posted on June 24, 2001 07:13:00 PM
I went to check out this c2it because i figured hay if its free for a while give it a try, then i find out its not free to pay, so as a bidder as well as a seller i think WHY PAY TO PAY? would you?
posted on June 24, 2001 07:23:51 PM
At first I thought c2it was a stupid service. But the more that I think about it, the smarter it becomes...
Sellers are tired of PayPal and other fees. I predict a gradual change-over to c2it or similar other service. Someone said the charge is only 1%[?] to send money, if true, it's much cheaper than PP or BP. I't would be worth it to reimburse customers that pay that way???
posted on June 24, 2001 07:58:42 PM
The reason why Credit Cards have become a successful way to purchase things in stores, online, etc---is that it is a no cost transaction for the buyer. This is not a new thing, merchants have been paying this fee for decades
posted on June 24, 2001 09:23:55 PM
NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY I THINK ILL TRY IT THANKS.
every 20 seconds in america a woman is giving birth:SHE MUST BE FOUND AND STOPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.................................................................
posted on June 24, 2001 09:32:01 PM
I suspect that no form of payment (except maybe cash) is "free to the customer". I believe merchants add all their costs up (including the fees they have to pay to credit card companies) and pass them on to the customer through their pricing structure. When I was in Hong Kong, a merchant told me that if I wanted to use my credit card to pay for my purchase, it would be an extra 5% because that's what he had to pay to the credit card company. I know that may be an unusual example but the credit card companies have to make money too...and they get it by charging companies...who, in turn, pass it on to their customers.
posted on June 24, 2001 10:29:15 PM
Of course it is not REALLY free....but at the time of purchase there is no apparent fee levied at the consumer in a normal CC transaction
posted on June 24, 2001 10:51:16 PM
I would absolutely be willing to pay the fee as a BUYER .. it's a convenience to ME more than the seller (I AM a seller too) .. that's MY opinion anyway.
I've stated I'd even rather pay the paypal fees as a buyer than as a seller! That way, if I was buying an item for under $10+/- I could decide if I wanted to pay those fees depending on how fast I wanted the item, whether it was convenient to get to PO to mail a payment, etc. As a seller, it's hard to tell customers you'll only take paypal for purchases over $10 .. I'm DOING it but it doesn't feel 'comfortable'!
posted on June 25, 2001 07:11:13 AM
1) it is the sellers the choose which payments they will accept. When sellers first started taking credit cards, there were charges added to the buyer for using credit cards. The CC companies changed the rules to disallow this. So sellers added a discount for cash. Eventually they learned that buyers were basically silly, so they took away the discount and buyers were happy. Now buyers actually complain if sellers offer a discount for cash. If sellers got together and said, "Now that there is a CC method that doesnt cost us, we should all start using it" this wouldnt even be a discussion. But sellers are still pulling their hair out and moaning, "maybe my buyers will leave if it costs them 1%." If the value you offer your buyers isn't even worth 1%, you should be in another line of business. I have been getting my computer parts from the same company for 8 years. I am always getting offers from other companies who promise to beat the price. I have learned that there is value to dealing with someone you can trust.
2) C2it is free to the buyer for a month and they even give the buyer $10 on the first payment. That covers the first $1000 of transactions after the initial month. Any buyer too silly to understand the value of dealing with a real bank (as opposed to an unregulated service) with 24 hour support (as opposed to nearly none), is not someone I would want to deal with. I have had no problem getting 90% of my buyers to switch.
It costs money to purchase a money order and mail it and it is not nearly as safe as using a CC.
3) If you are so worried about the 1% and you really think it will cost you business, you can offer a 1% discount for using C2it.
It's still cheaper that PP or BP and you are protected against fraudulent CC or charge backs.
posted on June 25, 2001 08:37:14 AMAny buyer too silly to understand the value of dealing with a real bank (as opposed to an unregulated service
Dealing with a 'real' bank means nothing except after 5 or 10 years years of abusing customers the FTC may step in and give them a slap on the wrist and tell them to cut it out.
C2it is free to the buyer for a month and they even give the buyer $10 on the first payment
*Offer subject to change at anytime.
I have learned that there is value to dealing with someone you can trust.
Citibank most assuredly is ranked wayyyyyy high on the trustworthy company list. I hear this year they may beat out Exxon and Paypal for the International Trust of the Sheep to Slaughter Award.
From C2it's Trems & Conditions:
You authorize Citibank to check your credit history at enrollment and to obtain follow-up credit reports on you
Nuff said on that.
Citibank reserves the right to hold funds beyond the standard distribution periods for any transactions it deems necessary
Sounds a lot like paypal freezing funds.
