posted on October 18, 2001 02:44:25 PM
I'm thinking about adding paypal and billpoint as options fot payment and i need some more info.....other folks what are your experience and what is your percent of chargebacks to the total about bout thru online paymnt service????....also what is your percent of bad checks to orders from checks???......also what is your opinion on how much using this as an option will increase your sales?? 20%..30% 40%..50% more etc????? thanks for the info
posted on October 18, 2001 03:06:56 PM
In three years on Ebay I've had two bounced checks (both paid in full within days), and one Billpoint Chargeback. Not too bad in 3000 or so sales. Only about 40% of my business is via snail mail, 60% is Paypal (I do not accept BP if I don't really have to...)
posted on October 18, 2001 03:08:36 PM
Hi Patrick ~
I love Billpoint and also offer Paypal. About 90% of my customers pay with one of those methods. In the 4 years I've been selling on Ebay, I've never had a chargeback. I believe there is no way to protect yourself as a seller from a Billpoint chargeback, but with Paypal there is. They have a "seller's protection policy". As long as you ship to the buyers confirmed address and have a Delivery Confirmation or some other kind of online tracking number, the buyer cannot do a chargeback.
Checks are another story. I don't accept them at all. I used to - my first year on ebay and haven't since. (As long as you offer online payment methods this most likely won't hurt your sales at all). I no longer take checks because in the 1 year I accepted checks I recieved about 20 bounced checks. (possibly more, it's been so long since I've accepted them I can't remember the exact number). Many of those bad-check writers made good on their checks, but to this day, there are several I was never repaid on - even after going to a collection agency. Checks are just not worth it, in my opinion, and not accepting them has not hurt my sales any.
posted on October 19, 2001 09:29:15 AM
I was wondering what other sellers experience has been when changing from selling with just the option of checks and money orders to taking also paypal and billpoint....what was the difference in sales???
posted on October 19, 2001 09:35:42 AM
My sales went up when I started offering PayPal. Can't give you a figure though because I didn't track it. Online payment plus BIN is a winner also.
Knock on wood, I've never had a chargeback. Only one bad check - the sender made more than good before my bank even notified me.
posted on October 19, 2001 09:47:30 AM
You'll find that about half the people do snail payments versus versus an electronic type. It really makes sense to offer people all forms of payment options unless you are talking about expensive stuff in which case most people don't mind a more limited choice.
I find the seller paronoia for bad checks to be real weird if they also take electronic payments. How does one make a payment to a credit card company? Strange!!!!
As most experienced sellers will tell you ......... it depends what you sell.
I've had one check in 4 years bounce, and the high bidder had a legit excuse AND made good on it with an MO within the week.
I've never offered PayPal, and after realizing that even when I offered Billpoint approx 80% of my high bidders still CHOSE to pay me with a check or MO, I dropped Billpoint from my auctions.
To me Billpoint was a headache, and the fact that I do not offer it has never affected my sell through rate. I'm sure some of the pro PayPal/Billpoint sellers will tell me I'm wrong, but after reading the thread posted above you can decide for yourself.
posted on October 19, 2001 01:36:57 PM
5+ Years On Ebay, over 10,000 items sold.
I've had 3 Bounced checks all 3 were promptly paid +bank fees.
1 Paypal chargeback for $7.50 from an item that never showed up.
I loose more money then that to my housekeeper when he cleans the sofa cushions.
All the horror stories ussually have questionable circumstances.
posted on October 19, 2001 02:09:58 PM
Thanks, to kiawok for that link which gave alot of info...I saw where there was a harris survey in 99 that said that credit card users spend 2.5 times more than non cc spenders...some said that this survey was not relevant to online shopping just with B&M stores.......but i think there is extra advantages for people to use cc online over B&M stores..... one is time ( there is no time difference in deciding to use cc in B&M stores) but with online shopping it would be faster than sending payment by mail....another advantage over a B&M decision is around 40 cents for the buyer to spend on stamps and envelope....
Also when the economy is slow people tend to use credit cards even more...and during the christmas rush cause of time they probably will be used alot more..
All in all i think adding credit cards as a payment option will definitely boost sales
posted on October 19, 2001 02:28:16 PM
As kiawok mentioned, it has a lot to do with what you sell. And HOW you sell, too.
I find Paypal used most often when an auction runs it full allotted time. On the other hand, Billpoint gets used for the By it Now purchases, and about half the time in the ebay Stores. MY BIN's jumped when I added Billpoint, and my store wouldn't be worth the effort without it either, though I am not sure I will continue to put the work in to a product ebay doesn't seem to care about any longer. The AFA fiasco showed us what they could do, but didn't when they put their minds to it.
Interestingly, Paypal is very weak in the stores, and I think it is what ebay planned.
As usual their fouled up thinking has sabatoged the stores and inability to take Paypal AND no shopping cart has kept sales low I think. Certainly customers don't like to enter shipping info over and over.
I suspect that Checkout is yet another attempt to favor Billpoint and hurt Paypal and direct merchant accounts. Ebay has once again shot itself in the foot by playing this self-interest game. They don't get it that it is customer convenience, customer choice and simplicity that are the keys, not propreitary programs. The accountants and managers may love them, but the "people" don't!
Checks and Money Orders overall only amount to about 1/3 of my sales. I have had one check not made good in three years and thousands of transactions.
I do Delivery Confirmation on every transaction, and insure all items that finished over $50 but only at cost, not at finished price. My packages are packed exceedingly well, so it is only loss in the mail that concerns me. I have only had a couple of these for real although perhaps a hundred buyers claiming not to have received their goods.
By using the DC and insurance, the small percentage of dishonest bidders who try claiming they didn't receive the goods are thwarted. I have never had one person who claimed nondelivery continue to press this claim after I provide them with the DC delivery date and information. It always appears, magically, within a day or two. How amazing!
[ edited by litlux on Oct 19, 2001 02:39 PM ]
I sell items that can end at hundreds of $$$, and simply can't risk the chance of someone charging the item/items back on a whim. Over the past year I've read hundreds of horror stories about Billpoint & PayPal chargebacks & I just don't feel like playing Russian roulette with every high $ sale.
During the Xmas rush I will most likely offer Billpoint, but come Dec 26th Billpoint will once again be removed.
posted on October 20, 2001 08:26:01 AM
I probably run 50% electronic payments & 50% checks/money orders. Out of a couple thousand sales, no chargebacks (knocking on wood) and 2 bad checks (one this very week). The buyer has promised to send a replacement cashier's check & the other bad check writer never did make good on theirs (mercifully for a relatively small amount).
