Totally OT- Paypal Question

Whistle
1

I know that many of you have a lot of PayPal experience, so I thought I would ask my questions here.

I am trying to order something online- nothing whistle/instrument/music related. The only way the site accepts credit card payment is through PayPal and in order for me to use it, the instructions say that I have to create a PayPal account for myself.

My questions are- does this sound correct? Should I be “concerned” about setting up a PayPal account?

Thanks, All the Best, Tom

2

Should you be concerned about opening a PayPal account?

Yes and no.

If you open it in order to make payments via credit card, there is little to worry about, the cost is 0, the risks minimal and the convenience great.

OTOH, if you are setting up for the purpose of receiving payments, before you make your decision you owe it to yourself to read http://www.paypalwarning.com

3

I’ve had a PayPal account for a couple of years and never had any problem with it.

PayPal is a much easier way to tranfer funds, especially across state boarders. Banks (checks) often want to sit on the funds for 4-7 days when completing out-of-state transactions. They collect interest on the money in this temporary hold state. Paypal gets the money to folks much quicker and its easier to use that sending a check or money order through the mail.

Paypal is also an easy way for a small business or individual to be able to accept credit card payments without becoming a ‘merchant’ of one or more of the credit services. Also credit card services charge a fee to the merchant of 2 to 10 percent per transaction depending on the credit card.

Of course, like any online transaction, you should take care to maintain the security of the information you pass the buyer.

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Enjoy Your Music,

Lee Marsh

P.S. … I’d suggest that you read Wedina’s link to the PayPal warning. I’ve had no problems making payments nor have I been involved with any problems with merchants recieving the payments. However, my experiences have been primarily small time, one time only transactions, with folks that are only selling a few items or are running thier business on a part-time basis. Likewise in light of these complaints, it now makes more since that Ebay now offers alternatives to Paypal. Having read the complaints, I’d like to add that I’ve had simular problems with regular banks in the past, and found myself paying for their mistakes. The best advice I’ve heard is to be careful and keep records.



[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-12-03 11:25 ]

4

Sounds like the proper procedure to me.

Paypal is a membership service, a funds clearinghouse…it’s not really a bank (thought IMHO, it probably should be more regulated like one). To use it, to send or recieve funds, you make an account, give your credit card info to paypal, and then paypal acts as a middleman for your money. You pay paypal, paypal pays the vendor/seller.

Pros:

  • only paypal ever has your CC info. I prefer this to having my CC #'s spread out willy nilly all over the internet.
  • Paypal goes to lengths to make sure that credit cards belong to who they say they do, minimizing fraud (using their verified member service, etc).
  • It’s pretty convenient, and free if you’re receiving less than $200/month or so. More than that and you gotta upgrade to their business account, and they scrape off a percentage of every transaction.
  • You can have paypal mail you a check for any funds in your paypal account (for a fee) or have them EFT it directly into your bank account (for free). Alternately, you can leave funds in your paypal account, much like a bank, and use them to make other paypal purchases later. I never do this though.

Cons:

  • Not everyone takes paypal
  • I’ve heard some horror stories about buyer fraud and chargebacks, and also about frozen accounts (which is one reason why I don’t let money sit in my paypal account). But I’ve heard some horror stories about just about every major company on the planet. I get the impression that overall it’s fairly trouble-free.
  • They aren’t regulated like a bank or a credit agency, so you don’t get some of the same protections for your money (in the US..elsewhere, I have no idea how banks and credit cards are regulated).

Overall, I think there’s some risk, but there always is risk when you give your CC # to anyone–I had some teenage punks illegally run up $3000+ on my Dillard’s card the day after Christmas last year. I use paypal, and think it’s a neat service, especially for folks who have a small business and have trouble securing a merchant account.

[ This Message was edited by: Wandering_Whistler on 2002-12-03 11:03 ]

5

Thanks to all. Good info and now that I know how the system works, I know what to expect.

Again, thanks.

Tom

6

My uncle, who runs a non-profit helping indigent TB kids at a hospital in Kyrgystan, had his PayPal account frozen for no reason at all, and has been unable to access donated funds, close his account, or get any action from PayPal.

I have used a PayPal account for years for both receiving and sending payments for musical instruments and other stuff I deal with on eBay. I personally have had no problems at all, but I also don’t let funds sit in my account.

There are enough horror stories out there to suggest caution, and as others have said, excellent recordkeeping.

7

I’ve used PayPal to send and receive funds several times with no problems. As Wendy noted, I did not let the funds sit there at all either-- transferred them to my bank account as soon as they arrived.
My bank charges me $20 to receive overseas funds transfers. I’ve been fortunate enough to sell whistles to several foreign custsomers, and I would either have to eat the $20, or add that cost to the price of an already high end whistle. I leave this up to the buyer, but Pay Pal is a simple, cheaper option.

8

Thanks to all for the info. I appreciate it.

All the Best, Tom

9

As a small business, I find PayPal indispensible in a couple of ways - first and foremost for acceptance of CC, online checks, and bank transfers. Similar services from my bank would cost hundreds, whereas PayPal nicks a couple percent per transaction - well worth it! Secondly, PayPal has a fairly decent shopping cart that I can use for free. I only let my money sit there until I’ve shipped the item sold. Sometimes, you’ll get “buyer’s remorse” and transferring back is a mighty hassle, otherwise.

To date (pretty much since PayPal started), I’ve had no problems.
Cheers,
Bill Whedon

10

On 2002-12-04 11:46, serpent wrote:
As a small business, I find PayPal indispensible in a couple of ways - first and foremost for acceptance of CC, online checks, and bank transfers. Similar services from my bank would cost hundreds, whereas PayPal nicks a couple percent per transaction - well worth it! Secondly, PayPal has a fairly decent shopping cart that I can use for free. I only let my money sit there until I’ve shipped the item sold. Sometimes, you’ll get “buyer’s remorse” and transferring back is a mighty hassle, otherwise.

To date (pretty much since PayPal started), I’ve had no problems.
Cheers,
Bill Whedon

Thanks

11

Paypal is very useful for those of us who have small businesses on the web. There is very little investment needed to operate a Paypal account - to the end user this is a plus because the vendor doesn’t have to add all the extra ecommerce budget stuff to the price of the goods.

In the end, it helps alleviate ‘Whoa’.