In the event of but not limited to, default on any payments owed to c2it for any transaction activity provided by the c2it service, insufficient funds, suspicious activity, or any other reason, Citibank reserves the right to cancel any associated transaction(s) conducted to recipients within the United States and any International Transaction
More and more like paypal...
Under certain circumstances, the law allows us to use the money from any Citibank Account in your name or that you jointly own with another person to pay any amount you owe to us. This is called the "Right of Setoff." We are not required to give you advance notice of our intent to take such action; if we do take such action, we will notify you afterwards.
Where have I heard that song before?
Citibank shall have the right to terminate your Membership in c2it, reject or reverse any transactions you initiate, and/or restrict or condition your right to send or receive money at any time and for any reason,...
Now, I feel a sense of security.
Citibank reserves the right to amend the terms of this c2it Agreement at any time, with or without prior notice to you.
Man I feel more secure. I think I will leave the locks off my doors and let Citibank right on in.
This thread has links concerning issues with citibank.
posted on June 25, 2001 09:49:40 AM
Have you ever heard of anyone having a horror story experience with C2it? Paypal has constant post on this message boards of bad experiences but I haven't seen any about C2it.
posted on June 25, 2001 11:35:11 AM
Did you even look at the date of that article, much less read it? The info in it is either outdated or just plain wrong. Citibank is no longer charging $2 per transaction, just 1% after the first month. That makes it cheaper than Paypal, even if the seller decides to pay the 1%. C2it will protect the seller from fraudulent payments and unwarranted charge backs. Paypal claims to but often doesn't. If you check off four boxes on the sign up form, you will not get any spam. I have been using C2it for at least 2 months and havent seen any spam I didnt get before signing up. Folks have reported getting more spam since signing up with PP (in addition to the spam PP sends). And while signing up to have your money sent to a bank account isn't instant, it isn't instant with PP either. Has C2it restricted any account with the notice "we decided your bank doesnt meet our requirements?" PP has. Does C2it have a bad rating with the BBB? PP does. Are there any posts here about someone getting screwed by C2it? Even one? Start counting the ones about PP. Hint: you'll have to take off those shoes because there are way more than ten. So this guy either has something against Citibank or some motive for forgiving PP their sins while blaming C2it for sins not even committed.
posted on June 25, 2001 11:54:09 AMDid you even look at the date of that article, much less read it?
Unlike others that have posted on this thread, I do read before I write. As I stated before the article is good.
Hint: you'll have to take off those shoes because there are way more than ten.
You are pittiful. "Personal attacks instead of facts." Feel free to use that as your slogan.
So this guy either has something against Citibank or some motive for forgiving PP their sins while blaming C2it for sins not even committed
What the? Do you know this guy or his motives? The only person in this thread's whose motives are questionable are yours. You keep hip-hip horaying C2it, which is backed by citibank, which has a downright stinky rep.
Why are you so gung ho on this service? Why is it when I and others have called C2it about chargebacks their replied don't jive with what you keep posting.
Does C2it have a bad rating with the BBB? PP does
Your point? If the FTC or some State's attorney were all over them then I would be concerned. Oh, wait a minute the FTC and State's attorneys have been all over Citibank.
posted on June 25, 2001 12:03:19 PM
Back to the original question: yes, I would pay to pay.
I do it all the time --- $1.09 for a money order and a stamp.
I've never used a payment service to pay for an auction purchase. I don't trust PP enough to let them dip into my checking account for anything, ever. And I empty my PP account regularly of the proceeds from selling.
posted on June 25, 2001 12:03:50 PM
Just so yisgood doesn't feel like the Lone Ranger, I must say that I have had nothing but good experiences with c2it. I will continue to offer it as a payment option along with Billpoint, BidPay, checks and money orders.
To answer the original poster's question, "why use c2it?":
My buyers have reported being happy about the incentives (nice $10 carrot) and have said in future they would rather pay the 1% than go to the hassle and expense of getting a money order, mailing it and waiting to receive their item. In many cases, the 1% will be cheaper than the cost of a money order and stamp to mail it.
As a Seller, I am happy to offer c2it as one payment option among others. I respect the right of other Sellers (hi, EG!) to refuse to take it. That's fine. Each must run their business as they see fit.
However when most threads about payment services come up there is always on poster that starts the personal attacks as soon as anyone points out a problem with their post.
posted on June 25, 2001 12:15:44 PMyisgoodAre there any posts here about someone getting screwed by C2it?
In April there was an article (expired so I can't give you a link) in the New York Times giving the numbers of users with different payment services, PayPal they listed at 7 million, C2it they estimated at 20,000.
