posted on August 26, 2010 10:06:59 PM
The new credit card laws that were recently implemented allow merchants to offer discounts for cash (check) payments... which makes me ask the question- can eBay now force its sellers to only accept Paypal or an eBay approved payment method? or does eBay consider itself the merchant?
posted on August 26, 2010 10:36:28 PM
What a good question! Let's hope there's an answer soon.
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"Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who ***dared to dissent*** from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, ***may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."*** --Eisenhower
posted on August 27, 2010 05:35:05 AM
The whole idea of enforcing Paypal only is to avoid some of the squabbles like check is in the mail,check is lost or it is not my fault,USPS is to blame,I did not get the cash you enclosed in the envelope,Western Union fraud,rubber checks,fake money order,fake postal order,I cant cash this foreign check drawn on Bank of RWANDA?
Or wait 14 days if you send me a personal check.
Or I will copy the routing number,account number and name and address on your check and ask my Nigerian printer to print some checks so I can go shopping with your money in your bank account!
Or give me your cc number and security code and expiration date so I can pass it on to someone who will go shopping with your card.
I recently went to a website to buy some gold coins as gifts using my credit card,and soon it was used to pay Vodafone in Australia.
The card was cancelled ,but this is the card I use to pay gas,electric,Dishnetwork,Comcast,local phone company and I have to go around and update my cc number,and the elctric co socked me with a 25 dollars penalty plus interest which I have to ask them to remove.
Then I called the website and alert them to this problem,they have no idea how it happen and all they do is act defensive and kept saying they are a safe site?
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 27, 2010 05:53:08 AM
Sorry Shag for all that ranting.
But to put it in perspective,if you have a store and display the MC/VISA logos at the store window,people have no problem using their credit card.
Or if you are a mail order catalog with a warehouse and customer service and a business license ,people have no problem using their credit card to place orders.
But Ebay is a quote and unquote ' person to person buy/sell community',and we all know what it means,many individuals just sit in front of the PC and list a few items found in garage sale,attic,we are known to be on vacation and have no backup,we dont have to come to the phone and keep no business hours and dumpster dive for packing and shipping material.
Some do not have the merchandise in stock,only a stock photo,and they will use your cash/check to buy,with credit card payment or Paypal,you have to ship within x number of days after receiving payment.
I think it is 7 days which is more than what the industry practice of within 24 hours or immediately.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 27, 2010 07:56:18 AM
This may be OT,but some of you may remember this thread-
an Ebay seller who used dropshippers,sold a laptop to an Ebay bidder.
Her dropshipper had a backlog and did not ship the laptop until 7 days had past.say 8th or 9th or 10th day.
The bidder filed dispute with PAYPAL,since the seller cannot produce tracking number,the bidder got his money back.
The seller came to this board asking why 7 days,who set the rule seller must ship within 7 days after payment received?
Well,when we sign up to use Paypal we dont bother to read the fine lines,and it was there.
Industry practice,we are expected to ship immediately or within 24 hours,thats why mail order houses do not charge our credit card until they are ready to ship.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 27, 2010 01:56:52 PM
HWA- My thoughts into this wasn't a matter of security, but rather a matter of choice. Your examples show why many people would rather send a money order or Personal Check. Fear of fraud on their credit card and the headaches it can cause.
The whole point of this new law is to allow merchants the ability to offer discounts for cash payments. The new law also prevents merchants from charging "surcharges" for paying with credit. Basically, it is now against the law to state there is a 50 cent fee to process credit vs. cash.
My point is that under the new law, perhaps merchants (aka sellers on eBay) are allowed to offer a "discount" to buyers who pay using alternative methods to credit.
I wouldn't mind offering a 2% discount to buyers who pay using a money order or cashiers check vs. Paypal which charges 3%.
This law is meant to help merchants, particularly micro merchants like myself be able to save some money while avoiding heavy interchange fees.
posted on August 27, 2010 04:52:37 PM
You can do so in your own shop,but not on Ebay,reasons are cited above.
Yes,between the PAYPAL FEE AND Ebay fee we are fee'd to death,new PAYPAL rules said chargeback is raised from 10 to 20 dollars and if you refund your buyer,that 30 cents transaction fee will be kept by Paypal,so what does it mean?
When we refund say the buyer 10 dollars,we are actually paying Paypal 30 cents to do so.
so refunding the buyer will cost us 30 cents.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 27, 2010 05:05:06 PM
But what happens if some sellers skip town after taking the money order or cashier checks?
When Ebay first started in the early 90s,some sellers just skip town after collecting all those checks.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 27, 2010 07:32:19 PM
I have been to dollar store and they have a sign by the cashier which said Minimum purchase = 5 dollars if you use MC/VISA.
I have been to stores in ethnic neighborhood the clerk will tell me,if you use cc,we will charge you sales tax.
But in cyberspace,we get plenty of overseas buyers,they would not buy if they all have to send us an intl cashier check or draft or start wiring payment,so yes,accepting credit card increase our cost of doing business esp for small sellers like us,but we get intl exposure and sales which we did not have before.
It would be nice if Paypal does not charge more than a 30 cents transaction fee if someone is using his paypal fund or bank fund to pay us.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
