Paypal

[pb2003]

Are there any disadvantages using Paypal above using a creditcard online ? What would you choose if both options are possible ?

[Jared]

You get charged a percentage to use paypal. Buying items is fine but when you recieve and item they take a percentage. I got paid £100 through paypal for some freelance work i was doing but by the time it got to my bank account i was left with about £92

[Crossy]

Are there any disadvantages using Paypal above using a creditcard online ? What would you choose if both options are possible ?

For MAKING payments PayPal is great. It is a 'push' system whereby YOU initiate the payment as opposed to the credit card system where the recipient initiates the payment.

This means that there is no way that the receipient can take more money than you sent, unlike the CC system where, once he has your details, he can potentially take as many payments of as much as he likes as often as he likes (until you notice).

For RECEIVING payment PayPal is not so great because they take a percentage of the transaction as a processing fee (how they make their money of course).

To answer the original question, given the choice when paying for something online I always choose PayPal.

[BillyParadise]

For RECEIVING payment PayPal is not so great because they take a percentage of the transaction as a processing fee (how they make their money of course).

OK - reality check. All legitimate companies will charge you a percentage (and often a base fee) to process a payment. It's a cost of doing business. Period.

Now, you can find other options that cost less, but you will be stuck with a monthly fee and certain minimums.

My big problem with Paypal is that they're not fully international - I _theoretically_ shouldn't be accepting paypal where I am right now.

[fisherd3]

Check relative exchange rates if international transaction, as I believe Paypals rates are even worse then CC company's.

[Heng]

You might want to google for some of those paypalsucks type websites. IMO though, most people who have the biggest complaints with Paypal are folks who are doing illegal or shady activities with Paypal. Paypal is quite simply the poor man's merchant account. It works, but you're going to have account freeze risks because you're thrown in their with all the crooks, kids, and weekend merchants of the world.

I've gone through the Paypal funds frozen thing as well (about 3-4 years ago because of who knows what red flag my customer or myself kicked up), no access to my funds, just a few thousand $, no big deal... but absolutely no access and only canned email responses for over a month (in the past, they didn't even list their customer service phone number on their site..... now it's run by outsourced call centers in India and Ireland) before it was cleared up out of the blue with no explanation other than another canned email.

Have never had anything like that happen with Bank of America + Authorize.net with 10 times the volume going through. If there is a hiccup with a real merchant account, a real live person CALLS you to see what's up. Not some auto emailer.

[Kf6vci]

I've been using PP for years with accounts in different countries. Last year, I wanted to earn interest on ~$ 17,000 surplus cash. Transferring this amount from my US account triggered a nightmare. PP alerted my U.S. bank, both accounts were frozen. It took months to get PP to reinstate me (they kept sending me standard letters as if someone had breached security and tried to raid my account). Adding credit cards etc. failed to work.

Tried No Checks (?) and they started by debiting about 2 pounds for nothing :--( ** My idea is to send completely filled out twice signed AMEX TCs to LOS by recorded delivery. SWIFT wire fees are simply to high in most cases.

[Gary A]

The biggest problem is that there are no people who work for the company. Everything is done via the computers. They limited my account (FROZE) when I bought an item while in Thailand. My credit card and my linked bank account were both in the US as well as my shipping address. They do indeed SUCK.

I was never even able to cancel my account. I ended up cancelling my credit card and instructing my bank NOT to pay anything to Paypal. NEVER again.

NOTE - I was able to use my bank bill pay option (free) to pay for my item, so the guy I bought the item from was satisfied and the transaction was completed.

Edited June 26, 2006 by Gary A

[Soundguy]

Last year, I wanted to earn interest on ~$ 17,000 surplus cash. Transferring this amount from my US account triggered a nightmare.

This will happen in the US with any amount over 10 grand. Paypal are skirting the law, they're not even a licensed bank. The Feds have them over a barrel, so they do what they're told.