If you go to the www.ifccfbi.gov and look up the methods of payment on reported fraud you'll see credit cards and money orders have the highest number of reports (22.9% & 27.9%), cash has the lowest number of reports (1.4%)
If I apply the yisgood school of logic (or lack of logic) to those numbers it means that it is safest to send cash because that has resulted in the fewest numbers of reports.
Yisgood says we are exempt from chargebacks with c2it, but c2it isn't supplying a rep to this board to answer any questions. Maybe yisgood is right, suddenly there is a company that lets you accept credit cards and gives you complete protection from chargebacks. Sounds to good to be true, but that's what yisgood says.
posted on June 25, 2001 01:01:02 PM
>>If I apply the yisgood school of logic (or lack of logic) to those numbers it means that it is safest to send cash because that has resulted in the fewest numbers of reports. <<
And if I apply the Uaru school of logic, you should ignore the facts and look at the number of people. Since there are millions of people in NY and very few in Podunk, it isn't true that Podunk has a lower crime rate. It's only because there are less people so we don't hear about it. I guess it's safer walking the streets of NY at nite then living in Podunk. And all the folks who give up city living to move to the sticks to escape the crime are idiots. Just ask Uaru.
Let's ignore hundreds of posters who reported real problems with PP and warn against a service that has not had a single problem reported because of what *might* happen. While we're at it, we can tell them about the bogeyman in the closet and the monster under the bed. But ignore the hundreds of posters who had real charge backs, fraud, frozen accounts with Paypal because PP is the biggest so that's okay.
>>Yisgood says we are exempt from chargebacks with c2it<<
I was not the first to post this. C2it told me in our talks that they will not go into anyone's bank account and charge back the money (it would be a real battle if they did, as PP has learned) unless they can show seller fraud. C2it asked me not to make this public, for obvious reasons. But then other posters stated that C2it had told them this and the cat was out of the bag.
But rather than debate possibilities, let's talk facts. Has anyone seen even one negative article or one complaint about C2it? I have seen sellers say, "I dont care that hundreds of folks have problems with PP. I never have, so I'm sticking with it." But this new "logic" puzzles me. "I dont care that no one has reported a problem with C2it. I don't trust companies that don't have problems, so I'm going to one that does."
posted on June 25, 2001 01:08:51 PM
I'd rather buy from a seller with 1000 feedbacks, 6 negative, than from a seller with no negatives and 2 positives.
posted on June 25, 2001 01:25:11 PMroofguyI'd rather buy from a seller with 1000 feedbacks, 6 negative, than from a seller with no negatives and 2 positives.
EXACTLY!
I don't believe buyers are going to be keen on supplying a social security number to use their credit card. I think buyers will be even less enthusiastic when they notice they have to pay for the service.
POP QUIZ:
#1 You walk into a store you can pay by method A for free or method B for free or method C for a fee. You will choose:
1) Method A
2) Method B
3) Method C
#2 If you have a C2it account here's a test to perform (I've done it.) Pick a fictious email address, one you know doesn't have an account. Fill out the form to send that address a small amount of money and keep advancing to the screen where you get the info that the email address doesn't have an account. If you actually send the funds make note of the proceedure for canceling the transaction.
PS: Since they have signed an agreement with AW then C2it should supply a rep to this board.
posted on June 25, 2001 01:33:47 PMLet's ignore hundreds of posters who reported real problems with PP and warn against a service that has not had a single problem reported because of what *might* happen.
I was not the first to post this. C2it told me in our talks that they will not go into anyone's bank account and charge back the money (it would be a real battle if they did, as PP has learned) unless they can show seller fraud. C2it asked me not to make this public, for obvious reasons.
The most obvious reason being, it is not true.
C2it: Under certain circumstances, the law allows us to use the money from any Citibank Account in your name or that you jointly own with another person to pay any amount you owe to us. This is called the "Right of Setoff." We are not required to give you advance notice of our intent to take such action; if we do take such action, we will notify you afterwards.
If they get a chargeback they can and will take the money out of your account for what you owe them.
I spoke to a c2it rep today. She said that the chargeback would be taken from the account the money was put on. Ie: if you transfered it to your card they would debit your card if you transfered it to your bank account they would debit your bank account.
Users that have a charge back filed against them (through PayPal) receive notification (via email) asking the user to supply the information for the Seller Protection Program.
Charge backs are a fact of life when dealing with credit cards. You can, however, be protected from charge back liability if certain guidelines are followed using our service. Charge back recovery is covered in our terms of use (we may charge the credit card/debit card on file) or seek recovery through other means.
