posted on June 8, 2001 02:10:06 PM
Actually, to be Paypal Preferred, Paypal must be the only online payment service advertised in your Ebay listings.
You can accept checks, money orders, and cash.
You can offer other payment services via your EOA notices without a problem at all - I don't think not having Billpoint in my auctions has hurt my sales any - people are searching for my item, not my payment methods...
The benefits of the 1.5% cash back are very telling when you get to higher $ amount transactions.
For example, $100
Via Billpoint, Standard account: 2.75% plus $.35 (including the deposit fee) $3.10
Via Billpoint, Merchant account: 2.25% plush $.35 (including the deposit fee) $2.60
Via Paypal, Standard: 2.2% plus $.30 $2.50
Via Paypal, Standard (PP Preferred) $2.50 less cash back of $1.50 = $1.00
Between a Standard Billpoint account and a Paypal Preferred Premier account - the difference is $2.10.
(Apology if there are math errors - I did this quick and dirty).
However, my examples were based on small $ transactions since that is primarily what I deal with - although I have had some over $100 transactions in the past....
posted on June 8, 2001 02:19:32 PM
I have an ecount account which no one ever uses even though in my auctions I mention it is free for me unlike paypal and billpoint. I have a paydirect account which I never use but now I might. Does paydirect have a logo button you can put in your auctions for someone to click on? How do you have your customers know how to access your account for payment?
Advertise PayPal as the only online payment option on your eBay listings.
How do I save on fees?
Just use your PayPal debit card. You'll get 1.5% cashback on purchases. It's like an instant refund of over 70% of your PayPal fees.
posted on June 8, 2001 02:51:08 PM
For those who put only "Paypal" as an online payment method in their auctions, I just want to say that when I purchase, if the seller does not offer a different online payment method OTHER THAN Paypal, I will not bid. I will use Billpoint, Ecount, PayDirect, etc - but if they are not stated in the auction, I will not bid.
As far as the rate increase, I'm just tickled pink that I closed my account when I did and don't have to worry about the Paypal problems anymore. IMO, they are one of the worst companies on this planet!
90% of my customers pay with Billpoint, the rest with money orders or cash. I am a happy camper!
I'm confused, how does being PayPal Prefered as a Seller have anything to do with Using PayPal Debit Card as a Buyer? How does that help me as a SELLER?
I sell, I only buy once in a great while.
So to me, being PayPal Prefered is a bunch of hooey.
I think I'll start putting in my listings NO PAYPAL with a brief explanation why.
If after the buyer bids and wins and they still think I take PayPal and want to pay that way then they can add $1.00 to the total.
I can't see how I can get into trouble with eBay as it will be in my auction terms I DO NOT TAKE PAYPAL!
Users that are PayPal Preferred, and that use the PayPal Debit Card for purchases, can get 1.5% back on their purchases. This helps you as a seller because you can use the debit card to pay for items (such as listing fees,inventory,postage) through the debit card. You also have immediate access to your money and you don't have to wait several days for a bank withdrawal.
Regarding Yahoo's PayDirect, you should go to the Yahoo Board and read the nightmares encountered by Yahoo Members and PayDirect>>
Why read it I have never had a problem and I have been using since they started up. I guess that was 6 months ago and my customers don't have a problem. Most of the people posting on the yahoo boards here a late are just whiners it seems to me. I don't give those boards much credit anymore. I do give me own experience with them, yahoo paydirect, credit and my experience and my bidders has been very good. I use it on Ebay and on my Yahoo auctions. I also like that it is free although I don't expect that to last.
If they get a good shopping cart system I will use them on my website now. I use CCNOW because they have a great set up for a website but the 9% is steep. However since they save me a lot of paper work etc. . I am willing to pay it for now.
posted on June 8, 2001 04:07:40 PM
Yes damon,
I read katiyana Speal on another thread as to all the uses of a debit card.
I've never used one and don't really plan to in the future.
I write checks for my local needs. I use my CC to pay for eBay fees. I pay for my auction wins with PayPal or Billpoint. I don't need to complicate my life with using a debit card.
I'm sorry, with me running my $1.00 NO RESERVE auctions I just can't pay the fees anymore.
With the summer slowdown, it seems I'm paying to get rid of my stuff.
After eBay takes their cut and PayPal takes their cut I'm in the hole if my item sells for only $1.00. Now you want MORE!
