it again.

it's ok to pay via paypal

it sucks to get PAID via paypal, due to the fees.

it's ok to pay via paypal

it sucks to get PAID via paypal, due to the fees.
No, It doesn't SUCK to get paid via paypal

The fees that PayPal charge are approximately 35 cents per transaction and 2.5 - 3% of the cost

Accepting payments through credit card is 10-35 cents per transaction and 2.5-3% of the cost plus an additional 45-99 a month that most people want to charge

With both - the more volume the greater the discount

With both you are capable of charging back. With PayPal you dispute. With Visa or Master card or discovery you dispute


Anybody that is stupid enough to click a phishing link and thinks that only "paypal" users get it are just that, stupid. I have seen phishing for Ebay, Chase bank, Wells Fargo, Citi and PayPal to name the most notable and most often received ones. If you not capable of of educating yourself yourself on the 2 or 3 steps that you can easily take to ensure that you never get fished then that is your problem.


By the way "phishing" is the new security hack of the new millenia. As Microsoft takes away more and more of your operating system's capabilities, and dumbs the operating system down to prevent users from receiving emails, unzipping files and randomly running files there will soon be no more "security" threats and everything will be social engineering.

it's ok to pay via paypal

it sucks to get PAID via paypal, due to the fees.

Does offering to take PayPal help improve the chance of an item selling at a higher price, due to the fact more buyers might be willing to make offers, knowing they're less likely to be burned? I think I might be less willing to buy something online if I'm required to send a money order or cashier's check that I have no way of getting back if the seller decides to stiff me.

Not to mention all the phishing that is directly aimed at Paypal users. I used it for years with no problems but closed my account recently. I am a computer guy by trade and I almost got conned by one of the sons-a-beeches. If they can (almost) scam me, they can scam anyone. Some of the scams look very very legit. If you accidentally give theses criminals your username and password, say bye bye to your identity and to you bank account. I for one, will NEVER use it again.

I get these ALL the time. "Confirm your PayPal Password" "Account Changes to your Pay Pal Account" It's been nuts trying to get my spam filter to get these to stop. The links look legit, but if you put your cursor over the hyperlink, you can see on the status bar that it takes you to a non-PayPal site.

Pay Pall is probably safe, as are many online retailers, but the rule of thumb is NEVER trust a link that has been e-mailed to you where your userid, password, or financial information are at risk.

I for one will never use Paypal again.

They mysteriously one day "linked" my account to another account that they claim is mine. I have never had another account with them.

They said they will be holding the balance of my account until I make the other account right. Since I do not know of the other account, and they refuse to tell me what it is, I cannot do anything. I have lived in a few apartments over the past few years, so I can only assume someone that also lived in the same apartment at one time had an account.

So, they say until I can "guess" the username and email of my other mystery account, they have frozen my personal account, and are holding $750 of my money indefinately. In addition, they refuse to give me the details such as name, email, or phone number of the other account that is supposed to be mine, so there is no possible way for me to figure this out.

So I lost $750 to paypal because they are not a true bank, and therefore do not operate using SS numbers, but using addresses and other things, so they think I am linked to people I am not. Furthermore, any money in their accounts is NOT FDIC insured, and they are not required to operate on the same laws as bank. They mostly can do whatever they want, whenever they want with your money and financial information.

I for one will never use Paypal again.

They mysteriously one day "linked" my account to another account that they claim is mine. I have never had another account with them.

They said they will be holding the balance of my account until I make the other account right. Since I do not know of the other account, and they refuse to tell me what it is, I cannot do anything. I have lived in a few apartments over the past few years, so I can only assume someone that also lived in the same apartment at one time had an account.

So, they say until I can "guess" the username and email of my other mystery account, they have frozen my personal account, and are holding $750 of my money indefinately. In addition, they refuse to give me the details such as name, email, or phone number of the other account that is supposed to be mine, so there is no possible way for me to figure this out.

So I lost $750 to paypal because they are not a true bank, and therefore do not operate using SS numbers, but using addresses and other things, so they think I am linked to people I am not. Furthermore, any money in their accounts is NOT FDIC insured, and they are not required to operate on the same laws as bank. They mostly can do whatever they want, whenever they want with your money and financial information.
I have seen numerous people that make these claims and its always funny how their story is always "exactlY 'the same story. And they always seem to have the lies. Your USD money is FDIC insured. The only money not FDIC is insured is a Money Market which is not the default option or non-us currencies.

