posted on May 12, 2001 11:31:58 AM
Despite the misconceptions that you are not allowed to pass on paypal fees to the buyer, in fact you can if two criteria are met.1)You do not mention it is a paypal (or CC) fee.2)You pass the fee on to every buyer, even the one's who pay with cash or money orders. It can actually turn into a profit stream, and since the rules and laws are set up this way, you're forced to charge everyone this fee and no one can say two bits about it. God America is great!
posted on May 12, 2001 11:47:22 AM
I remember back a bunch of years ago, I chain of grocery stores had a brilliant idea also...They had the wisdom to charge 5 cents
(a nickle) a bag for packing the groceries...
That lasted about 2 weeks and when they figured out that by charging for the bags, caused the sales to drop 90% they quickly and
simply "Added that cost to the price of goods sold" and got their 5 cents and gained the customer base back...
I think charging for CC processing, etc is really STUPID...!!!
Hide it in the price of goods like it should be..
...Life is like email, sometimes 'some people' just don't get it...
posted on May 12, 2001 11:51:18 AM
I wouldn't say most buyers will pass on your item. That is an extreme generalization based on the assumption that buyers are forced to pay a fixed price when in fact we know auctions allow variable pricing based on what the buyer wants to pay.
A buyer can simply drop their bid price to adjust for such fees, and when they drop the bid, it allows for someone else who wants the item more to bid higher. Therefore the seller could obtain a higher selling price. In other words if cheap buyer "A" had bid $15, Cool Buyer "B" may have been scared away. Whereas now cheap buyer "A" bids $14 to adjust for the fee, so Cool Buyer "B" bids $15.25, bringing the proxy bid up. It's theoretical but odds are it will work out that often enough to make up for any total lost bidding.
posted on May 12, 2001 12:20:45 PM
As always, in God's great America, the customer can complain and even if he doesn't, he can do something about it. He can laugh his head off as he buys from someone else who , in his opinion, treats him with more respect. I can't say that I blame him. I would not want to pay a share of the sinking of the Titanic for the privaledge to drive my car. Most ebay members are smart enough to know when they are being used this way.
posted on May 12, 2001 12:20:58 PM
I recently won an auction where the TOS stated that the seller accepted PayPal, period, no mention of PayPal fees.
When I got the EOA it stated that PayPal was accepted for an additional $XX extra.
I don't use PP to pay for auctions, but I didn't like the implication and the fact that the seller waited until after the auction was over to disclose the additional fee. Charging a fee to use PayPal and not discloseing the additional cost until after the auction has ended is a dangerous practice. eBay can't make rules about PayPal but what they can do is call it fee avoidance. eBay can and does toss sellers if a buyer complains.
posted on May 12, 2001 12:38:00 PM
I am amazed that some sellers act like paypal is the first credit card to charge fees... give me a break. All retailers have to pay the credit card fees.
One thing everyone is bypassing is the fact that paypal now offers a debit card to their customers and they give you 1.5% cash back on your credit card purchases. So you are only paying the 0.5% to accept paypal. If you aren't making any money then you are doing it all wrong, by not setting your starting bids high enough. Whenever I list something I assume the buyer will be paying by paypal and that I will have to pay the fees. Big deal, I set the minimum bid up a few cents and go on.
This is a heck of a lot cheaper than having to run a store with fees like:
RENT
INSURANCE
EMPLOYEES
UTILITIES FOR THE STORE
SACKS, ETC
The list goes on and on and on.
We really don't have too much to complain about it you are selling things that will sell for at least twice as much as you paid.
Big whoopee on the paypal fees, we aren't the first to pay them and we won't be the last.
posted on May 12, 2001 12:43:01 PM
smw, that sellers mistake was telling you the fee outright. Most sellers hide the fee into the handling charge and it avoids upset feelings. The fact is, that is how all products are sold everywhere. The seller you had probably was showing goodwill by disclosing it to you, but he'll learn fast it's better not to, unless he states it into his listing.
Paladin, I don't have a problem with someone who wants a lower price along with less value, I have a problem with those who want a lower price and MORE value. I don't know what business will accept those buyers with open arms. The one's that do will be out of business soon. Those buyers are so costly to hold onto that it's practical not to accept their busisness. Eventually those cheap and demanding buyers will have a lack of sellers to choose from. That's the beauty of the free market. God America is Great!
posted on May 12, 2001 02:46:28 PM
In God's great America, all buyers want a lower price and more value. A large portion of them also want more convience. Of course this often times leads to conflict between buyer and seller as to who should pay the fees. Actually there is not very much conflict in the buyers eyes, in this case, PayPal tells them straight up that the seller pays. Service fees can be passed on to the buyer thru fixed pricing, but only unto the point that competition will allow it. Once this point is reached we are back at square one, which is; the seller pays the fees. Also before I would even consider a long term policy of hiding these fees to be discovered "after the sale" I would have to consider this: Never, in the history of God's great America, have cheap and demanding buyers ever been without sellers!
posted on May 12, 2001 05:52:41 PM
Just add the paypal fees to your cost of goods sold when you do your taxes.
If they say there is a paypal fee you will have ebay close your auction 90%+ of the time. If you indicate ANY fees that appear unrelated to shipping costs, you will lose bids as people will just see it as you trying to make some extra profit.
Think of it this way, you can get your money as much as 30 days sooner, but normally 10-14 days sooner. If you add it to your cost of goods sold and deduct it later as a business expense you still are in better shape in terms of making buyers feel that they are getting a fair deal. Or including the amounts in the shipping charge in a discrete manner can also work as you can get your fees back that way, but then you cannot deduct them as they then become income, rather than an expense. Your accountant can better explain this as I am not a CPA.
While you may be paying $2.50 on a $100 purchase, you are also saving a trip to the bank and helping to reduce your mail from the post office. You are saving paper and trees, and this is great for the environment.
"In pioneer days they used oxenfor heavy pulling, and when one ox couldn't budge a log, they didn't try to grow a larger ox. We shouldn't be trying for bigger computers, but for more systems of computers." - Grace Hopper
posted on May 13, 2001 07:39:12 PM
I believe I've read that it's perfectly acceptable to both PayPal and eBay if you offer a discount for MO's/checks/cash. Just price your item or shipping/handling to cover PayPal fees--and let those who want the discount send a check or money order.
posted on May 14, 2001 08:20:37 AM
If you are going to use the Discount method of passing on your Paypal/Billpoint fees - be sure the discount is taken off of the FINAL BID PRICE, and not the S/H figure. Otherwise Ebay will consider that a surcharge?
Same bottom line - but you'd hate to have your auctions pulled for a badly worded discount offer.
