posted on November 20, 2000 05:12:23 AM new
I only accept Paypal with balance transfers, not credit cards for now, and I'm working away from taking it at all. And I constantly have people sending me CC payments anyway. Some of them do it, then apologize, letting me know that they did understand but just didn't care. Others I think just didn't understand or read that part.
I also have my mailing address at the bottom of my letter, and often have people write to me asking for it. I think the placement in the letter is important. ExecGirl, you probably are getting a little of both.
And for what it's worth, I think the percentage of people who will absolutely not bid on an item if you don't accept that ONE form of payment is incredibly small, and obviously not hurting your business, or any of the scads of others who quit taking Paypal.
posted on November 20, 2000 05:40:54 AM new
I have wondered lately if a "no PayPal" or "I
don't take Paypal" could be a problem too. Just because people are sometimes in a hurry or excited. They see PayPal in big or colored letters and not the rest of it. I will bet it may get worse too...with a busy season starting.
I just left any "PayPal" off. I have had two people ask me why I don't take it. One was a deadbeat that should have been NARU'D a few months ago.
posted on November 20, 2000 06:01:01 AM new
Maybe it would help if the phrasing in the ad itself used larger fonts and bold for "I do *NOT* accept" then a smaller font for "PayPal"? That way the buyer is less likely to misunderstand with a quick glance that notices nothing but "PayPal." Maybe one of the crying or angry smilies or similar graphic beside the text would communicate this was something in addition to another mention of a pay method being routinely accepted?
posted on November 20, 2000 06:15:42 AM new
I'm so glad I never got mixed up with paypal. I know a few people who"lost"money because paypal said they didn't have any in their accounts(when they did).Paypal wouldn't even return emails. Lucky for my friends it wasn't a large sum of money. I searched long and hard to find a company to use--since most buyers do want the credit card option. I started taking exchangepath and so far no problems. I had a problem logging in to my account the other night and after emailing them they called me to fix the problem. Hope paypal didn't start out this way!!!
posted on November 20, 2000 06:36:46 AM newFearlessfosdick:
I just read this post you made last night:
I suspect anyone that loses their password is not too organized or businesslike so I can understand you having problems with Paypal or eventually any pay service.
If you read my other thread, Ebay sent me an email stating that THEY mistakenly changed my password on me, when trying to reset my auctions. I did not LOSE my password. I think you should start to get facts before you start saying such harsh things to people. I also use just about every other online payment service available and have never had any problems with any other service except for Paypal. So again, your post is 100% inaccurate.
posted on November 20, 2000 06:43:42 AM new
Use of PayPal is on a steep decline. First, sellers left after finding the operation risky and now, buyers are being asked to open their checking accounts to PayPal.
When I stopped using PayPal a few months ago, I got a few requests
to use it but last month I did not have a single buyer ask about it.
I would, if necessary, trust Billpoint with my banking information
but not PayPal.
Edited to add that I agree with labrat...
I believe that it's best not to use the
word PayPal in your terms of service.
posted on November 20, 2000 08:00:04 AM new
Fearlessfosdick: Paypal is safe, quick and convenient
Perhaps to you...good for you. For some, it has NOT been "safe", quick and convenient. Why make a broad statement that because they are not doing exactly as you do, they are a bad seller?
I do not except paypal any longer. I have my reasons. That does not make me a bad seller as you insinuate; any more than you are a bad seller for excepting paypal.
If sellers can't take the "The buyer is right" attitude then they ought to get out of the business of selling. You give the rest of us a bad name.
We all make mistakes! If a customer does not read the Auction terms, and sends a different means of a payment than is required, then the customer is the one who made the mistake.
By me feeling that a customer made an honest mistake, IS giving the customer "the buyer is always right attitude".
Giving the buyer the right to change my terms ..... is Not Right.
You just changed your story from folks that insist on paying by way of Paypal to folks falling all over themselves to please you
The seller was up-front in her Auctions, stating that she does not accept paypal. She is not asking the customer to change anything. The seller is merely asking the customer to abide by her/his agreement when she/he bid on the auction. It was the customer that made a mistake. After an email explaining they cannot accept that payment, the honest customer will find another way to pay. In this case, it seems, the seller offers 9 other ways to pay! I'm sure it was just an oversight made by the customer.
I suspect anyone that loses their password is not too organized or businesslike so I can understand you having problems with Paypal or eventually any pay service.
You are referring to the post by Executive Girl concerning her password?
Perhaps you didn't read the entire post? She did not 'lose' her password....it was changed by ebay's mistake/glitch! That's what some customers do when they read an auction...they don't read it thoroughly. See? Even you can make a mistake. I hope ebay doesn't do the same to you.
If someone were to steal your password, I hope no one would accuse you of "not being organized or not being businesslike." As that particular person would not be "businesslike" in saying so.
