posted on May 1, 2001 03:43:39 PM
I keep seeing"there will be a .50 cent fee for paypal transactions"on alot of pages.
Do you mind paying the extra .50 cents for the convenience of using your cc????
posted on May 1, 2001 03:53:54 PM
You can charge whatever you like, as long as you specify the total in $ & ¢ in your listing (as far as I'm concerned, anyway).
posted on May 1, 2001 03:55:33 PM
Well I for one dont have a credit card so I wouldnt make a bid on any auction that states its chargeing a fee to use paypal.
I buy and and sell on ebay and other auction site I accept paypal and other card services and when I use these services to pay I dont use a credit card I dont have one so dont be trying to charge me for a privilage I dont have to use
posted on May 1, 2001 04:08:27 PM
I wouldn't mind paying .50 as long as that is the ONLY fee over the actual shipping cost...alot better than $9.95 S&H for something that cost $1.00 to ship.
posted on May 1, 2001 04:22:35 PM
Ebay will cancel any auction that states something like that if someone turns it into them. I know-- I tried to pass on some of the paypal costs and had a few auctions cancelled. I was even stating something like "check or money order-- free shipping, paying by paypal please add .30 towards shipping (they were items that could be sent in a #10 envelope for .34) and ebay still said I couldn't do it.
Personally as a buyer that alone would not stop me from bidding-- but since they will cancel them the point is moot anyway. :0)
posted on May 1, 2001 04:31:52 PM
Adding a fee for PayPal is DEFINITELY against both PayPal and eBay rules. They might issue a warning letter and give the seller an opportunity to revise their auctions instead of cancelling them right away, though. It IS perfectly acceptable to offer a discount for checks or MOs, you just can't charge MORE for credit cards.
Sounds dumb and it accomplishes the same thing, but it's the only way around their rules. If I saw an auction that charged more for PayPal, I'd either e-mail the seller or write to SafeHarbor about it. The seller would not be informed of who turned them in.
dman3, perhaps you receive less than $100 per month in CREDIT CARD payments. As long as you stay under that limit, you can keep your "personal" account with no fees. If many of your customers pay by e-check or from their checking account/PayPal balance, then you are very lucky not to have to upgrade!
posted on May 1, 2001 05:03:44 PM
It is not agains ebay rules to charge a reasonable packaging & handling fee.
I sell mainly fragile collectables.
I charge approx US$5 on top of 'ALL' actual postage prices. I use to charge $10, but found too much resistance to cope with.
50c wouldn't even cover my box let alone my wraping, packing and tape and other consumables.
Last time I bought a book from amazon.com, they charged, I estimate, approx US$7.00
above actual postage to throw a book into a cardboard sleave, I would never ship an item using such a crude method of packaging.
If thats all you need to do for packaging then maybee 50c is enough.
Those of you that don't want to pay packaging and handling, can grab a torch and hit the garage sales, Don't buy from me and waste my time hagling over nominal packaging charges.
Here is another interesting chat on this topic.
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=248362
posted on May 1, 2001 06:08:43 PM
I won't use Paypal if you charge me extra. You can wait for the mail, and then the check to clear. I don't mind the two week difference. As a collector, time is not of the essence. I don't frequent gas stations that charge extra for credit cards either - it's the price of business. Use higher starting prices or some other strategy, but don't penalize the buyer that is making things quicker and easier for you.
posted on May 1, 2001 06:32:55 PM
I don't charge a fee for using PayPal, nor do I offer a discount for cash, checks, or money orders.
Most of my items ship by first class mail in a padded envelope. I charge the first class rate for that weight (I weigh it before I put up the auction, and put the total shipping right there), and "round up" to the nearest 50 cents or so. If first class is $1.10, for instance, I'll charge $1.50. The extra few cents usually covers the cost of the padded envelope and tissue for wrapping. I don't expect my buyers to pay me back for every drop of gas and every minute of my post-office time...at least, not through "handling" charges.
If I sold very fragile items, I would have to charge more, because the packing materials and time would amount to a substantial investment.
These are all tax-deductible items on your schedule C, so in terms of taxes you can recoup what you've spent.
I think I saw the "handling" charges winner today. Somebody is selling an item that I have also sold, and which can't weigh more than about 8 pounds. It's not fragile, though it is bulky (but not too bulky for either UPS or USPS). They've started the bidding way high to begin with (unlikely to get many lookie-loos), and then tack on a SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR shipping and handling fee! That is, literally, more than the item is worth, and probably five to eight times what it would cost to ship (depending on which method you use, and how far it goes).
I'm tracking that auction, just for fun. I've been tempted to write to the seller just to confirm that he/she really does intend to charge $75 and it isn't just a typo.
