fini Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Sorry to bring this up here, but this may be of interest to some here. I recently made a sale on eBay, only my third one. Now, I accept Paypal, and that's what the seller said she'd use. Seemed to be a less-hassle approach, get paid right away, get some stuff out of the house faster, etc. This morning, I got a confirmation email from Paypal, asking me to upgrade to "Paypal Premier," so that I can actually receive the payment. You see, she paid with a credit card (as opposed to, I guess, a bank account). This "upgrade" Paypal is asking me to make will cost me 2.9% + $.30 per transaction, on credit card payments, as well as those made with bank accounts, which currently do not carry fees! So, I have a choice to make. I know many sellers refuse to deal with Paypal at all. I'm wondering if this "premier" status can be turned on and off (upgrades and downgrades), "On" when someone uses a credit card, "Off" when it's through a bank account? What happens if I deny this payment? Does the buyer get a clearly worded notice? I would have thought that if I have an account with Paypal that will not accept credit card payments, the buyer would have been warned when making the payment. Does this sound familiar to anyone here? How do you all deal with this Paypal BS? Thanks! fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 paypal just changed their policy and there is NO way to get around this except MAYBE upgrading to a business account. Try that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Technology is great. I love it. If I didn't I wouldn't be a software engineer, but there comes a time when there is just no substitute for heading over to someones house, looking at what they want to sell, agreeing to it, a good-ol handshake and handing them cash. I am not discrediting eBay, just sayn' is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 I have used Paypal for several years, I decided to go with the Premier account before the fees were as high as they are...and mine have increased to the current level also. I don't know how Paypal handles it if you deny the payment but I think the denial would generate an email informing the buyer. The way I see it you have 3 options at this point. 1. Deny the payment and then email the buyer and explain your reason. If your ad stated that you would accept Paypal this may generate neutral or negative feedback for your transaction. 2. Email the buyer and explain the Paypal fee situation. You can try to get the buyer to pay the fees or even split them with you. Once you and the buyer have agreed on a solution you should be less likely to get neutral or negative feedback, it depends on the buyers attitude. 3. Accept the payment and pay the fees, chalk it up to experience. Ebay does not allow you to state in your ad that you are going to charge the buyer the fees associated with paypal if they choose that payment method. Depending on the value of the item I am selling I either add estimated paypal fees to my reserve (if I have one) or to my "Buy it Now" price (if I offer one). Other sellers get around the fee issue by charging "handling" fees above shipping fees. I encourage my buyers to pay with a money order, cashier's check or personal check even though it slows the whole transaction down (especially personal checks, I wait 10 business days for personal checks to clear before shipping the item). I have a telephone number for Paypal's customer service if you would like to call them, send an email to edster00@mindspring.com . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Paypal fees are in line with retail sales charges. For instance, if you go to best buy and use your Visa, best buy absorbs the fee Visa charges for the transaction, true for all credit cards. I do a fair amount of ebaying and I find the fees acceptable. In the past, I have paid the fees in full, split the fees with the seller, and have even been told not to worry about the fees. My state sales tax is about 1/2 of the fees so if I get stuck with fees its still cheaper than MA sales tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 I ran into the same thing with Paypal. If you upgrade and accept the payment, it is held in your Paypal "account". They will not credit it to your account, they will charge an additional fee to transfer it into any of your bank accounts and will not mail a check to a P. O. Box. I use one for all of my financial transactions. They are too much hassle, so I closed my account immediately after getting my electronic transfer. You commited to accepting Paypal in your auction, you have to accept the payment. We all pay stupid tax ocassionally. I didn't know ebay wouldn't let you charge the winner for Paypal fees. I don't see how they could prevent it. Just say buyer is responsible for all shipping and financial fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripod Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 John's hit the nail on the head with "stupid tax". They just got me with this scam too. I say scam because they clearly lead people to use credit cards knowing full well that our accounts don't handle it without an upgrade. Here's the kicker that you may not yet be aware of. Once you upgrade your account, they charge you the same damn fee even if the buyer uses a bank account to send you the money!!!! Paypal will let you upgrade and then downgrade your account one time for the lifetime of the account. I tried what you described and learned this. I recently wrapped up what I anticipate to be my last PayPal transaction. I'm sorry, but 2.9% is way too high, at least when checks are free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted February 25, 2003 Author Share Posted February 25, 2003 Tripod, I called Paypal today (using the # Edster00 graciously provided) and got the same info, although the representative didn't mention the "one-time" aspect of the downgrade. It even crossed my mind that Paypal could be using shills, bidding on lower-cost items listed by Personal Account members, then pay with a credit card, hoping they'll just go ahead and upgrade (like I did). I guess I can choose not to accept Paypal on an auction-by-auction basis. What a hassle (and a rip-off). fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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