[ edited by psalms139 on Nov 20, 2000 09:00 AM ]
[ edited by psalms139 on Nov 20, 2000 09:43 AM ]
posted on November 20, 2000 09:06:37 AM new
To my shame I have to admit to once being a paypal cheerleader. I did not mind the fees, I thought they were fair. I did have problems with how they were implemented, but I still supported them. But it is the devious, lying "protection" plan that was designed to protect no one but Paypal that got to me. I send out a monthly newsletter with internet news and I supported Paypal. Then I started getting the emails of horror stories from folks I knew. A seller with a great reputation who had her account summarily frozen with no warning because of a small charge back from several months before on an item she had shipped and even had proof of shipping. By the time that got straightened out, she had negs from the folks who paid her while her account was frozen and she couldnt ship. A sterling reputation built up over a year destroyed just like that. I have heard complaints from both buyers and sellers. There are numerous lawsuits pending. If you want to use Paypal, why don't you just get a loan from your local loanshark? You'll be in similar company with similar protection.
posted on November 20, 2000 09:48:54 AM new
Meya: "I closed my PP and my X.com accounts about a month ago, and I've never looked back. The problems I've read about here were more than enough to convince me."
Hi Meya!
How did you close your PP account? I can't find anywhere to do it.
posted on November 20, 2000 09:53:53 AM new
Login at PayPal and click on "Profile" in the bar at the top. You'll come to a screen with a link on the left to "close Account".
posted on November 20, 2000 12:13:23 PM new
Thanks to all of you for your suggestions! I will no longer put "no paypal" in my auctions and see if this makes a difference. In the past couple hours, I just received 3 emails in reply to my EOA emails (that do NOT mention Paypal at all) asking if I accept Paypal!
Will see if this makes a difference. I certainly hope so!
posted on November 20, 2000 01:14:16 PM new
Right now I wish I never heard of "Paypal".
I just received ANOTHER "You've got cash!" payment from Paypal.
I emailed the seller and told her that I'm very sorry, but I don't accept Paypal, and to cancel her payment to me and please pay with one of the other 9 methods of payment I accept.
She emails me ANOTHER "You've got cash!" payments, sending me SALES TAX only.
I emailed her again, explained again that I don't have a Paypal account, and that she overpaid her sales tax by 50¢ - and I gave her the exact total with sales tax so when she makes another payment the total will be correct.
She emails me again, saying "oops, I over paid you. Please send me back the difference". I explain go her again that I don't have a Paypal account and to please use one of the other services mentioned in my auction & email.
Know what she did? She just emailed me her COMPLETE credit card number, with expiration date and told me to charge it!
Ok, this is another reason I ****HATE**** Paypal. Now, I would have been charged an amount for accepting her FIRST payment, which was short the sales tax. Then, I would have been charged a SECOND time from Paypal for the sales tax amount.
Then, after paying those Paypal fees - (which there should have only been ONE if the buyer didn't make a mistake) then on top of that I would have had to mail the buyer back the difference - which would have taken even more out of my account!
At least with PayDirect & Payplace I have the option of "declining" a payment if it isn't correct.
posted on November 20, 2000 01:53:52 PM new
Boy this thread is illustrative of how people just don't read the auction copy!
I think I am going to split out of paypal and try another service.
And drop it completely from my auctions.
Yes it has, for me, been short and sweet, but I think as volume increases, it's not as secure as it should be.
buh bye paypal!
posted on November 20, 2000 02:08:24 PM new
I agree with the previous poster -- it is a simple case of bidders not reading the listing thoroughly.
I *only* accept PayPal (and Billpoint) and I state it very clearly in my listings. And after the auction is over, at least one out of four bidders will respond to my EOA e-mail with "What, you only take PayPal? Oh, I don't do PayPal. Is it okay if I send a check?"
posted on November 20, 2000 05:45:07 PM new
I, too, have stopped accepting PayPal payments. I don't even mention PayPal, just list what I accept.
But I am wondering... I was looking at Billpoint and considering joining them -- but found that they want the same thing that PayPal does -- BOTH my credit card number and my bank account. So why are they any better? (For those who refuse to get verified on PayPal.)
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on November 20, 2000 10:21:52 PM new... I was looking at Billpoint and considering joining them -- but found that they want the same thing that PayPal does -- BOTH my credit card number and my bank account. So why are they any better?
Billpoint is better because they have not lied about anything. They've been upfront about their fees right from the beginning. They never hid anything from their users. They don't change their policies on a day-to-day basis to suit their needs for that given day.
