Accepting paypal payments questions

[abunaitoo]

I've been gently convinced to look into taking paypal payments.
Being old school, hard to convince myself to try new things.
I went to the paypal site and reading through it, it's like talking to a lawyer or politician.
They only tell me what's good for them, not what I want to know.
I have a paypal account. Only used it to pay. Never tried to get a payment.
I have a few questions. I'm sure the smart people here will have the answers.
1) I only have a credit card on file. Do I need to also add a bank account????
2) How do I get the money out of the account???
3) Are there any fees for taking the money out???
4) Is it possible to have it just go directly into the credit card account????
5) I have my email address as my paypal account name. Can I, should I, change it to something else????

[Alvarez Kelly]

PayPal used to require a bank account linked. They may not now. I'm not sure.

To get your money, you transfer it from PayPal to your bank account. It takes about 3 days. You can also request they mail you a check.

If you accept payments, PayPal will charge you 3 percent, PLUS 30 cents for each transaction.

You must ship by traceable means to the address loaded in PayPal, and load the tracking number in PayPal or you may be liable for lost or misplaced shipments. This is easy if you ship using PayPal, and you will get a discount on shipping costs.

Did I miss anything?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

abunaitoo,
I think Alvarez Kelly pretty much covered it, if you are collecting funds for a business or doing some part-time buy/sell where you are keeping track of profit for tax purposes.

Some of us use the "friends and family" feature for our garage sale type transactions that are done between friends and there is typically no profit. For this, there is no fees for receiving funds...there is no tracking requirement...no shipping label purchase options or requirements or discounts.

I'll also add, that Paypal is affiliated with ebay, and they both have anti-gun policies, so discretion is in order, if you are receiving funds for items that ebay wouldn't allow posted on their website.





I have a few questions. I'm sure the smart people here will have the answers.
1) I only have a credit card on file. Do I need to also add a bank account????
2) How do I get the money out of the account???
3) Are there any fees for taking the money out???
4) Is it possible to have it just go directly into the credit card account????
5) I have my email address as my paypal account name. Can I, should I, change it to something else????

Most of your questions have been answered, but I'll add...
4) I don't think so
5) I use my main email address

[Butchman205]

You don't have to have a bank account attached to it, and I highly discourage EVER letting anybody tie in to a bank account.

What my financial advisor told me (branch manager at bank)...get a credit card from whomever you bank with, and use that ONLY for online purchases or Paypal.

Never use a debit card for online purchases. If there is a problem...you're out the money for possibly months. If you use a credit card...they have to and will fight for you, and you're not charged until it's resolved. (Kinda like playing with their money until resolved).

When you get paid, just leave it in PayPal kinda like a debit account...unless it's a huge amount.

If you want to withdraw money from PayPal, you either have to have a bank account connected with them (I wouldn't), or have them Mail you a check (takes 1-2 weeks in the US).


-Butchman

[DougGuy]

Paypal is VERY anti-gun so make sure none of your transactions mention any of the firearm related keywords as they can and will lock your account. Anything with barrel, bullet, ammo, etc will trigger their word filters.

[Omega]

To receive money through PayPal I don't think you need a bank account tied to it. Money you receive can stay in your PayPal account until you decide to either cash out by transferring to a bank or just buying stuff with it.

[fg-machine]

I have a PayPal business acount .
Transaction charges are 2% with no other fees ... this is why i use PayPal versus taking credit card payments That can cost between 3-6% depending on the credit card plus the yearly fees and all the other charges they want to tack on
you can also get Paypal debit card to make it easier and faster to use the paypal funds .
It may be different now then when I signed up but you need to link an acount or credit card to sign up

[OnHoPr]

With 1. & 4. I am not sure. If your PP account won't transfer to your CC then have them send you a check whenever you like. If you may get frequent payments, maybe open up a separate account at another bank just for PP. You may not want to tie it in with you major bank if you might get these frequent payments. You can add this new bank account in your PP account. Just recently PP and eBay separated, but they are still affiliated somewhat.

2. You can transfer funds from your bank acc. to your PP acc and visa versa very easily. As above I am not sure about transfer of CCs.

3. No fees for transferring funds to you bank acc. They get fees from the transaction in which you sell something. JonB stated another scenario in which you can collect funds.

5. Depending on when you created your PP acc. probably makes a difference. I was in the same shoes you are in about 30 months ago so when I first opened my acc. and took a peek at the three at that time choices I quickly called them and had my acc. changed from a personal acc. to a premier acc.. Those are not available anymore so, I am not sure on the restrictions of the personal acc. on collecting funds at this time. It may only be a couple of ben franklins. If you think you may more do transactions the only other option is the Business acc.


