[Semi-OT] eBay question: PayPal required?
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Post Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:01 pm 
 

I know we have a few sellers here who use the "PayPal account required" function in their listings, and I'm wondering what the general consensus is. Does it seem to work for you? Does it maybe weed out a little bit of the riff-raff? Do you ever get complaints from would-be buyers claiming they can only pay with a check?

It's not that I have a big problem with checks or money orders; I've accepted them for more than eight years now. But the simple truth is that practically no one is using them any longer; my rate of payment via PayPal is well over 95 percent of my auctions.

So, with that being the case, I'm wondering if I should just simplify matters and go with PayPal only (well, that and I had a psycho-lunatic-asshat cyberstalker win some listings recently and I could have blocked him simply by requiring PayPal).

Thanks in advance.

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:11 pm 
 

I haven't been selling very long, but am very surprised that 100% of my payments have come through paypal!


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:37 pm 
 

Also, I have a more technical question: when does the "PayPal account required" wording show up? Does it appear automatically if you change your preferences on your My eBay page?

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:27 pm 
 

If a person wants to send a money order I will let them but I don't advertise that I accept them.  Paypal is so much simpler plus you can print shipping labels from it.

On a similiar vein, I just bought an item from a seller that required immediate payment.  While I can understand why one would do that I recommend you don't.  After paying for the item I bought I saw 3 other items I would have liked to have but passed on them because I didn't want to go through the Paypal process 3 separate times.  Stupid if you ask me.  Besides, I was going to pay full shipping and insurance each time.

Sorry, no idea on the techincal question.

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:40 am 
 

No, the "immediate payment" thing holds no interest for me; I always think it reeks of a certain kind of desperation. But I am really leaning toward just making my listings PayPal-only** ... I'm seeing a longer list of pro's than con's.

Thanks for the input.

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(BTW, you can print shipping labels from finished eBay listings regardless of how the high bidder chooses to pay. You're using PayPal to fund the shipping; it doesn't matter what the source of the buyer's payment might be.)

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** Whoops, that's not what I meant to say. I meant PayPal as a requirement, not PayPal as the only option.


Last edited by Xaxaxe on Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:07 am 
 

I don't do a very high volume of sales off my webpage but I do get a few money orders.

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:13 am 
 

I have only won a couple of auctions where the seller did not take PayPal.

I usually will not bid if they do not take PayPal.

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:07 am 
 

I fail to see why you would preclude someone from sending a money order if they wanted . . . Even if almost everyone uses paypal, why exclude an MO?  In fact, it's great when someone sends a check/money order as I save anywhere from $1- $3 in fees.


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:26 am 
 

When I was selling on eBay, I only accepted PayPal payments, mostly just to simplify things and get payment quickly.  Of course I had to deal with the occasional "eCheck", which take 3/4 days to clear.  It wasn't so much that I was desperate for the money, as that I didn't want to deal with cashing MOs (never done it, so don't know what's involve) or checks.  Only taking PayPal didn't seem to cut down on the number of bids or the amounts of the winning bids, from what I could tell.  

On the other hand, I learned the hard way that I should have used delivery confirmation when shipping...  My last buyer (I closed my account because of this) claimed he didn't receive a $60 combined shipment, so I ultimately lost the items and the cash, and didn't feel like ever repeating such an incident.  Has anyone here ever known the USPS to actually lose something in transit?

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:26 am 
 

Radovarl wrote:as that I didn't want to deal with cashing MOs (never done it, so don't know what's involve)

One cashes a money order in the exact same way as one cashes a check.



  

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:29 am 
 

From a purely security point of view, if you set your sales to 'PayPal Account Required' it ensured that there is a high probability that the buyer is honest and at least has account information that is tracable by the law back to an individual.

I do accept other forms of payment, but if a buyer is not willing to trust eBay or PayPal with knowing their Credit Card number, I'm not willing to trust them as far as I can throw their purchase.

There are too many fraudulent accounts on eBay, and no protection for sellers outside of the USA to trust anyone without a PayPal account.


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:45 pm 
 

Beyondthebreach wrote:I fail to see why you would preclude someone from sending a money order if they wanted

That's not the issue, though.

My initial post (which, as I look back on it, could have been clearer) was an effort to seek information on making a PayPal account a requirement for my bidders. But it's possible to use that requirement and still accept other forms of payment (unless I'm greatly misunderstanding this eBay help page I'm currently looking at).

