With a lot of recent media press on PayPals miserable business practices Im wondering about alternatives. Ive already signed up for Bid Pay. Any others? Anybody here have their own Merchant Account to take plastic? Which ones do you use?
A lot of recent media ********. Paypal's been really good to me and as long as you're not trying to pull any shady business on eBay it's a safe way to transfer money. There's a Western Union service that you could try if you really don't want to use Paypal, you might check into that.
I've been using paypal for a few years, no problems. When I run low on playpal funds, or if the seller doesn't use it, I usually send a money order or a check if they'll accept one. Needless to say I don't buy big bucks stuff on ebay unless I can actually see what I'm buying before I pay....like my wife's car, we only bid on one that was reasonably close by.
i like US Postal Money Orders, easy to trace or replace & even easier to cash at you post office when u mail the package PLUS they'll tell u on the spot if the MO is real or not B4 ya send the package....joe
Why not cover your head with FOIL....it prevents brain invasion from the media..... Besides- Doesn't eBay OWN BidPay-[as well as owning PayPal?] I have used PayPal and Bid Pay- trouble is lots of eBay sellers DON't use the other ones -so its not as good to be on the odd side if you get my drift..... Pay pal has 600 MILLION and growing account users world wide. -dont you think its funny that they havent jumped ship? Ive used them on several transactions that are in excess of 5000 dollars each time.Been a user both as a buyer and seller for several years. I would say this- If you are so damned paranoid -just don't leave any money in your paypal account-pay directly from a card or your bank. No money transacting ins***ution is completely safe..... If you do good bussiness with other users of Pay Pal and eBay - these buyers will =NOT WANT THEIR MONEY BACK=.......... Thats where unsatisfied paypal users get in trouble and because of deals gone bad -think they are being ripped off.
I will say this about money orders... They are not as handy as lots of folks think.Try cashing one at the Post Office....they will many times tell you they do not have enough cash to cash their own damned money orders! happens at small offices every day. Then you have to drive it to your bank.....cash it-and then its "on" the record....pay pal is PRIVATE.....[from "everybody" ] Orders, easy to trace or replace & even easier to cash at you post office when u mail the package PLUS they'll tell u on the spot if the MO is real or not B4 ya send the package....joe[/QUOTE]
Never thought about that.. I cash them at the shop i work at when i get them so i havn't had to deal with that......yet.
Postal Money orders are no guarantee. Three of us got burned for $6500 using Postal Money orders. That was three years ago and 3 or 4 Postal inspector reports and numerous phone calls to the feds. The outcome: they know who did it, they know where he is but they say they don't have enough evidence to prosecute for such a "small" crime. Last time I checked, $19500 was alot of money to steal. Justin
Ebay has Pay Pal to make more money. I don't use it. I get cashiers checks or money orders. I like Postal Money orders the best. Never a problem. When the topic changes to Forign funds, I hate Canadian money orders and Cashiers checks. Always have a long hold period. For all forign bidders I only accept Western Union Bid Pay. Very happy with that service. They email you several times to update you on payment arrival and even want you to report any funny business with address changes their client my request. It is sad in todays world that you have to worry about getting scammed. Oh, and if the transaction is a car, CASH ONLY The best advise is to get money orders and if in doubt, have your bank watch the funds, and hold the item you sold until the bank deems it safe to send.
I had PayPal for a while. I didn't like the fact that when using it I was discounting what I sold. I was also getting a lot of scam emails asking me to update my account. All that stopped when I closed my account. I'm in the senior club or something like that at my bank. So I get free cashiers checks. And I insist on postal money orders or cashiers checks when being paid. I cash them at the bank but I don't deposit them. The amounts I deal in are generally under $200 and I have never been scammed. But if I was buying or selling something expensive I'd have to think about the payment method a while.
Your own bank can set you up for clearing credit cards. If you need to do it online the is verisgn, cardservice international, and plenty of others. I've used cardservice international for 4 years with no problem. At the end of the day they can all hit you with chargebacks if the customer says the product or item is not as described. Non of them will go to bat for you unless the buyer or seller is pulling an obvious scam. Paypals code of conduct is pretty much the same as any bank or card service. Do it right and you're pretty safe. Do it wrong or get caught out by a shyster and the results will probably be the same who ever you use. Merchant accounts can be anywhere from $150 to $350 to set up. Paypal? I still use it, like it. Find it works as well as anything else. People that lose out with paypal would have probably lost out with anu other system. You'll find no matter what system you use, if you have a chargeback, it'll be screw you. In that sense they are all tough on the merchant.
