+Allan Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 How do people feel about getting charged so much for Paypal credit card use in their auctions. I just sold ten items on eBay and eight of them had people using their credit cards and I had to pay for each one. This sucks!!!! Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R. Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 How do people feel about getting charged so much for Paypal credit card use in their auctions. I just sold ten items on eBay and eight of them had people using their credit cards and I had to pay for each one. This sucks!!!! Allan What was the charge? Is it flat or variable? I've never used a cc with PayPal. Always bank transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 (edited) How do people feel about getting charged so much for Paypal credit card use in their auctions. I just sold ten items on eBay and eight of them had people using their credit cards and I had to pay for each one. This sucks!!!! Allan What was the charge? Is it flat or variable? It's something like 40 cents plus a percentage. If I'm remembering my numbers correctly, the percentage is 3.5% if you have a Premier account, and 4.5% if you don't. Supposedly the Premier account percentage is lower than what a credit card would charge for a merchant account, or at least it was at one time. I've never used a cc with PayPal. Always bank transfer. And there's the rub. If you have a Premier account, every transaction gets docked that percentage, even those that come from bank transfers or existing balances, which doesn't cost PayPal anything. But to sell on eBay, you can't dictate where PayPal gets the money from. On top of that, you can't accept more than five CC payments a year without a Premier account. This is why I have slowed down my eBay selling considerably. I just don't like all the nickel-and-diming they do. Edited September 19, 2007 by skunkworx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R. Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 How do people feel about getting charged so much for Paypal credit card use in their auctions. I just sold ten items on eBay and eight of them had people using their credit cards and I had to pay for each one. This sucks!!!! Allan What was the charge? Is it flat or variable? It's something like 40 cents plus a percentage. If I'm remembering my numbers correctly, the percentage is 3.5% if you have a Premier account, and 4.5% if you don't. Supposedly the Premier account percentage is lower than what a credit card would charge for a merchant account, or at least it was at one time. I've never used a cc with PayPal. Always bank transfer. And there's the rub. If you have a Premier account, every transaction gets docked that percentage, even those that come from bank transfers or existing balances, which doesn't cost PayPal anything. But to sell on eBay, you can't dictate where PayPal gets the money from. On top of that, you can't accept more than five CC payments a year without a Premier account. This is why I have slowed down my eBay selling considerably. I just don't like all the nickel-and-diming they do. And it's funny. If I sold on eBay, I wouldn't want to deal with those PayPal fees. I've sold a few times, and taken PayPal, and never faced a fee. I can remember dictating instant transfer only in the past. The option would be to do money orders. Back in the early days, before PayPal, I always sent money orders. But I'm so used to paying instantly now, when I see "no PayPal" in an auction, I usually don't bid. But if PayPal was to charge me for sending money, I'd reconsider that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 19, 2007 Author Share Posted September 19, 2007 How do people feel about getting charged so much for Paypal credit card use in their auctions. I just sold ten items on eBay and eight of them had people using their credit cards and I had to pay for each one. This sucks!!!! Allan What was the charge? Is it flat or variable? It's something like 40 cents plus a percentage. If I'm remembering my numbers correctly, the percentage is 3.5% if you have a Premier account, and 4.5% if you don't. Supposedly the Premier account percentage is lower than what a credit card would charge for a merchant account, or at least it was at one time. I've never used a cc with PayPal. Always bank transfer. And there's the rub. If you have a Premier account, every transaction gets docked that percentage, even those that come from bank transfers or existing balances, which doesn't cost PayPal anything. But to sell on eBay, you can't dictate where PayPal gets the money from. On top of that, you can't accept more than five CC payments a year without a Premier account. This is why I have slowed down my eBay selling considerably. I just don't like all the nickel-and-diming they do. And it's funny. If I sold on eBay, I wouldn't want to deal with those PayPal fees. I've sold a few times, and taken PayPal, and never faced a fee. I can remember dictating instant transfer only in the past. The option would be to do money orders. Back in the early days, before PayPal, I always sent money orders. But I'm so used to paying instantly now, when I see "no PayPal" in an auction, I usually don't bid. But if PayPal was to charge me for sending money, I'd reconsider that. Yup, that's the problem. People are addicted to Paypal now and don't want to bother with money orders. So if you don't want to exclude 80% of your potential buyers, you have to offer Paypal and pay the cost. Arggg! Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aikainnet Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 You can always post in the bid that paypal users have to pay 5$ extra to compensate what paypal takes from the winning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 19, 2007 Author Share Posted September 19, 2007 You can always post in the bid that paypal users have to pay 5$ extra to compensate what paypal takes from the winning. Is that legal according to eBay rules? Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 You can always post in the bid that paypal users have to pay 5$ extra to compensate what paypal takes from the winning. Is that legal according to eBay rules? Allan Of course not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbai Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 You can always post in the bid that paypal users have to pay 5$ extra to compensate what paypal takes from the winning.Is that legal according to eBay rules? It's not legal according to several States' laws (in the US). Outside the US is another matter. I'm not grasping the whining here. PayPal offers a service and charges a fee. Ifyou don't like it, don't use PayPal. Typically, you can watch your average auction winnings drop significantly as a result. Your choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 (edited) I'm not grasping the whining here. PayPal offers a service and charges a fee. Ifyou don't like it, don't use PayPal. Typically, you can watch your average auction winnings drop significantly as a result. Your choice. Sure, and if that were the whole story, I wouldn't complain. But when eBay gets snarky enough to dictate what forms of payment I have to accept from buyers, I walk away. Why can't I accept PayPal but refuse credit card payments? There is no reason other than eBay wants more of my money. For that matter, why can't I accept Google Checkout? Same answer. Edited September 19, 2007 by skunkworx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 You can always post in the bid that paypal users have to pay 5$ extra to compensate what paypal takes from the winning.Is that legal according to eBay rules? It's not legal according to several States' laws (in the US). Outside the US is another matter. I'm not grasping the whining here. PayPal offers a service and charges a fee. Ifyou don't like it, don't use PayPal. Typically, you can watch your average auction winnings drop significantly as a result. Your choice. Of course. Well, I simply will go use one of the other online-auction sites like.....oh wait... never mind. Why is it whining if I don't like a price of something. Besides, since I'm typing this and not talking to you in person or on the phone, you couldn't possible know if I was whining. Unless of course you define the word 'whining' differently than English dictionaries. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendra Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 (edited) Paypal charge 2.9% + 30 cents + cross border fee if the buyer lives outside your country. This fee applies whether your buyer pays by credit card through Paypal, Paypal balance or bank balance. I think the fee is worth the convenience of being able to be paid right away. Edited September 20, 2007 by Hendra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbai Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Why is it whining if I don't like a price of something.You have a choice to accept PayPal or not. eBay may stack the deck, but you're not obligated to accept PayPal as a means of payment. I'd call it complaining, but grousing about it seems rather pointless here, as no one here can rewrite PayPal's transaction fee structure. The only credit card processor I'm aware of that doesn't charge fees is Google Checkout, and that's only to promote the service until 2008, at which point they, like everyone else, will charge a fee. Some more, some less, but I still don't grasp the sense of entitlement in the original post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemoncurry Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Any complaint here is labeled whining. Might as well get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 Any complaint here is labeled whining. Might as well get used to it. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 How do people feel about getting charged so much for Paypal credit card use in their auctions. I just sold ten items on eBay and eight of them had people using their credit cards and I had to pay for each one. This sucks!!!! Allan I have no problem with accepting PayPal, and people using credit cards through the service, to pay me. Why? Because the extra money I typically make from accepting PayPal - as opposed to just taking money orders or bank checks - more than offsets what eBay and PayPal deduct in fees. Bottom line is I still make more money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 You have a choice to accept PayPal or not. eBay may stack the deck, but you're not obligated to accept PayPal as a means of payment. I'd call it complaining, but grousing about it seems rather pointless here, as no one here can rewrite PayPal's transaction fee structure. The only credit card processor I'm aware of that doesn't charge fees is Google Checkout, and that's only to promote the service until 2008, at which point they, like everyone else, will charge a fee. Some more, some less, but I still don't grasp the sense of entitlement in the original post. You're kinda missing the point that Skunkworx mentioned in reply to this the first time. It's not just about the fee's persay. But the fact that PayPal forces you to accept additional forms of payment you might not want to accept just as general condition. Many people do use PayPal as "PayPal", not as a 3rd party CC handler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbai Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 It's not just about the fee's persay [sic]. But the fact that PayPal forces you to accept additional forms of payment you might not want to accept just as general condition. Many people do use PayPal as "PayPal", not as a 3rd party CC handler.No, I'm aware that eBay did change the rules a while back so that if you accepted PayPal, it meant that you had to accept credit card payments through PayPal on equal footing