Sorry...I've got to do some serious re-thinking here if I'm to continue to sell.
posted on June 8, 2001 08:23:36 PM
I'm afraid the math is quite easy for me. My average paypal receipt is around $10. My average profit per item is around 50c. Paypal's increase of 22c on a $10 payment cuts my profit by 44% paid through Paypal. Thankfully my PayPal payments have been declining for several months for some reason.
I'll be talking to Billpoint next week, I'd hoped I'd never have to, they've been after us to use them for a long time, but the math is pretty straightforward. It sounds to me like PayPal is going beyond trying to make an honest dollar and is trying to earn a criminal amount. I've spent most of the day talking to other dealers and researching on the Internet and this fee schedule is simply absurd.
posted on June 8, 2001 08:47:56 PM
Would anyone happen to know where at Ebay the ruling is stated, which allows us to offer discounts for cash, money orders and such? Or, be able to post the link?
An eBay seller may not charge a fee, often called a "credit card surcharge," when accepting credit card payments. This surcharge, which is an added cost to the buyer over and above the final sale price and shipping/handling, is not allowed under the laws of many states, including California.
Following the MasterCard link, you will find this:
A surcharge fee cannot be added to the price of goods or services that you purchase on your MasterCard card. Here are questions to help determine if the fee being charged is a
surcharge.
Is the fee added regardless of whether you pay by cash or credit card? If so, it is not considered a surcharge.
Does the merchant offer a discount if you pay cash? If so, this is permitted.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:00:51 PM
Why is everyone complaining? The new fees are comparable to having your own merchant account. I have a merchant account and the fees are .30 + 2.5% per transaction on the total amount, shipping included.
Amazon also charges sellers fees that are similar to this amount. Half.com does too.
If you can't afford a small fee per transaction, perhaps you're selling the wrong type of merchandise, or buying too high.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:02:42 PM
If I were to go to a two-tiered shipping-and-handling charge, I could justify it pretty easily, I suspect. PayPal requires proof of delivery for items reported lost: unless I send an item Priority or Insured or with a Delivery Confirmation then I cannot supply that proof of delivery. Most of the shipments we make are simple first-class mailings that I cannot prove.
So, we willl then require our buyers to pay for delivery confirmations if they have paid through PayPal. The cost of that extra shipping-and-handling charge would be the cost of the physical confirmation plus an additional charge for the time (and money) spent by me for the time of my shipping personnel. Probably a $1 charge in total to cover this mandatory delivery confirmation for PayPal payers would cover it.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:08:40 PMIf you can't afford a small fee per transaction, perhaps you're selling the wrong type of merchandise, or buying too high.
Don't you just LOVE this kind of incredible logic?
Let's see, I think the same statement was made when USPS raised their prices earlier this year.
Then I think it was made again when ebay raised it's prices earlier this year.
Then it was made AGAIN when AW started charging for their service. And AGAIN when ebay starting charging for picture service. And AGAIN when ebay started charging for Seller's Assistant.
And, golly, here's that same statement rising up again.
So tell us, jake, how many "small fees" does it take to finally start to make the total impact important?
posted on June 8, 2001 09:17:03 PM
Well, let's see. Every few weeks the price of groceries increases, along with gas, and every other common item that a human needs to live. Look at the price of new cars, so high because the auto workers think they need to have $30 an hour or more.
Workers want raises every year, so who has to pay? The consumers!
Everything increases, so why shouldn't selling fees?
I think the way it works is... as long as the increases don't have an adverse affect on you personally, you tell everybody who is affected that they are not running their businesses very well.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:21:19 PM
The real problem is too many small sellers just don't understand the concepts of running a business. Look at the half.com sellers that list stuff for pennies! Are they moronic idiots or what?
posted on June 8, 2001 09:30:56 PM
jake, major supermarkets work on profit margins of around 3%. These are successful, well-run businesses operating in a very competitive environment. This 2% fee would wipe them out if it was applied unilaterally.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:36:53 PMThe real problem is too many small sellers just don't understand the concepts of running a business
I really don't care how high the fees get, remember the consumer always pays
The real problem is that too many don't understand the concepts of economics. Things CAN be priced out of the market.
IF the item is a necessity, it's quite true that the consumer MAY always pay because they must have it.
But when the item is NOT a luxury, then there is a point beyond which the consumer pay no longer be willing to pay.
