Question about Pay Pal... Kinda O/T, unless you use Pay Pal...

How much do they charge to do a transaction?

I know a lot of transactions take place here on the HAMB, we Pay Pal money here, and there... donations, buying parts. Then there's the whole e-bay thing.

Now I haven't SOLD much on e-bay... and I know they take a CUT, but... how much DO they take?

As you all know, I recently started selling Bomb Factory Digger T-shirts in the cl***ifieds, and said "Hell, pay for it with Pay Pal!" But I never really thought about how much they're gonna charge me. I'm trying to do it, and still make it worth our while... so, that brings me to another question...

Do people still buy stuff if they can't use Pay Pal?

I know businesses get the SHAFT when they accept credit cards... but then they make up for it by increased SALES.

This economic ******** has my head spinning...

Sam.

 

I am not positive, but I think it is 3% to the seller. Maybe 5%. Someone could probably confirm this. What I can tell you is that most people I know hate to buy anything on ebay that is not through paypal. It is just a royal pain in the *** to have to mail them a cashiers check or whatever. I know the % is kind of a pain, but on ebay not using paypal will definately cut down on your sales I would say. The only time I ever buy anything that is not through paypal (and that was only once) was when it was an item I could not find anywhere else. If you do not use paypal on Ebay people lable you as a tight *** as well and say I am not buying from him. Most people I know and talk to that is. Just my .02.

 

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-receiving-fees-outside

2.9% + $.30 up to 3000 bucks.
the percentage gets less over 3 grand.

works out to around $.73 per tshirt shipped to u.s. addresses.

 

which is worth it imo, i buy/sell most everything with paypal. i think i have more cash in my paypal account than in my bank account.............

 

For a T-shirt, if your payment is $20, they're going to take about 90 cents. It's a little less than 5% on average.

I personally have decided not to buy certain things on Ebay based on the fact that they didn't accept Paypal. Especially if there's another seller selling a similar item who does take it. Paypal is convenient and safe, mailing checks and MO's is (relatively) time consuming, checks can get lost in the mail or stolen, and they take days to arrive, where Paypal is almost instant.

It's your choice. If you've got a deuce grille shell to sell, someone will take the time to send the check and Paypal isn't necessary. If you're selling lots of something new (like T-shirts) Paypal is going to be your best friend.

I read a quote somewhere that said "the best way to sell something is to make it convenient to buy"

 

also, if your going to sell using paypal, sign up for the free debit card, you can get your paypal mony out of any ATM and use it just like a debit mastercard.

 

Anyone who uses paypal should have a look at the paypal****s.com web site to see what you're getting into. They can really screw you over and you basically have no recourse.

 

That makes sense...

I have it, and am going to use it...

I sure would like to be the guy that started e-bay and Pay Pal...

Just for ****s and grins, and to take this thread in another direction... do you think someone will ever be able to compete with e-bay and Pay Pal?

They would have to start out with millions of dollars, and then blindside them with a ****load of computers to handle the growth... it would also have to be easier and more convinient to run...

I think it'll happen... some day.

Sam.

 

You said it man. I would have never thought ebay would have taken off like it did. It is like Xerox, Coke, or McDonalds now. Everyone knows it and most people just go to it without even thinking. But you are right. Nothing is forever. Someday some rich person or corp will come in and probably take them down an notch.

The other thing that is also amazing looking back is Microsoft. Who would have ever thought back then. It would just have been nice to have bought stock in one of them early on

 

Buy their stock! I did - I bought PayPal before eBay owned them, then eBay bought them & my stock got converted to eBay stock - it's one of my few big money makers (mostly I lose money!)

Something I learned racing a long time ago - 'For every lion, there's a lion tamer' - which translates into, yes.

Every product or service has a life - some are long, some are short. Coca-Cola has a long life, the Pet Rock, didn't. It's like asking if Microsoft will ever be supplanted - I think that will happen sooner than eBay goes down, but they will be taken out by irrelevance. Perhaps they'll morph into something unexpected. For the immediate & forseeable future, I think they're safe though...

 

A bunch of marketing, some play on national news, and a 1% across the board fee for selling, more customer friendly policies, and you could make ebay #2 and become filthy rich.