with bank transfers. So it goes. I find it hard to accept it as something new under the sun, though. I strongly suspect the population you allude to above is far smaller than you imagine, as there are too many upsides for buyers not to use a credit card through PayPal, and sellers who reject them (either on principal or from perceived cost) are turning away an overall boost in revenue that surpasses transaction fees. Unless someone wants to argue that cash/transfer-only auctions generally reap more in sales? Don't get me wrong, eBay fees and PayPal fees chip away at the final take-home amount, but considering alternative venues pragmatically ... it's still a fair trade for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I strongly suspect the population you allude to above is far smaller than you imagine, as there are too many upsides for buyers not to use a credit card through PayPal, and sellers who reject them (either on principal or from perceived cost) are turning away an overall boost in revenue that surpasses transaction fees. Unless someone wants to argue that cash/transfer-only auctions generally reap more in sales? I think we want to argue that it should still be the sellers decision and choice to decide what methods of payment and resulting fees they want to accept seeing as how they are the ones selling the object and paying the fees. eBay is a hobby, not a business to some people and the ideas of "boost in revenue" or "reap[ing] more in sales" are kind of irrevelant to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbai Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I think we want to argue that it should still be the sellers decision and choice to decide what methods of payment and resulting fees they want to accept seeing as how they are the ones selling the object and paying the fees. Actually, the argument seems to be whether to accept eBay's decision that "PayPal is PayPal" or to bring back the earlier scheme where accepting PayPal may or may not have included credit card payments. As one who purchases off eBay, I'd have to say I'm in the "PayPal is PayPal" camp, rather than work to decipher whether a particular seller would accept credit cards through PayPal. As a seller, acceptance of credit cards leads to more and greater sales, which is worth the additional processing fees when clearing a shelf, a closet, or a garage. eBay is a hobby, not a business to some people and the ideas of "boost in revenue" or "reap[ing] more in sales" are kind of irrevelant to them. If a hobby, and not a business, why complain about the reasonable proposition to enable credit card sales in exchange for a processing fee? Like it or not, eBay itself is a business and is free to set policies (within the law) regardless of one's opinion on the matter. I don't think buyers are troubled by eBay's PayPal payment acceptance policies, which leaves "sellers" ... a group that I don't align with a hobby mentality by and large. Selling as a hobby? Max Weber would be proud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I don't think buyers are troubled by eBay's PayPal payment acceptance policies Of course not, it works in their benefit and they aren't the ones flipping the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnbren05 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 (Not to thread jack but I just saw something on this and figured I'd add to this) Some of the people working behind Pay Pal right now are former credit card execs. They saw ebay as a thriving business and then noticed a need for money transfer in a secure/quick manner was in demand. These execs met with ebays and a beautiful baby named Pay Pal was born. Now we all know the nature of business is to sell and market to a general audience while making them comfortable. The credit card execs are people that know better than most people how to do this effectively on a scale that will produce results. It is also important to know that the government is considering doing away with paper/coin monetary sources (As we know this would help the credit card companies force people to use credit cards. It is also widely known the largest campaign donors are the major credit card companies like MBNA and Chase Manhattan. I think we all know the Democrats/Republicans would be willing to pass a few laws to help out their major campaign backers.) With these sources of currency gone, what would we have left to use? The answer is credit cards, checks, and money orders. This would allow all transactions (save bartering/trading goods) to be traced and documented so the government can more effectively tax citizens. Also I have read that Ebay/Pay Pal may try to limit the use of transactions not involving Pay Pal. (Not sure how true this is but it sounds plausible) They also would make it more affordable to use credit cards for purchases and introduce an annual fee based on the number of transactions performed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 It is also important to know that the government is considering doing away with paper/coin monetary sources That sounds like pure speculation and FUD. Sources for this? ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FND Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 If US Banks would make it easier for individuals to do Bank to Bank transfers our problems would be solved FND Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 (edited) It is also important to know that the government is considering doing away with paper/coin monetary sources Um...no. That's not going to happen. There's more hard currency in circulation than there's ever been. If US Banks would make it easier for individuals to do Bank to Bank transfers our problems would be solved They won't...for legal, security, and tax reasons. Edited September 22, 2007 by PingvinBlueJeans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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