posted on September 21, 2000 11:02:02 AM new
Can I charge a service charge for accepting paypal payments, say 50 cents to $1.00, Does paypal have a policy against this or do they care?
posted on September 21, 2000 01:01:31 PM new
abingdoncomputers:
I found this response from ebay on this exact issue in their soap box forum. I have yet to receive a reply by email from ebay support. Not sure which one is more official.
"I think that this is not so much an eBay issue as a Paypal user agreement issue. In other words, if sellers choose to add a surcharge to those who pay with Paypal, then that is really between the buyer, seller and Paypal as far as eBay is concerned (of course, the terms should be spelled out clearly in the item listing so that nobody is surprised). If Paypal does not allow this kind of surcharging, then that is between the seller and Paypal.
There are likely some other factors that would come into play...after all, buyers like paying online and (so far) that has always been free for them. So, buyers may not be too happy to buy from sellers who add an additional online payment surcharge. After all, in the real world, buyers are not used to paying an additional amount for the right to pay by credit card.
regards, Jeff"
I Will post the email reponse when it arrives.
Edited for spelling
[ edited by antiquequest on Sep 21, 2000 01:07 PM ]
[ edited by antiquequest on Sep 21, 2000 01:12 PM ]
Still no response from ebay yet by email. I don't exactly trust the board message, since they seem to flip flop depending on who is working at the time. so I am waiting to see what the email says.
Mean while I have adopted a DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL, policy when it come to accepting paypal. I don't ask my cutomers if they would like to pay with paypal, and I don't tell them in my auction that I take paypal. If they request it, I will accept it. I will wait until the PayPals policy come down before I decide to completely drop them 100%.
It's not just the fee's, also the trust issue and safety issues. When I hear from ebay I will post it here.
posted on September 22, 2000 10:10:27 AM new
Here it is, ebay's response
*******************************
Hello,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to answer your question. We are
always glad to help.
We don't have a policy on that, however, it does seem a little shady.
We do have a policy against charging any of your eBay fees to the
winning bidder though so as long as you don't do that you'll be alright
with us.
I hope this information helps. We appreciate your participation in the
eBay community. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any
additional questions.
Regards,
Stan H.
eBay Customer Support
______________________________
eBay
Your Personal Trading Community (tm)
*******************************************
Original message follows:
-------------------------
Form Message
Subject: Other rules questions
Item:
Message: Is it against ebay policy to charge a service fee for
accepting PayPal Payments?
[ edited by antiquequest on Sep 22, 2000 10:11 AM ]
posted on September 23, 2000 08:58:29 PM new
EBAY BACK PEDDLES*********
This is an email I received today because of my post to the message boards:
Hello,
I saw your post regarding eBay's policies around sellers charging credit
card surcharges to their bidders who pay via Visa/MC etc. Unfortunately,
you were given some misinformation from the Customer Service Rep that worked
with you. Credit card surcharges are illegal in some states, including
California where eBay is headquartered, and we do not allow sellers to pass
on this type of fee. This policy is documented in our Listing Policies
document, which you can find at:
I've also posted to the thread you started, so others will understand our
policies. I've contacted the supervisor of support so they can make sure
that this representative is aware of this policy, and I do appreciate your
taking your question to the boards. I apologize for any confusion this
caused. If you have further questions, let me know.
Daphne
eBay Community Support
_________________________
Ebay, Inc.
NOW MY RESPONSE TO EBAY:
First of all let me say That accepting PayPal is not the same thing as accepting credit cards, I WAS accepting PayPal transfers from by bidders PayPal account. Very much the same way some banks charge to transafer fund from one account to another. Please be more specific in regards to weather ebay has a policy against charging a fee for accepting PayPal transfers and if so please state for the record "that I may not charge a service charge for accepting PayPal", because I do not take credit cards.
Incase you are unaware of how PayPal works, the seller has an account and the buyer has an account, these two parties transfer funds between each others accounts. The only way a credit card is involved is if the buyer funds thier PayPal account with a credit card, the buyer may also transfer fund from their checking account or use money that someone else has sent to them. In reality the credit card transaction would take place between PayPal and their cutomer, not between the auction seller and the buyer. However should one take advantage the new PayPal Instant purchase feature this would not be the case because this does involve a credit card. Otherwise as a seller I have no way of knowing who uses a credit card.
Now that's the real question, CAN I CHARGE A SERVICE CHARGE FOR ACCEPTING PAYPAL PAYMENTS. Please answer that and thank you.