$.50 for a candy bar..sure
$1.00 for a candy bar...hmm, thinking about how much I need that chocolate fix.
$5.00 for a candy bar...can do without it.
You think it can't happen? Just look at all the "small fee" increases this year.
Priority rate up from $3.20 to $3.50, that's $.30
ebay listing fee for under $10 item up $.05 this year.
Now the PayPal increase for an item (assuming it sells for $10) up another $.22.
By George..that candy bar which started out at $.50 is now up to $1.07 (and that doesn't take into account any picture hosting cost increases, auction management software fee increases or even the possible base increase in the original price of the candy bar).
You probably read this above, but I'm posting it again:
posted by jereth
My average profit per item is around 50c. Paypal's increase of 22c on a $10 payment cuts my profit by 44% paid through Paypal.
Here is a seller who is very clear that PayPal's higher fees will hurt their business. They currently have far more feedback than any of us could ever hope to amass, so I would hesitate to be overly critical of their business plan, which seems to have been very successful for them.
eventer-
I know. I've been trying to quit. Yes, I've said that before, but they're a lot like an accicent on the side of the road- it's hard not to look.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:40:16 PM
What bothers me about this latest PayPal fee hike is the fact that this is one of several fee increases PayPal has instituted in the space of a few months.
When PayPal instituted business accounts a year ago, participation was voluntary.
Last fall, sellers were given a semi-annual limit of $500 in free cc transactions before being forced to upgrade.
Next, the price of cc transactions was raised to 2.2%, while the cost of checking transfer/cash balance payments was lowered to 1.6%
That didn't last long. Soon, all types of transactions were charged 2.2%.
The semi-annual limit on personal accounts quickly became a monthly limit of $100.
Now, every penny of every transaction is subject to the 2.2% fee.
The sixth fee hike will be much more obvious.
There's nowhere left for PayPal to hide one.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:43:20 PM
Well, the explanation lost me completely. It seems like there is more work figuring out the paying, than listing and packing.
I do not sell much in the summer. So I have been hanging around here every so often, trying to see what others do. If it were not for this board, I would not have known paypal changed. They also charged me for sendng out a check. They did not notify me of that change.
And I have not been using Honesty as much as I used to. I just got a message from them that I had till the 10th to drop my gallery or I would be charged. I have not used the gallery for about a month. I do not like the gallery. But this notice arrived at 10pm, so I had less than 48 hours noitce. I could have been out of town or wherever. I could not find a way to disconnect the gallery at first, but then I went to their chat board and found I was not alone.
It seems to me that last summer a lot of changes were made also. When I came back in September, I felt I was starting over, learning how to list.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:44:35 PM
Sure, things can be priced out of the market. But the internet started on the wrong foot in the beginning. Everyone seemed to think that buying on the internet should be dirt cheap, just because its the internet. Well, now everyone but ebay sellers have realized you can't keep giving your product away if you want to stay in business.
My average profit per item is around 50c.
You gotta be kidding. No amount of volume is worth that little amount of profit.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:51:59 PM
Here's why the fees don't bother me much. Back in the old days (like 4 years ago) before all of these online payment services, my buyers paid with checks and money orders only. Having a real business account, I get charged a fee for every item that is deposited into that account. Back then, my monthly bank fees were regularly over $100 per month. Now that 80-90% of my buyers pay online in one form or another, my monthly bank fee has dropped to $20. I'm not saving the $80+ difference, it is just being paid to different places, Paypal, Amazon, Billpoint, etc.
Now if you're a small seller without a real business account, then these fees are not so common.
posted on June 8, 2001 09:57:19 PM
"But when the item is NOT a luxury, then there is a point beyond which the consumer pay no longer be willing to pay."
I think when the item is not a necessity that impacts it more.
What I love is finding out that since I now have a personal account, even if I prove the person received the item, paypal will still freeze my account and reverse the funds. Paypal is definitely out. Either that or I keep it until someone starts a complaint, then break off from them, closing my account. I think I'll start using paydirect again. It doesn't do chargebacks.
>>>Just use your PayPal debit card. You'll get 1.5% cashback on purchases. It's like an instant refund of over 70% of your PayPal fees.<<<
Don't be ridiculous.
How the heck does this help someone who is running a business on Ebay?
I don't want to spend all of my auction income on paypal debit card purchases. So what benefit does the PayPal Preferred plan have for someone like me?