 

Here we have a local set up www.trademe.co.nz which snaffled the market before local ebay had a chance, its a good little system IMO cleaner and easier to use then ebay too, they seem to be dominating the market here with a couple of other small players trying to get on the band wagon, from memory they have an average of 150000 users a day not bad out off a total population of just over 4 mil.

 

Sam, I'm giving you my opion before I read any of the other posts. I don't understand how Paypal works, when I've asked I get all kinds of **** from people that do use it. I think it is a younger yuppie type that are in love with it. Me, Me, Me,got to have it NOW can't take the time to write a check crowd. I can't get the same answer as to where MY MONEY is with Paypal, how long do I have to waite for CASH to be in my hand? Paypal account, bank account, credit card account, debit account, way too confusing for me. AND your out 3% of the final sale price. Money orders and checks have worked for me, cash even fits in an envelope.

 

I would have to go over my Paypal records but I think it costs more when someone on ebay pays with a credit card (which is processed through paypal unless you have your own merchant service) than it does when they do a direct pay out of their own paypal account. You will also get some checks and other confusing things that don't clear right away and people who have unconfirmed addresses so you have to manually accept the payment (that is a setting you can choose to opt out of). I have read the horror stories, I guess nothing is absolutley foolproof but you catn't do business without it and the chances of getting shafted selling 20 dollar shirts is that maybe you wouldn't get paid for a shirt. It isn't like selling $1000 items.

 

Sam the fees are worth it as it enables tyhe payment to be instant and eliminates the wait on the customers end....MAKES A SALE HAPPEN-
One of the MOST important things any user of Ebay OR Pay Pal can know is this:
Never click a link or use a link on ANY email to log in to either of your ebay or paypal accounts. Go to where you have it bookmarked on your favorites ONLY and log in to your account from there.

This is to prevent you from being taken advantage of by some criminal seeking you account info or access to your money in PayPal accounts or sending payment for an auction to the WRONG person...

IN THESE EMAILS-Its a fake website and is so convincing you really cannot tell it is fake.
Ebay has a place on their site called MY EBAY- it is primarily your spot to manage auctions...also it will provide you with a safeguard from the fake ebay emails...it will ALWAYS have an exact copy of any email they actually sent you.
So you can check there and see if it is indeed from ebay or not.
the biggest scam on pay pal is where they[foriegn criminals usually] will try to intercept payment for an auction by sending you a request for payment email and say its from Ebay.....once again Merely gop to the site FROM your favorites/or bookmark and check it out there!

 

The only time you are charged is if your buyer is paying with a credit card through paypal. If they have money in their paypal account or their account is linked to their checking account there is no charge to you. I think the biggest advantage of paypal is your buyer doesn't have to wait for the check or money order to clear before shipping. Money orders are no better than checks nowdays with all the fakes going around.

 

If you get ANY emails from ebay or paupal, just foreward them to s****@ebay.com or s****@paypal.com and wait to hear from them. If they really want you they will ask you to log on in your usual manner and give you instructions. Also on the paypal payment. They will not issue a debit card or mail you a check if the address on the credit card you have registered is not a physical address. I have to get my mail at a PO box and they will not issue me a debit card or mail me a check. I can only spend the money or have it transferrted to my bank which costs nothing but takes about a week.

 

I hope this works out for you, Sam. I just used PayPal to send the money for a B/FD T-shirt.

I'll give you the 45 cents PayPal charged you when I see ya !

 

The seller's advantage in accepting PayPal payments is that it enables them to capitalize on the impulse buying habits of the shopper, much like candy, magazines and other items placed near the register in a supermarket.

Of course, people don't like to openly attribute such behavior to themselves, but it IS merely a more human equivalent of the impulse that compells a shark to bite at something in the water. If a person can see something, and instantly respond by zapping a payment at it, the purchase can be made before the mind can ****yze the rationality and the practicality of the purchase. It catches the impulse buyer at a disadvantage, essentially.

My rationale in not doing PayPal is that it forces one to evaluate any purchase to be me made through the mail or over the internet. If you don't want something badly enough to go through all the "trouble" of placing a payment in an envelope, addressing it and carrying it to the mailbox, then odds are it is not a very wise or worthwhile purchase to begin with. If you ARE willing to do all that "work", then it is probably worth it.