If you are buying / selling guns or gun parts they can and will freeze your account.

I've heard several stories about where they take the money out of your account for what they think is fraudulant acts and you have no way to contest it.

This should sum it up, i think, not sure, i sell and buy on craigslist, cash only, so im not all too familiar with these payment methods.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

This should sum it up, i think, not sure, i sell and buy on craigslist, cash only, so im not all too familiar with these payment methods.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

Though I don't know much about PayPal, I can say you should take any kind of web site like that with a HUGE grain of salt. It looks about as factual as a Michael Moore "documentary."

Interesting to hear different people's opinions, though.

Does offering to take PayPal help improve the chance of an item selling at a higher price, due to the fact more buyers might be willing to make offers, knowing they're less likely to be burned? I think I might be less willing to buy something online if I'm required to send a money order or cashier's check that I have no way of getting back if the seller decides to stiff me.I, for one, don't bid on anything on ebay from sellers that don't do PayPal. Did one time and got burned, never again! I can't be the only one so I would think that it does improve your bidder base.

SS

I have never had a problem with PayPal. I don't think I'd ever use it for a major investment, but I don't have any problems leaving a couple hundred bucks in there from time to time. However as a general rule I use it for sending or receiving cash, not leaving it there.

The fee for receiving money is irritating and I was really pissed when they first instituted it, but realistically they're a company out there to make money and their fees are pretty reasonable compared to what it would cost me to accept money via credit cards otherwise (or in other currencies).

It seems with the PayPal Buyer Credit option now, people are more willing to bid higher since they can pay off the item in 3 months or more without interest.

hey I rethink meself here...

the convenience and security PayPal offers outweigh the fees.

disregard my prev post

BTW -

I was NOT selling guns. They locked my account 2 days after I sold a $1400 bike to Iceland. Never have sold anything but bikes and bike parts

Ugh, I still use them but I am disgruntled. I bought a very expensive car part about a year ago, and was going to use my CC to pay for it (never use my bank, with my CC, its one more level of protection b/w me and the crooks) like I had several time before. When finishing the form, I changed method of payment to CC, said it changed, but then the next day my bank account associated with Paypal was over withdrawn, and get slapped with a bunch of penalties from my bank.

I've since closed that bank account but it's still listed on my Paypal account so they can't pull any funny business. I'll still use paypal, I'll just have them 'cut a check' next time I sell something, instead of a transfer.

Ugh, I still use them but I am disgruntled. I bought a very expensive car part about a year ago, and was going to use my CC to pay for it (never use my bank, with my CC, its one more level of protection b/w me and the crooks) like I had several time before. When finishing the form, I changed method of payment to CC, said it changed, but then the next day my bank account associated with Paypal was over withdrawn, and get slapped with a bunch of penalties from my bank.

I've since closed that bank account but it's still listed on my Paypal account so they can't pull any funny business. I'll still use paypal, I'll just have them 'cut a check' next time I sell something, instead of a transfer.
Sounds like somebody who is not capable of understanding their world :) I've used PayPal for 5+ years with 5+ bank accounts and numerous visa cards with no problem. As do millions of people for the last 7+ years since PayPal gained its popularity by offering payment services for companies who couldn't afford the outrageous fees that Merchant services used to charge

Well I am mentally ******** and can't add, so the world is a frightening place for people like me.

You are also covered on eBay up to $1000AUD if you use Pay Pal and the seller is dodgey :)

Piss on paypal/ebay, they are rich enough. And the savings are not that great most of the time. Shop local. Support your community. And you can actually walk into a store and show them a problem if something does go wrong with a product. :D

Piss on paypal/ebay, they are rich enough. And the savings are not that great most of the time. Shop local. Support your community. And you can actually walk into a store and show them a problem if something does go wrong with a product. :D

That doesn't help me much if I'm trying to sell off some of my own stuff.

That doesn't help me much if I'm trying to sell off some of my own stuff.

Yeah I know....I was just being a smart@S$ more than anything. Ebay still has it's place, but at times it just makes me wonder whether it's all worth it.

Its worth it because it gives the little guy a way to sell stuff.

And that is more important then anything imho :)