posted on August 2, 2001 05:11:36 AM
OK, I told ya that if I ever got 'ticked' at PP I'd let everyone know about it so here it is...the email that I received this morning...
>>As a high-volume PayPal member in good standing, you have
been receiving our Merchant Rate of 2.2% + $0.30 on all
incoming payments. Members with Merchant Rate pricing are
asked to keep their payment volume above $1,000 per month.
Our records show that your payment volume has dropped below
$1,000 for two consecutive months. As a result, you will
now be charged the Standard Rate of 2.9% + $0.30. <<
I know, I have no right to be 'ticked', I fell below the requirements for the better rate. (somehow we always think that we are special) I sent them back a nice, short response stating that raising the fees is not the way to increase sales and that by doing so they are forcing me to look into other ways of receiving payments.
posted on August 2, 2001 05:17:54 AM
don't blame you - many others will receive the same... summer doldrums..
but, there are other competitors... we use several of them... sure Paypal is sort of the leader, but others are gaining ground...
posted on August 2, 2001 06:31:53 AM
Yeah, I got that e-mail, too. Big deal. They raise my rate, I'll drop my business account in favor of my personal account -- and have PayPal for free.
Most of my eBay payments are coming in through Billpoint and very, very few people (three out of hundreds of customers) have elected to use PayPal for purchases through my web site. They prefer to use VISA/Mastercard directly.
posted on August 2, 2001 06:39:46 AM
I got the same email this morning just a day after I got one saying they had lower rates than Billpoint. I made sure that they now know that Billpoint is now lower for me and I will steer customers away from Paypal.
posted on August 2, 2001 06:54:25 AM
Got one also. Thanks to my computer meltdown, I haven't been on for a few weeks.
{i}Members with Merchant Rate pricing are
asked to keep their payment volume above $1,000 per month[/i]
Notice the operative word here, "asked. I don't see "required" in there anywhere. But apparently in PayPal's mind, "asking" is the same thing as "requiring".
Since they obviously have no clue about cyclical business swings (summer doldrums, vacations, computer meltdowns), I sent them a response:
Dear PayPal Operations,
My records indicate your customer service has dropped below the acceptable level. For those reasons, I will be closing my PayPal account and removing it from all my auctions.
Please feel free to email me in several months & I'll gladly give your the URL where you can easily download those bankruptcy forms you'll be needing.
posted on August 2, 2001 07:38:49 AM
I got that email too.. since Billpoint is giving me their merchant rate without jumping through hoops (and I get FAR less traffic through Billpoint and they've never ONCE threatened to increase my fees back to standard rate) I wonder if I can re-apply for the Merchant Rate with Paypal since Billpoint sees fit to keep me there..
posted on August 2, 2001 11:32:30 AM
Yep I got the same email- What cracks me up is last month I took in $974, Go figure, I just sent them a letter explaining summer sales are down and if they were going to charge the extra I would quit promoting paypal in my auctions. Sooo frustrating!!!!
Jen
posted on August 2, 2001 12:15:41 PM
>Dear PayPal Operations,
My records indicate your customer service has dropped below the acceptable level. For those reasons, I will be closing my PayPal account and removing it from all my auctions.<
posted on August 2, 2001 01:40:53 PM
I am curious to see if they will automatically grant you merchant rate again, if your volume goes back up, or if you will have to apply for it. Said application form requires SSN - or no merchant rate!
Some users had expressed concerns over being downgraded. We did listen to our users and this is how it will go for merchant/standard rate pricing:
- We'll only down grade users if they've have low volume (less than $750) for 3 consecutive months. They'll get an email if their volume is low for 2 consecutive months (less than $750).
posted on August 2, 2001 06:23:28 PM
Yep, I got that same email this morning. So, I was thinking to myself "Excuse me for taking a vacation and trying to have somewhat of a life". Anyway, they just sent me this email. Guess it was a error; but then again, who knows..
A technical glitch in the PayPal system on August 1st, 2001
accidentally downgraded your account from the Merchant Rate of 2.2%
+ 30 cents to our Standard Rate of 2.9% + 30 cents. Upon discovering
the error, we immediately switched your account back to the Merchant
Rate. Because you may have been charged a higher fee while your
account was set to our Standard Rate, we will refund all fees
charged to you for receiving payments between 11:00 PM August 1st
and 2:30 AM August 2nd. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience
this may have caused you.
As a high-volume PayPal member in good standing, you have been
receiving our Merchant Rate on all incoming payments. Our records
show that for the month of July, your payment volume dropped below
the $1,000 a month all Merchant Rate members are asked to maintain.
Please be aware that after three consecutive months of low volume,
your account may be downgraded to the Standard Rate.
Some ways to increase your payment volume:
* Get listed in PayPal Shops
* Place a PayPal Shopping Cart on your website
* Become PayPal Preferred
For more information about ways to maintain a high payment volume,
please login to your PayPal account and click on the "Sell" tab.
Thank you for using PayPal!
Sincerely,
The PayPal Merchant Account Team
https://www.paypal.com
posted on August 2, 2001 06:24:42 PM
Funny, I got an email claiming it was a glitch, and now I hear it was a change of heart. I hate dishonesty.
I am not a Paypal hater because Paypal has always worked well for me, I've never had a problem. Nonetheless, if they downgrade me again I'll start using Billpoint or Citibank. I don't really care what they use as an excuse, and increase is an increase.
The standards set forth in the initial email were correct. We did, however, listen to the complaints of the users regarding the notification (many users expressed concern because this is the slower season for sales).
posted on August 2, 2001 07:02:25 PM
Well, I got Merchant rate from Billpoint and tried to get the competitive rate. They asked me for my SSN, and I sent an e-mail out asking why, they didn't bother to answer it.
I will not give out my SSN unless there is a really good reason for it. It used to work fine without an SSN ... why a SSN is required now as I am trying to get a Merchant rate by proving there is a competitive offer. And mostly, I'm not sure what are they trying to do with my SSN, they said to verify, but against what ? Verify what ? I've my Paypal account for 3 years now, and never got any problems. It's more of a hassle, road blocks to stop the users from getting the competitive offer they said they'll honor.
Well, I'll move as much of my business to Billpoint as I can. And seeing from the posts against Paypal so far. They'll lose some serious business, if we start little by little. The users will follow, I hate to see Ebay in a dominant position. But if Paypal keep taking bad business decisions, they're only a few clicks away from being a dead.com.
posted on August 2, 2001 07:32:41 PM
Awright, nocloo, my favorite topic!
Paypal wants to have your SSN because they might want to run a credit check. Although ppd says very few have actually had a credit check run, they want the SSN anyway.
Any past history or other information you may have already given them, or whether you are confirmed and/or verified, or even if you can present Billpoint evidence: they don't care.
Any evidence of others who got a merchant rate without giving up this one last bit of information: they don't care.
In the words of paypaldamon, "[t]he more information a user gives us ... the more functionality the account has."