Americans, who are becoming lazier and lazier and more accustomed to instant gratification, tend to embrace the concept of things like PayPal, and so...you as the seller, pay a modest fee for the benefit of being able to offer the hoardes of impulse buyers a quick and easy way onto the hook, er...I mean "a quick and easy way to make a purchase"!

Personally, if I'm not willing to copy an address off of the computer screen, then transfer that address to an envelope before riding my bike up to the store to buy a stamp, then place a money order or cash into the envelope, stamp it, seal it, then ride to the mailbox and deposit it...I reckon that it's something I can live without! Yes, I do make purchases through the mail on a regular basis, but not impulsive ones made in haste out of convenience...rather, things that I've attatched enough importance to so that the product is worth the 'trouble' of going through to get!

If you didn't elect to accept PayPal, you would undoubtly sell far fewer items (in this case, t-shirts), because you'd lose the sales made to the impulse buyer who sees something and says "I want it!" before giving it much thought. You'd only be catering to those who want your product badly enough to go through a little effort for it. So, the amount that PayPal takes on each purchase is small potatoes compared to the increased profits you will receive through sales to those who want it NOW. Bottom line...it's worth it for the SELLER to use PayPal.

 

I know I'll regret asking this. How many different options are there with a Paypal account? Is your bank account the Paypal account or is it somewhere else that takes days to turn into spendable cash? So far we have posts saying there is a fee and one that stated that only credit card payments generate a fee. Does the "Paypal Account" whatever and wereever it is pay interest?

 

You guys can read- go to the paypal site and spend a while there.....PAYAL IS AT LEAST AS SAFE AS MANY LOCAL BANKS IN REALITY......
AS to its speed- I just transferred a substantial amount from paypal to my local bank -it took TWO DAYS to deposit here......

Yes they do have a seperate accountat paypal of their own[they have 73 MILLION such accounts] and they will for free transfer to your local bank or you can spend the cash from your account other places and yes it will draw/earn a little if left there.

The above guy who said that the only time you are charged is when a buyer uses his card thru pay pal is INCORRECT...
It is always the seller who is charged the paypal fee -does not matter where the pay comes from- be it a pay pal balance or a credit card.
It is FREE .....only to the BUYER.....

But seriously if you can sell a T shirt for 20 bucks you can eat anything it costs [less than a buck] and still come out!....I think as Hack says it is the impulse buy factor- but for whatever reason it makes SALES and that is what you want....
People will just not have the dedication to
A- get the cash
B- go to a post office and
C- wait the "DOUBLE" amount of time to send you a money order and WAIT for it to get to you BEFORE you ship the shirt.....aint gonna work.

 

amen fathack...amen



wont use it myself........either by or sell

 

I hear ya!

The trouble with using it to BUY, besides the fact that it makes impulse shopping far too convenient...is that it doesn't actually get you your item any faster most times! The 'sale' happens as soon as the buyer sends the money electronically, but it still has to get to the seller, and the seller still has to pack up and ship the item to the buyer...which happens when it happens.

So, the impulse buyer makes a quick 'purchase', but doesn't really have the item in hand any faster than if he or she did it the old fashioned way! It just creates an environment where more 'sales' happen...good for the seller...but I don't think it offers the buyer much, if any advantage.

(Trust me, it doesn't take a long time or a lot of effort to snail mail a payment, and doing so forces you to think about what you're buying more and decide if you REALLY want it.)

 

Another Safety measure is to get a account that is linked to your Paypal then take and transfer the money from your main account to do the paypal.
If Paypal contacts you they will use your name in the message but it is still a good idea to contact Paypal first before you use the link on the e-mail and logging in.
I have been using paypal long before Ebay bought em out and have ran across a few difficulties since I use a post Office Box for my mail Pay pal will not confirm a P.O. Box and some sellers will not accept paypal without a confirmed address. Funny tho My address was confirmed before Ebay bought Paypal.

Dawg

 

Glad to know there is someone out there with the same view I have. Paypal may be ok if you're selling new items, and you have boxes of inventory, but that one of a kind collectable or car part is a different story. The cost of opening a new bank account in a bank other than the one you normaly use, with take time to recoupe.