Because of that, they have earned trust from their users. Unlike Paypal. I was very leary of using Billpoint when I first started but I've had hundreds of transactions with them and not one problem. I don't feel unsafe by giving them my credit card or bank account numbers.
posted on November 21, 2000 03:20:20 AM new
ExecutiveGirl - Yes, I understand that part -- that's why I quit offering PayPal as a payment option. But for those who refuse to be verified by PayPal because they want our bank account info -- how is Billpoint any better? They want it too, plus credit card info. (My position is that they can have one or the other, not both.) I know this doesn't matter to some, but it does to me.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on November 21, 2000 06:26:06 AM new
Well it's a bit hard to verify that, because you need an ebay userid to go see what BillPoint wants to register, but in the first place - didn't you have to give Ebay a credit card number to register for that? and in the second place, I don't think BillPoint will send paper checks out. I think they only do electronic funds transfer, so of course they need an account to transfer to.
That is one of the things I don't like about BillPoint. I really like keeping a balance handy in a funds account to pay for auctions that I win. I don't like charging to a card or doing the transfer out of a checking account.
posted on November 21, 2000 03:04:29 PM new
I don't know if you have to use a credit card to register with ebay now, or not -- but you didn't at the time I signed up, two years ago. I did eventually register a credit card with them because I got tired of having to wait until my check was posted to my account before I could list auctions.
(I had started to register for Billpoint 3 days ago, but backed back out when I got to the point where checking account info was required. You can have your money direct deposited to either your credit card or your checking account, according to what I read in their terms.)
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on November 21, 2000 08:04:50 PM new
Why give your checking account number to Billpoint, but not Paypal?
Besides the fact that I DID give my checking account number to Paypal, the difference is what each services does with the information. Billpoint uses it to transfer your $$ to (I know nothing about the CC transfer; until you brought it up I had never heard of that option, and wouldn't use it anyway).
Paypal, OTOH, chooses to employ their convoluted, meaningless "verification" system that everyone knows is nothing more than a practice run for the day they choose to withdraw your $$ for real. And all the while, their TOU proclaims "WE WILL NEVER WITHDRAW MONEY WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION" (caps theirs)
Billpoint's TOS straightforwardly tells users what happens in the event of a chargeback and what it will cost. No subterfuge, no PR sound bites. No surprises.
The biggest difference of all is that Billpoint is a real bank. FDIC-insured. Paypal pretends it's insured; in fact, there's a good argument that they're quite misleading in that regard -- their site is filled with references to their infamous $100K insurance. Serious users know this "insurance" covers little if anything -- and nothing of anything that's apt to happen when it concerns paypal.
posted on November 22, 2000 12:41:37 AM new
THERE IS ANOTHER CHOICE!
Exchangepath.com
Right now it is free to buyers and sellers alike. Yes, they state that they reserve the right to change this. Fine. At least they tell you that upfront.
It is amazingly easy to sign up and they don't ask for your Social Security number.
They accept MORE credit cards than PayPal: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Diners Club, American Express Charge Card, and Visa & Mastercard Debit Cards. Or you can also pay from your existing account, etc. In other words they are better than PayPal.
One of our auction winners e-mailed me only hours after I had signed up with Exchangepath.com. He asked if I could tell him how to use his credit card on PayPal and if it was secure. I gave him the following link - http://www.ygoodman.com/paypal.html and I gave him a link to Exchangepath.com and told him to take his time and research both as we would accept either. Shortly after, we received a payment notification from Exchangepath.com. Big surprise!
Folks, people don't necessarily care which service they use as long as it is secure and allows them to pay by credit card. So take a look at them and if you like what you see, make an addition to your auctions and then change your other links. We've just added this to our auctions and I'm putting into my congratulatory e-mails as well:
Due to information which has recently come to our attention, if you are considering using PayPal to pay for this auction we would like you to view the information at this site first: http://www.ygoodman.com/paypal.html
We now accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Diners Club, as well as American Express Charge Card at Exchange Path! It works like PayPal but the options are greater, we feel better about the terms, and currently there is NO CHARGE to the buyer or seller. Please check it out here: (Exchangepath.com’s logo link)
posted on November 22, 2000 03:50:32 AM new
I am currently going through a situation with Palpal which reinforces to me why I DO NOT accept Palpal. I had a buyer who contacted me twice after an auction asking that I accept Paypal and on both occasions I told buyer-No I do not. As stipulated in my auctions, payment is by check or money order only. The next am I get up to find email from Palpal "You have got cash". I emailed Paypal and told them I do not have an account with them nor do I intend on opening one and that they should inform the buyer that the payment was not accepted. Meanwhile, buyer contacts me "Check is in the mail"-which by the way, it is now two weeks after the auction ended. Next morning, I get response from my email to Palpal informing me that I should "Send Palpay funds back to buyer and request she pay in a different manner". Now does that mean IF I receive a check from buyer that according to Palpal, I have been payed twice????
