posted on April 27, 2001 06:47:43 PM
I have finally closed down my Paypal account-
Has anyone used Money Zap? any pros/cons to this service, or a "thumbs up" for any of the online payment services??
posted on April 27, 2001 06:59:15 PM
They *were* ok, but then they lied and I will soon be closing my account with them.
They have been free for a while, and they always stated upfront that they would eventually charge fees, but they said the person who initiated the transaction would be charged the fees.
Now they are saying whoever RECEIVES the money will be charged the fees. Had I known this before, I wouldn't have signed up.
posted on April 27, 2001 07:06:58 PM
Billpoint. Their instant purchase capability right on the auction page is really nice. And while they WILL do chargebacks, I have never known them to lie about anything.
posted on April 27, 2001 07:14:40 PM
I was about to sign up for Achex, but it looks like they require a social security number, even for business accounts (businesses need to enter both an EIN/TIN and the SS# and personal information for one of the corporate officers).
They also charge fees if you receive more than 30 payments per month.
ExecutiveGirl, do many of your buyers use Achex?
[ edited by thompjo on Apr 27, 2001 07:31 PM ]
posted on April 27, 2001 08:14:24 PM
I only get a few Achex payments per month. (Less than 10). I have never been charged anything for using them, and was unaware of their 30 payment limits...
posted on April 28, 2001 09:44:46 AM
Chargebacks are always a big problem when dealing with a third party payment service that allows them. You have very little recourse.
Payingfast.com - We send money orders for you!
[ edited by PayingFast on Apr 28, 2001 09:46 AM ]
posted on April 28, 2001 10:23:03 AM
You cannot get chargebacks with Achex, or Billpoint's E-checks.
You are also safe from chargebacks with BIDPAY. And your customers can pay THEM with a credit card, and they mail you a money order. I've had a LOT of customers use them and I've never had a single problem.
posted on April 30, 2001 10:55:07 AM
ExecutiveGirl,
Keep an eye on how many payments you receive with Achex. I double-checked their agreement, and here's the details:
(a) The Service is free for all Individual Users receiving thirty (30) or fewer Achex payments in any thirty (30) -day period. If you receive more than thirty (30) Achex payments in any thirty (30) -day period, you may be subject to a fee of $1.95 for each payment over thirty (30).
It's buried in the User Agreement, which is extremely long. They basically want heavy users to sign up for their merchant account, which has fees. I'm guessing about 1% or so.
posted on April 30, 2001 11:00:26 AM
Thanks for the info, thompjo! I had no idea they charged anything! I am far away from getting 30 Achex payments per month though, so for now I'm safe - but I will have to start keeping track!
posted on April 30, 2001 11:01:08 AM
The New York Times had a piece about on-line payments in yesterday's Business section. It was pretty clear that you have to pay for everything. And the two new services - MoneyZap and C2it will be fee based shortly.
I asked Achex about their fees. They said that they were not charging fees yet but might at some future date. 30 free transactions a month is pretty good. They *have* to ask for your SS# because the transaction is bank account to bank account and covered under federal regulations covering bank accounts. Unlike paypal and such, you don't have an achex "account" where you can leave money. There can be no charge backs.
Moneyzap has been very good but I was disappointed with their silly decision to 1) charge fees only to the seller and 2) charge the highest fees in the industry for a payment service. I suspect that this service will die pretty quickly if they change this quickly.
C2it right now looks like a great deal. 1) it is backed by a real bank with a solid reputation. 2) fees are paid by the buyer 3) if you use a citicard, fees are only 1% 4) the first three months are free 5) they are giving $10 when you make your first payment.
They were one of the few services that contacted me to ask what users were looking for in a service. We have had one meeting and a number of conversations and they have been very responsive.
posted on April 30, 2001 05:40:00 PMC2it right now looks like a great deal. 1) it is backed by a real bank with a solid reputation. 2) fees are paid by the buyer 3) if you use a citicard, fees are only 1% 4) the first three months are free 5) they are giving $10 when you make your first payment.
The bold section is the one reason why C2it will never fly. There is an expectation in the marketplace that fees "should be" paid by the seller. Why would any buyer choose C2it when that choice will cost them more money?
posted on April 30, 2001 06:02:35 PM
>>Why would any buyer choose C2it when that choice will cost them more money? <<
Because it is the seller who chooses which payment service to accept. I can offer check, money order, achex or c2it. Buyer can decide to spend about a buck for a money order, plus 34 cents to mail it, then wait a week until I get it. Or buyer can spend 34 cents to mail a check which I will hold for a few days. Or buyer can use achex for free but the money comes out of their bank account. Or buyer can pay 1% to send instant payment from their credit card and get an extra 20 days or so to pay. That final choice sounds pretty good and with my average sale about $50, it's cheaper than a money order.