Basically, as Crazy One-Eared Cat Guy :wink: mentions above, I just want to know that I'm dealing with a real person with a real address. This is only possible by making a PayPal account a prerequisite (due to their confirmation procedures).

I'll use my current cyberstalker a**hole as an example: he is using the name of a famous movie character and the address of a famous movie location: patently false contact information, in other words. He slipped through the nets and managed to win two of my recent auctions for the express purposes of not paying, forcing me to relist, and leaving me negative feedback. Why should I have to deal with any of that?

My mind is pretty much made up, actually. I think I'll keep MO's for now, but add a PayPal account as a prerequisite. I'm leaning towards dropping checks, though ... I think it's only pure luck that I've yet to be burned by someone writing a bad check.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:46 pm 
 

There are too many fraudulent accounts on eBay, and no protection for sellers outside of the USA to trust anyone without a PayPal account.


While I like Paypal, and for International orders I pretty much require it, you really have to take into their fee structure.  Not only do you pay a higher Paypal fee to accept international payments (I forget off the top of my head, is it 4.5%?) but they also charge the fee on all money collected and that includes shipping money.  That gets to be a big chunk when overseas shipping can run $30-$40 or more.

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:53 pm 
 

My initial post (which, as I look back on it, could have been clearer) was an effort to seek information on making a PayPal account a requirement for my bidders. But it's possible to use that requirement and still accept other forms of payment (unless I'm greatly misunderstanding this eBay help page I'm currently looking at).


Makes perfect sense to me.  You are not precluding (rather excluding-edit) people who want to pay with a money order, just requiring them to legitimize themelves with a Paypal account.  Thanks for that post, I think it's really helpful.

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:19 pm 
 

Radovarl wrote:On the other hand, I learned the hard way that I should have used delivery confirmation when shipping...  My last buyer (I closed my account because of this) claimed he didn't receive a $60 combined shipment, so I ultimately lost the items and the cash, and didn't feel like ever repeating such an incident.  Has anyone here ever known the USPS to actually lose something in transit?


I have taken bombadil's excellent advice and begun purchasing delivery confirmation for domestic shipments.  At only 60 cents for media mail, it is well worth it for my peace of mind.  Haven't quite figured out international shipment confirmation, but so far, all is well.

viewtopic.php?t=5290&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:50 pm 
 

lucyjoyce wrote:
I have taken bombadil's excellent advice and begun purchasing delivery confirmation for domestic shipments.  At only 60 cents for media mail, it is well worth it for my peace of mind.  Haven't quite figured out international shipment confirmation, but so far, all is well.

viewtopic.php?t=5290&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=


If you print your labels online (simply by clicking the "Print Shipping Label" option under you "My Ebay Sold" items" delivery confirmation is FREE for Priority and only 13 cents for Media Mail).  Plus the label is printed for you - you can leave all Domestic mail at your door and the Postman has to pick it up for you.  That's right, they HAVE to.  It's part of the Post office's committment.  You are supposed to have to call in your pickup the let them now the day (or morning) beforehand, but, if you sell a lot, simply work it out with your letter carrier.  I leave a sign in my mailbox that I have a pickup waiting  at the door.


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Post Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 12:11 am 
 

Beyondthebreach wrote:
If you print your labels online (simply by clicking the "Print Shipping Label" option under you "My Ebay Sold" items" delivery confirmation is FREE for Priority and only 13 cents for Media Mail).  Plus the label is printed for you.


I wonder why more people don't do this?  I buy a fair amount of stuff and it is  very rare to have a seller do this.  I use this service whenever I can (in Canada).

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Post Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 12:21 am 
 

Mars wrote:
I wonder why more people don't do this?  I buy a fair amount of stuff and it is  very rare to have a seller do this.  I use this service whenever I can (in Canada).


Hmm...well I for one don't have a clue how to print on adhesive labels. Or do you just print them on regular paper and then cut it out and tape it on?

How much does printer ink cost? I always try to avoid printing stuff because the cartridges are expensive. I guess if you are saving 0.46 (for media mail)  or .60 (for priority) per delivery confirmation, the savings would outweigh the cost of printer ink?

Most of the few items I sell (my ebay feedback is 385 after 8 years & that includes many purchases) are under $10, so usually I don't bother with delivery confirmation. Only for more expensive items (over $20-30).

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