BUT

I should stress I LOVE LOVE LOVE PAYPAL. You can add money from your bank account for FREE, no transfer charges ever. I ordered a 2nd debit/credit card which I gave to my girlfriend and it's in her name, a staus symbol in her village. (albeit with a very low limit so she won't go crazy with the thing), I don't pay a satang in Swift wire fees and Paypal take pride in paying the highest interest rates in the US (about 4.75?). You also get a refund of 1.9 percent on all purchases, a bit like Discover . My Paypal cards are a life saver, I can look on the internet and see where and what the g/f has been up to when I'm out of town. Paypal also let you transfer funds between Euros, Dollars and Pounds. Which can alleviate currency downturns.. I think it's the best behaved bank out there, all the problems that have been listed on this forum, chargeback holds on accounts, IRS investigations, large transfer red flags are normal with any bank. Especially post 9/11

Edited June 26, 2006 by Soundguy

[Heng]

Yeah, I'm definitely not totally against Paypal or anything, just my opinion that it's not the way to go as main payment channel for businesses. It's a great service/utility for transferring small amounts (perhaps when customers order add-ons or shipping upgrade costs) or buying things off the net.

Getting your account frozen for +$10k transactions is hardly the norm for "any (US) bank" though, I'd have to disagree with you there, at least in my experience. As far as I know, all it triggers is a standard report to the IRS, probably one out of half a million such carbon copy reports a day. The transactions also have to be out of the ordinary or suspicious.... like if your last name has a Mohammed or Al-Sheik in it or something.

[Neeranam]

Can anyone get Paypal? Do you send them money from your Thai bank account?

Is it better than Neteller or Moneybookers?

[Smithson]

PayPal is fine until it goes wrong, then it's a nightmare. Chargebacks are terrible for sellers, very easy to be ripped off.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Last year, I wanted to earn interest on ~$ 17,000 surplus cash. Transferring this amount from my US account triggered a nightmare.

This will happen in the US with any amount over 10 grand. Paypal are skirting the law, they're not even a licensed bank. The Feds have them over a barrel, so they do what they're told.

BUT

I should stress I LOVE LOVE LOVE PAYPAL. You can add money from your bank account for FREE, no transfer charges ever. I ordered a 2nd debit/credit card which I gave to my girlfriend and it's in her name, a staus symbol in her village. (albeit with a very low limit so she won't go crazy with the thing), I don't pay a satang in Swift wire fees and Paypal take pride in paying the highest interest rates in the US (about 4.75?). You also get a refund of 1.9 percent on all purchases, a bit like Discover . My Paypal cards are a life saver, I can look on the internet and see where and what the g/f has been up to when I'm out of town. Paypal also let you transfer funds between Euros, Dollars and Pounds. Which can alleviate currency downturns.. I think it's the best behaved bank out there, all the problems that have been listed on this forum, chargeback holds on accounts, IRS investigations, large transfer red flags are normal with any bank. Especially post 9/11

PayPal can be an absolute nightmare. At any time, out of the blue, they can freeze your account and hold onto any money you might have. They have very set guidelines and if your particular situation doesn't fit into those guidelines, you are out of luck. The problem is that eBay has promoted them so much that buyers believe that paypal is the only way to pay. And in a way they are right. During any buyer/seller disoute, PayPal always sides with the buyer no matter what. They know the seller will put up with it because they can't afford to lose their other paypal sales. And they know this will keep the buyer satisfied too. They don't care how much they might inconvenience you. www.paypalsucks.com

[PeaceBlondie]

Apparently, no human being actually works for PayPal itself; they must contract the work out to paramecia, algae, and workers too stupid to work the front counter at TOT. This month, it took me at least two hours just to find a phone number, call it, and talk to a seaslug. All because Winnie Fraudula in Dumbfark, West Virginia tried to charge my account almost $500 for a camera I wasn't buying. It cost me US$5, plus my time, just to verify that I managed to close my account in January, which was another nightmare.

[Mali_in_CM]

"Apparently, no human being actually works for PayPal itself; they must contract the work out to paramecia, algae, and workers too stupid to work the front counter at TOT."

I love it.

Maybe it's a good job I never used it to take payments.