For the first three months it's free and a lot of my buyers are newbies. And the $10 signup bonus covers about 20 transactions even after the 3 months.
I think it's time that buyers learned that they are paying ALL of a seller's costs, whether it is spelled out or not. What would you say to a buyer who says, "I'm not paying shipping. It's YOUR cost of business to get it to me."? Well, if the buyer chooses a payment service that costs money, the buyer should cover the costs. Or do YOU reimburse the buyer for the cost of the money order and the stamp to mail it to you? If there is no extra fee for paypal, then the seller is charging EVERYONE extra, whether they use paypal or not.
posted on April 30, 2001 06:57:33 PM
OR they won't bid on your auctions OR they will take the c2it fee out of their bid. So you're going to pay for it anyway.
Bidders, just like sellers, don't like to be nickeled and dimed. We just want to know the total, not deal with all these tiny charges for other services.
Or do sellers not mind all the little charges from "it's just a dollar" ebay?
posted on April 30, 2001 07:03:03 PMBuyer can decide to spend about a buck for a money order, plus 34 cents to mail it, then wait a week until I get it.
Buyers will not view the fees kindly and they will go elsewhere. I know that, most of the other sellers know that, and even MoneyZap realized that. MoneyZap for 9 months kept saying the buyer would pay, when it came time to make the commitment they placed the fees on the seller because they knew their model wouldn't work. eCount and eMoneyMail still operate where the buyer pays, they've been operating for over a year and look where they are now, in the basement of unused pay services.
posted on April 30, 2001 07:05:55 PM
>>OR they will take the c2it fee out of their bid.<<
Do you deduct the cost of money orders out of your payment, too?
>>Bidders, just like sellers, don't like to be nickeled and dimed. We just want to know the total, not deal with all these tiny charges for other services. <<
Bidders will know the total. If they have been using C2it for three months, they will know that there is a 1% charge. They can then decide to use achex instead or send a money order. It's their choice. If they are new to c2it, then it will be free. So what's the problem? But I do see a problem with payment services that charge the seller and don't allow them to add a fee. This forces sellers to raise their prices for everyone. Isn't giving the buyer a choice a fairer way to operate?
posted on April 30, 2001 07:53:31 PMyisgoodBidders will know the total. If they have been using C2it for three months, they will know that there is a 1% charge.
Come on yisgood! Give the whole story. I have a C2it account, C2it charges 2.2% with a minimum charage of 50 cents. You only get the 1% rate if you are using a CitiBank credit card and the 50 cent minimum still applies. I've got 4 credit cards and none of them are CitiBank. International fees are $10 for echecks and $15 for direct deposit (higher than BidPay).
If having the buyer pay is such a good idea why did MoneyZap switch fees over to the seller?
They *have* to ask for your SS# because the transaction is bank account to bank account and covered under federal regulations covering bank accounts.
I can certainly agree that this is plausible for personal accounts. But, when opening a business account, they require the business EIN/TIN number, PLUS the Social Security Number, home address, and home phone number of an "administrator". I have a Corporation, which is legally its own entity. My company's bank doesn't even have any of the corporate officers' social security numbers, just the corporation's TIN. Achex has no need for this information for corporations.
As far as whether the buyer or seller SHOULD pay for transactions, it does make sense that the buyer should cover the cost of getting the seller the payment. However, credit cards are so ubiquitous, and merchants can't specifically make the customer pay the fee. Buyers are used to not paying for the transaction, and that's not going to change. If given the choice between Paypal, Achex, or Billpoint (free to buyer), and C2it (1% or 2% paid by buyer), the choice is pretty clear to buyers.
posted on April 30, 2001 08:40:59 PM
I use BidPay now,
I used to take PayPal,
But with every transaction I was
Forced to wait forever just to get my money,
I recomened BidPay, because the do accept credit cards, they get them from Western Union, and you can ship on confirmation
(usualy takes 1-3 hours)
True is that they charge your customer,
But when I used paypal, I charged my fees from Paypal to them, so they
Ended up paying anyway.
Also, BidPay was great about replacing my
Lost MO (via post ffice, not their fault)
Plus you still offer the credit card option to your buyers.
I've tried quite a few of these services,
And I have nothing bad to say about BidPay
Ever since they've started,
That's more then I can say for Paypal
Or Billpoint.