 

Pay-pal is not federaly insured and uses a loop hole called money orders and is actually a electronic money order service with a direct deposit feature its very expensive if you factor in the cost of a money order and server costs and bandwith ect ect they are ****** you not to mention that they seize peoples accounts with no authority and many have never been refunded pay-pal ilegaly absorbed thousands of clients money
How it works is you purchase a money order with a electronic check or credit card or funds on account. Funds that do not draw interest for you but do for pay-pal you can bet. that money order is electronicly sent to the other partys bank account and direct deposited this may take several days while pay-pal leverages your money for there gains

 

Paypal started off as a free service to both buyers and sellers, then when they built up a big enough customer base, they started charging sellers a small fee (I think it was about 1 percent). Now their fees go up about once every 12-16 months. They are "due" for an increase to their per transaction fee and to their percentage, pretty soon, if you consider when and how often they increased rates in the past.

Their latest change was to tell sellers that they HAD to accept Paypal payments from users who were charging an item to their credit card. A lot of sellers would only accept Paypal payments from bank accounts or paypal accounts or via so called electronic checks, as they feared scammers who play the chargeback scam and use timing and other factors to try and screw a seller out of the item and get a full refund from their credit card company.

A lot of ebay sellers are really concerned about this. A lot of ebay sellers who sell low dollar value items (say under $5.00) will state that they do not accept paypal payments for under $5.00, but according to paypal's rules, a seller has to accept Paypal for any and all ebay sales. But sellers will say that for a $5.00 (or under) sale, between ebays fees and paypals fees , over a dollar of the sale is eaten up, but ebay/paypal says: "Tough, if you want to accept paypal you have no choice". They can and will suspend you if you do not comply.

I know guys from other car boards who have gotten beaten for a few hundred dollars in paypal transactions. They buy some say $400 part on ebay, and when they get it, it's broken or junk, and the seller says "Tough luck, No Refunds". So they go and complain to Paypal and Paypal says all they could recover from the sellers account is say $75.00, and there is a slight chance that they may be able to recover more later but that is the best they can do right now. None of the guys ever got any more money and the seller gets thrown off Paypal and ebay, but probably soon comes back under a different name. Now if that was me getting beaten for a few hundred bucks, I'd say screw it, I'm never using paypal again, but surprisingly some of these guys shrug off losing that money and keep using Paypal as they say "most" transactions went off with no problem. It's in no way a "safe" payment system, but it is free and convienient for buyers. (But man, do ebay sellers who accept paypal throw a royal **** fit every time they raise their rates...the seller discussion boards are lit up with complaints for weeks).

 

Well, ebay and paypal are a big part of my income. Yeah the fees add up. Between ebay and paypal they get a big chunk. But I get a ****load more out of most of my stuff than I can anywhere else too. I consider the fees and the risk and figure it's worth it to do what I do. Just like taking credit cards is a necessary part of being a merchant. It costs you money and people can do a chargeback for no good reason and it is up to the merchant to prove himself innocent. You still have to face that risk to be in business.
Personally I don't go for the mindless impulse buying mentality theory and my time is too valuable to ride my bike to the store everytime I want to buy something off the internet. And I don't think I have ever gotten a 2 day transfer from paypal. If I do it on Monday I usually have it the same week. Not sure why that is, when I spend money it comes out right there but when I withdraw it it takes several days.(They try to blame the bank)

 

Big Jim & Willowbilly, Thanks for both your posts, you're the first guys that have ever posted an insigntfull look into how Paypal works, and I'm convinced it is not for me.

 

When I was accepting Paypal for my auctions, I would include a note that Paypal purchases would include a 3% fee to cover the Paypal transaction fee. Then one day I discovered all of my auctions had been cancelled, even though I had quite a few bids, and the auctions were almost over. When I contacted ebay, they told me that sellers are not allowed to charge a fee for Paypal purchases, so they cancelled all my auctions without warning. That created a lot of h***les with the interested bidders, not to mention the 3-4 hours I spent posting all the auctions the first time, and then I had to go back a do it all over again. So now I only accept cashiers checks, money orders and personal checks (but I wait for those to clear before I ship).