posted on January 21, 2001 01:26:05 AM
I was, at one time, pretty well up on the paypal rules. I took a couple months off from selling and have come back to see a whole new slew of changes. I've adjusted pretty well and have taken most of the changes in stride. The hardest one to swallow was that Paypal is now charging sellers for thier service. I didnt like it but I figured, "Hey, its still cheaper than a merchant account..." and didnt worry about the paypal fees.
I have been looking though several auctions and Have noticed something, some sellers who are accepting Paypal have added a line to the effect of "Paypal is accepted with a 2.5% surcharge" or "Please add x amount if planning to pay with paypal". They are charging thier customers to pay them by paypal to pay the fees the seller has to pay to paypal!! (ya following me here?) It was my understanding that it was ILLEGAL to pass on Merchant fees(or whatever you want to call this fee) to the buyer. Why should somebody have to pay you more to cover the cost of doing business just because they want to pay with a credit card?
Changing my name to Mr.Longwinded.....
http://members.aol.com/pizzadryvr
posted on January 21, 2001 01:39:22 AM
Hey Supraman!
How are ya! Well, buyers have to pay the fees, i.e., PayPal, BillPoint, eBay, etc., indirectly if not directly. A business must pass on fees to the customer to remain profitable... Yada Yada Yada
But, what you are describing is illegal in some states and against the eBay User Agreement.
posted on January 21, 2001 01:40:35 AM
Yes, I wondered about that too. I copied this directly from a current ad running on Ebay:
"We accept PayPal but you will have to pay the surcharge that they are now charging for their services."
I DON'T THINK SO!!
posted on January 21, 2001 02:04:04 AM
I do think that bidders should be nice and offer to pay the cc percentage. It would be a nice gesture - we are working hard ya know...
Hey, it's only 50 cents or so. Think of all the bucks you are saving on gasoline. Plus, we can find thingys you cannot - or don't have time to. Remember the old days when it took years to build a collection of thingys?
posted on January 21, 2001 02:04:04 AM
Morgantown: I understand that A buyer INDIRECTLY pays the fees a seller has, but when you go to Wal-mart or out to eat, you dont get hit with an extra charge just because you wip out the plastic.
If a seller feels a need to make the buyer pay the extra fees, then incorporate the fee into your starting bid. That way its covered, period.
It just seems like bad business to me, telling someone, "Oh. you have a credit card? that'll be an extra 3 bucks." Or whatever they are trying to charge. I could even see some sellers seeing this as an opportunity to add on a little bit more to pad the profit.
Changing my name to Mr.Longwinded.....
http://members.aol.com/pizzadryvr
posted on January 21, 2001 02:13:38 AM
lol...got to playin' around and lost track of time. I've been telling myself for the last 2 hours..."Time to go to bed....Right after I....."
i was lookin for some "thingys" on ebay and ran across of a coupel of those aucitons and just had to come here for an answer. I'm Pretty sure it was against paypal's user agreement too wasnt it?
Changing my name to Mr.Longwinded.....
posted on January 21, 2001 04:04:59 AMPayPal is not a merchant account. As a PayPal fee would be applied regardless of the source of funds, it would not be a "credit card surcharge" according to Mastercard. Therefore it would not be against eBays rules. eBay has stated their policy is currently being reviewed.....
No one has ever posted a link to any federal or state law which would prohibit any such fee.
posted on January 21, 2001 07:01:57 AM
This topic has popped up quite a few times. 1)It is not against any law to charge to PP since you are not charging specifically for CC. But it is against Ebay rules and they will shut down your auction if they catch you.
2)When you shop in a store that accepts CC, they are not allowed to charge. So they build it into the price. That means EVERYBODY pays whether they use it or not. Isn't it fairer to only charge those who use it? So folks who are dreaming that the store pays it have to wake up and realize that this isn't the case. And if you expect auction sellers to cover the fees, the prices have to go up to cover it and then EVERYBODY is paying the fees even if they don't use PP. TANSTAAFL. (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.)
3) When I sell a $400 digital camera on which I make $15, I can't afford to pay $9 of it to PP. Because of tough competition, rising ebay fees, rising shipping costs, My typical profit on many items is often 5%. I can't afford to give away another 2.5%.
So here's a simple solution to a stupid problem, "I charge 2.5% handling. You will not be charged handling if you pay by anything other than PP." This does not violate ebay and makes the whiners happy.
posted on January 21, 2001 07:42:29 AM
Legal or not, it doesn't matter, because it is against eBay rules anyway. Email safeharbor with the offending auction numbers, and they will warn the seller, if the seller does not comply, they will be suspended, trust me, this is how it works.
posted on January 21, 2001 08:33:25 AM
Payola (& Billpoint) wants the seller to provide buyer a "tracking number" after the package is mailed. A seller without that protection is vulnerable to a Payola charge back. "Delivery confirmation" is only available with priority or package mail. Minnimum shipping with tracking and no insurance would be $3.95, with insurance $5.05. A five ounce package ships for $2.28 with up to $50 insurance. If Payola requires a tracking number any buyer using their service should understand that it's just plain going to cost more.
I don't add more to shipping for credit but I certainly am concerned.
dennis
posted on January 21, 2001 09:13:41 AM
I think paypal should be paying for all the banners that clog up the site too. When Paypal started charging thus breaking their promise eBay should have kicked them out. I sell 200 items a month all being paid by checks and money orders. I wouldent want a company with all the negative stuff printed in the wall street journal on my site, or auctions!
posted on January 21, 2001 09:42:28 AM
You might want to drop by eBays Payment Board. Their reps have said charging PayPal fees, as long as they are stated in the auction, does not violate current policy.
