posted on September 16, 2005 09:36:21 AM new
I don't and never have accepted PayPal. I'm sure it has inconvenienced many would-be buyers. Every once in a while, I'll get a whiner who berates me for not taking it. Today is one of those days. I received an email thru ask seller a question. The whiner stated he/she only uses PayPal. That's fine, but why tell me about it? Just don't bid. When I answered the email by stating that there were 4 other choices for payment, I was told that I'm not a good seller and he/she would not be bidding. I made sure, and blocked him/her. End of vent.
If you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first, they'll believe you
posted on September 16, 2005 09:57:41 AM new
I DO accept PayPal and almost all my buyers use it, so it's likely frustrating to some people when you don't accept PayPal. But, it's your choice. Could be to save PayPal fees, less chance of fraud, bad experience in the past, whateva, there are lots of good reasons people choose not to accept it.
Personally speaking, if there are a few sellers with the same item and one doesn't accept PayPal, I go to one that does, even if it's a bit more expensive. The only time I ever buy from someone who doesn't is if the item is ultra rare and it's not likley to be found again, or at least not for a long time.
But yes, if someone comes across a long time seller who doesn't accept PayPal, they shouldn't harp on it and try to convince you to. The only time it might be worth "asking" is if it's a new seller who maybe just doesn't know, or hasn't had time to open a PayPal account yet.
posted on September 16, 2005 10:01:10 AM new
Agreed. I haven't bought a money order in a couple of years now. If they don't take Paypal, I buy from someone who does.
--------------------------------------
Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on September 16, 2005 10:18:00 AM new
At least 90% of my business is through PayPal. I like it because of the convenience of having instant cash, I can turn over inventory faster & my buyers really appreciate the rapid turnaroumd. As soon as the auction ends & the item has been sold, I pack it & wait for payment. As soon as payment comes, I either print the postage or print a label to ship by FedEx. Many times I have shipped the next day after the auction closed.
posted on September 16, 2005 11:48:27 AM new
I'm with Sanmar on the faster available cash and inventory turn around. I personally hate going to the bank to deposit checks or money orders even though I do accept them. Most of my incoming payments are made through Paypal.
posted on September 16, 2005 12:00:34 PM new
sthoemke
In Big Red Letters.
I have no problem with understanding why people take PP. I just choose not to, and I don't see where I have the right to tell sellers what to do. I sure wouldn't tell Sears, Walmart or the corner grocery store how I want them to run their business.
posted on September 16, 2005 12:22:40 PM new
Max40, I think people here are trying to tell you you're losing a lot of business by not offering the convenience of having Paypal (which is your decision). You're right, the person that wrote you wasn't very diplomatic, but even if said poorly, people who suggest you have Paypal might have a point.
posted on September 16, 2005 12:44:57 PM new
A lot of sellers do not take paypal and they make a fine living without it .I'm sure Max is one of them. If he doesn't want to take paypal he doesn't have to. I've seen seller sell things without ever taking a picture...thats down right amazing...guess you need a silver tongue when it comes to description on that part. Paypal is unsafe to use and it's not if you get burnt but when you get burnt cause soon or later we paypal users will get burnt. The buyer should be blocked from bidding cause he was rude in e-mails and I personally wouldn't want to sell to them. Max offers 4 different ways to pay and I'm sure they could use a credit card on at least one of them (bidpay)if they were going to use a e-check through paypal just mail the dang check. I prefer to buy from sellers who offer paypal but will mail a money order or check if the price is right and I want the item. Edited to add Heck what he doesn't pay in Paypal fees prolly equals to the same amount in lost bids
[ edited by toasted36 on Sep 16, 2005 12:47 PM ]
posted on September 16, 2005 12:48:55 PM new
I fully understand the buyers's point. The buyer wants the convenience of completing the sale while sitting at the computer.
Since I sell mostly one-of type items, the buyer doesn't have a ready choice of buying from another dealer right then. The items still sell, and most of the time they bring more that the ones I use for comparables from previous ebay sales. (Thank You Vendio)
I'm already in partnership with Uncle Sam, the State of Wisconsin, eBay and Vendio. I don't need another hand in my pocket, especially when I hear horror stories of PP screw-ups.
If you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first, they'll believe you
posted on September 16, 2005 12:58:23 PM new
I see your point. For every PayPal transaction gone bad, there are countless good ones (in my experience anways). It may not be high volume compared to some of you, but in several hundred eBay transactions I've only had one problem, and yes PayPal was not very easy to work with. And yes, I give up some money to them, but I think people buy more and for more money if they can use PayPal, even for rare items, and especially for common items.
My one bad PayPal experience: I sold something for $15, got paid, sent the stuff. That buyer also bought something for about $165 from another seller and didn't receive it. He filed a fraud complaint with PayPal, only he wrongly identified me! When he noticed the mistake, he filed it against the real culprit, and promised to clear it up with PayPal. But he didn't. PayPal froze my account and refunded him his $15 from me. So he got his purchase and his money back! Not sure what happened to the other seller. It wasn't until I filled out a PayPal satisfaction survey that someone fixed the problem. They were all happy to leave it as-is, even with the evidence presented!
