Would some kind soul out there give me a "down and dirty" explanation of PayPal? There's a bead set I'd like to bid on and the seller prefers PayPal over plastic. Does it cost me anything over the cost of the item and shipping? What do I need to know?
(I know- I told you it was a stupid noobie question.)
PayPal is free to the buyer and just cause the seller. You pay nothing extra over the price or shipping. Harry
Harry's Happy Place
My spelling is terrible. I meant COST. Sorry.
Harry's Happy Place
PayPal is free to the buyer, but takes some time to establish an account. If this auction has less than 5 days to run, you probably can't get it set up in time.
There are lots of PayPal horror stories out there, but I've been using it for several years and have never had a problem. It does make things convenient for seller and buyer both.
Celine
Yup, exactly what I was going to say.
Regina
You can read all about it on the site,
I use it, as do most who puchase or sell on the web.
Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows
As a seller, I use it and I have had very few problems with it. I don't mind the "small" fees; they're comparable to credit card processing fees, Paypal is far more convenient.
I had a problem once with a deadbeat seller on eBay (cashed my check, never delivered merchandise, wouldn't answer e-mails etc) and PayPal ended up giving me a credit on my account, so I didn't lose money over the whole thing. Good service. I don't know why there are so many horror stories about them.
- Steve R St Louis
They are basically a good service, but if something goes wrong, it can be a nightmare trying to get them to fix it, or even find someone there who understands what you're trying to convey; they outsource their customer service overseas. For example, I no longer take e-checks through them because it takes about ten days for the e-check to appear cleared on their website, and another couple of days for them to get around to sending me an email notification. It only takes a couple of days for the e-check to clear, so that means that for SIX to EIGHT days, it shows up as "pending" after it's cleared! I don't even bother waiting for email notification. I tried to tell them about it, and even after a long and frustrating email exchange, they *still* were trying to tell me that the problem was with my email server.
??!!
Complete inability to communicate the problem. I gave up, and stopped taking e-checks. I still use Paypal, though, because they're great as long as nothing goes wrong...
I had the same problem with e-checks and do not take them anymore. Customers would email me saying it cleared and PayPal showed they were pending. So I just accept PayPal payments or Money orders. Checks scare the snot out of me and I don't want to make people wait
10 days for them to clear either as niether do I.Harry
Harry's Happy Place
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