Being a ebay seller I prefer paypal and sometimes will only sell using paypal, buy now pay now ship now and all deposits for cars i insist on paypal for 1K asap. never had a bit of trouble, as for being charged the more u use it the less you pay and it depends on whether the other party is using plasitc or real money to fund his payment. but 2 1/2 % is cheap to get it now no bull. and as for paying i can pay as soon as auction over and i am done with it don/t have to go to bank get CC and go to post office , yea the CC is free but my time isint............ so in short I really like it..and as for ebay making more money well thats good they will stay in business that way and my ebay stock will be worth more ,,,can't fight a good deal join it , you just might like it..
interesting about the scam emails...I've been using paypal for a few years, and never received any scam email on the email address that I use for paypal. But I get a bunch of paypal (and ebay) scam emails on another email account that is not any way connected to my paypal/ebay transactions. The scam emails appear to me to be completely unrelated to whether or not you actually have an account paypal/ebay...they are "phishing", they send out millions of emails from a random list of harvested email addresses, and the odds are reasonably good that a fair portion of those scam emails they send will be to folks with an account on that email address. Then again, if you don't use paypal at all, you can't fall for a scam email and lose money. Maybe it's best not to use it if you can't detect scams.
Western Union/Bid Pay works fine for me as a seller for overseas deals. Still have no interest in PayPal. If a seller runs an aution with a PayPal ONLY payment, I don't bid, his loss not mine.
the post office should of been able to tell u if they were fake or not & if they didnt want to help ya get ur $$$$ i would of called the news media...joe
I've been using PayPal for a long time as well -- 6-7 years -- with no problems. Yeah, I "lose" 2.5% for every sale, but if I had to have a merchants account to take credit cards it would cost more than that. You have account fees PLUS the 2.5% per sale, and a credit card terminal. There might be other on-line services now, but you still have the 2.5% charge. Six million customers doesn't make PayPal "the best", just the most popular/best marketed. Same as Microsoft junk. there have been better systems than Windows and DOS out there, but not enough marketing money to really be serious compe***ion to Windows. Plus you have the user base -- if it won't run existing software there's no real market either. If you describe "the best" as the most used/convenient, then PayPal is "the best" electronic service out there. Like Wal-Mart and MS (I hate to say anything that defends either one though!), if you're the biggest, baddest guy on the market, you're going to draw the most complaints and criticism. Percentage wise the smaller companies probably get as many complaints, maybe more, just not a big enough number for anyone to pay much attention to like the media). I get the e-bay and pay-pal scam messages (wanting your account number or a portion) all the time. I also get the same messages "from" banks and credit unions that I've never heard of, much less belonged to, on occasion. A new one has been people calling and sounding like your credit card service, and they even have you number! They call, give you your address and cc number so you feel confident it really is the company, and ask for the three digit code on the back to verify you have the card in your possession. They need that number to make internet and some telephone purchases. Your card company already has that number. If you suspect it's for real ask for a number so you can call back, then call the 1-800 number on your card and ask if the number is for real -- IF they even give you one.
The MOs were not fake. I purchased them myself. The guy cashed them under an ***umed name and never had the engine and trans which he "sold" to three different people.Justin
All great ideas here , i even have the foil on my head now just to see if it works ! As a buyer and long time seller on ebay , at first i took anything until i got burned by personal checks now i do not take those unless i know you .My pay pal account got hacked into and i stopped that , though i got the funds back i closed the account and will not use bid pay nor pay pal .Money orders are the best way aslong as they are real , the postal ones can be checked through any post office even if they do not have the money to cahs them in thier drawers .I have also used western union w/ no problems .and i do take cahs but i say only at buyers risk . that said there are dishonest people everywhere and people for the most part are good but there will always be somebody out ta scam you , use common scense , the if it sounds too good to be true tale is ussually is hold here .
What are the names and ID he used? Sounds very much like a guy up this way who ran several Ebay scams.
I started getting scam messages looking for my Ebay account info well before I ever got an account.And I still get them at addresses not ***ociated with my account.They are sent out by automated Bots. I've only ever purchased two items when the seller wouldn't accept Paypal. The first was my mistake,I didn't read all the details.The second was a very scarce item worth a lot more to me than the selling price,so a little extra h***le was worth it.Otherwise,I buy only from buyers that will accept Paypal,even though the selling price is usually higher.
metalshapes- "Off Topic for Tech Week..." __________________ Racefab.... " do you eat American food? " ryan- "tech week ends Tuesday Nov. 8th."
The Jalopy Journal