But I still take PayPal payments. I also have well over 90% of people pay me through PayPal. A lot of my items are rare one-of-a-kinds as well.
posted on September 16, 2005 02:04:17 PM new
Truely the only reason the buyer was mad lol is they are cheap and don't want to pay the price of using bidpay or buying a money order. Much cheaper to let a seller eat the Paypal fee. Cheap Cheap Cheap
posted on September 16, 2005 03:07:08 PM new
LOL--
Just received this from a customer.
----
"Incidently, I started to do the "bidPay" but it said it would be about 3 or 4 more dollars, so I did the USPS instead. But, in point of fact, the USPS priority mail plus signature confirmation and money order came to more than the bidPay wanted. I'll know better next time."
posted on September 16, 2005 03:46:34 PM new
LOL see ! Thats why so many people like Paypal cause it doesn't cost them a dime. We seller lose a lot of money from Paypal fees. Like I said early the fees we pay 1.00,5.00 or more we don't get to keep so the bid amount maybe higher but sometimes the fees out weigh them. Unless you get no bid at all cause of not taking Paypal. Then it's good to take it. Keep on doing what you do best Max. It's been working for years
posted on September 17, 2005 07:46:59 AM new
Sometimes you get MORE for an item if you accept PayPal. Someone really wants something but doesn't have the cash. No problem just charge it to Visa through PayPal. So they bid a few dollars more. This happened to me a while back... finally found a rare item I really wanted, but was a bit short on cash. However, the seller accepted PayPal, so I bid and won, and paid with PayPal. If I had to use cash, I probably wouldn't have bid unless the seller wouldn't mind waiting a week or two extra until I got my more cash myself.
I know I lose money to PayPal, but anyone who accepts credits cards, from small businesses to Walmart, Sears, etc, all have to pay fees. It's a cost of doing business.
I'm not trying to get you accept PayPal, just stating my reasons for sticking with them, despite the fact I resent giving up more money to them and a bad experience. But, I feel it's worth it for the my convenience and the buyer's convenience. And it can lead to higher final bid prices anyways, which helps offset the expense.
posted on September 17, 2005 08:58:38 AM new
I am the opposite, I accept Paypal only. I got so sick of buyers bidding on my cheap items and paying by money order a month later or when they got around to it. And that was after you sent invoices a dozen times or reported them for not paying. The mail thing is a pain in the ass anymore.
**********************************
Two men sit behind bars,one sees mud the other sees stars.
posted on September 17, 2005 10:03:09 AM new
If I know a Seller does not accept Paypal - I will question it, and perhaps not bid. Not only because of the convenience factor, but I wonder why they do not accept it. Is it because they are selling knockoff merchandise and are concerned about chargebacks? I will not usually bid unless I really, really want it and there are no others offered.
95% of my business in through Paypal - and my successfully completed transactions have increased and I feel make up for the fees. In other words - almost all my transactions are now paid for - before Paypal, the turnaround time was 2-3 weeks and I had many more nonpaying bidders.
Just my opinion. Noone is telling you that you have to accept it, just offering observations and advice!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on September 17, 2005 10:31:51 AM new
I also get suspicious when someone doesn't accept PayPal and usually pass on it. As a seller, I make it easy and accept just about any form of payment: money orders, cashier's checks, sometimes personal checks (although I don't advertise that), cash for low dollar sales (at buyer's risk, only had two go missing but since it was low dollar I gave them the benefit of the doubt, wasn't worth arguing about). Oh and of course BidPay and the hands-down most popular PayPal.
posted on September 17, 2005 09:11:08 PM new
As a seller I choose to accept PayPal for domestic shipments only - no intl PayPal payments. I insist on signature-required courier on all domestic shipments paid using PayPal. NZ isn't covered by the PayPal's SPP even though we pay higher PayPal acceptance fees. (Australia has lower PayPal acceptance fees since there's an incumbent competitor to PayPal, namely PayMate.) However I am protected by our very active national Police internet fraud unit in the event of a chargeback or reversal. NZ online retailers, local banks and the NZ Police regularly share details of fraud suspects and scammers so most get shut down pretty quickly, and sentences for online fraudsters can include a ban on computer/internet use. There's even a popular weekly TV program devote to exposing scammers and fraudsters. If all else fails you can always hire a Samoan Attorney to obtain a refund
As an intl buyer I inquire before bidding if US sellers will accept BidPay or US cash (for sales under $50). If I get any flak from "PayPal-only" sellers I politely point out to them that I'm happy to purchase using PayPal but that I could easily do a SNAD or "item not received" complaint against them should I use PayPal (not that I would, but just to get the point across about the false security that PayPal tries to offer sellers).
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench,
a long plastic hallway where thieves run free, and good
men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
- Hunter S. Thompson
Caroline 