I went to the paypal site and reading through it, it's like talking to a lawyer or politician.
They only tell me what's good for them, not what I want to know.

CORRECT: They have ooooooddddlllllleeess of pages to read. I think they were in congress.lol Just like when those politicians get up and say I am a lawyer and I can't even read this bill. Basically, just do the fundamentals and get set up. They are basically pretty decent most of the time, or have been to me, maybe because they know I don't know how to swindle the system. But, I have heard horror stories. They can deliberate on which ever side they want to deliberate on, if you get my drift. That's why I mentioned opening a new different acc somewhere just for PP and don't link it with your major banking.

If you get X amount of funds in the PP acc. you can ask for a PP debit card and use your funds that way. I think every time you use it you get a tiny % back.

Probably a few other things, but the lids are starting to drop.

You may want to try this link if you want to ship something. It isn't supported any more, but has worked 99% of the time for me. Unless you want to use click n ship on the USPS site. Unless you have UPS or a Fedex acc., I think you can get a discount if you link you PP account to them on shipping.
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

[abunaitoo]

Thank you for all the info.
It has helped me.
I'm not looking for a business account.
Don't do much selling or buying.
Questions....
1) Since I already have an account, do I need to do anything else to accept payments????
2) When I get a payment through "friends and family", can I still request a check for it????
3) Any other pitfalls to taking payments through "friends and family"????

[jonp]

None that I can think of, really. I generally don't take money out of paypal. If I receive payment for something it's not a lot of money and I just leave it there for when I buy something online like at Amazon or here like its a bank account

[marlin39a]

I've had a PayPal account for years, linked to my EBay account for purchasing. Set the account up with my email address. That is what you give buyers as your PayPal ID. They have my Checking/Debit account on file as well as a credit card. When I sell on this site, I give the buyer my paypal ID. I then get a notification of payment. I log into my account and transfer money to my checking. It use to take 3 days to see my money, but lately it shows up over night.
Yes, they don't like guns, and will cancel your account if they find a gun sale.

[Storydude]

www.paypalsucks.com

All you need to know.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Thank you for all the info.
It has helped me.
I'm not looking for a business account.
Don't do much selling or buying.
Questions....
1) Since I already have an account, do I need to do anything else to accept payments????
2) When I get a payment through "friends and family", can I still request a check for it????
3) Any other pitfalls to taking payments through "friends and family"????
You are good to go.
1)nope
2)Yep
3)nope

[abunaitoo]

Thank you all.
I'm going to take the plunge and try it.
Wish me luck.

[MaryB]

My paypal account is tied to my checking account(never has anything in it... I add money if I want to use paypal) and has been for 10+ years with no issues. The people who have paypal issues are he ones who don't use a secure password or they answer a phishing scam and give away their password and account login.

[imashooter2]

PayPal sides with the buyer. In any dispute, they will give them their money back. You send buyer a $1,500 gold bullion coin. He files a dispute saying it isn't as advertised. He sends you back a 1972 Washington quarter. PayPal refunds him his money. Your complaints are ignored.

I've done many transactions, mostly from gun boards, without issue. But if you run across a thief, the system is rigged against you.

[Walkingwolf]

Paypal is VERY anti-gun so make sure none of your transactions mention any of the firearm related keywords as they can and will lock your account. Anything with barrel, bullet, ammo, etc will trigger their word filters.

I have used my paypal to buy guns, only once a problem over ten years ago. I called them, they apologized, and the transaction went through. Almost ALL credit card banks are anti gun, no more, or less so than paypal. Banks charge about the same processing charge as paypal. Ebay and paypal are no longer the same company. Paypal is used by many component online sales vendors.

A lot of rumors about paypal, most untrue. For online purchases paypal will fight for the buyer, sometimes the seller, but most banks will do so for CC transactions. Our bank will do the same for debit card purchases, or fraud, same protection as their credit card.

[Walkingwolf]

PayPal sides with the buyer. In any dispute, they will give them their money back. You send buyer a $1,500 gold bullion coin. He files a dispute saying it isn't as advertised. He sends you back a 1972 Washington quarter. PayPal refunds him his money. Your complaints are ignored.

I've done many transactions, mostly from gun boards, without issue. But if you run across a thief, the system is rigged against you.

They have sided with me as a seller a couple of times. But I would never sell, or buy something that could easily be in the scam range. BTW any credit card charge can be reversed using the same procedures as paypal. Check the ebay forums, many times sellers got burned by the credit card companies. I once got a empty box back on a return, opened at the post office where the fraud was documented. I was then contacted by postal inspectors. Not sure if there ever was an arrest but paypal sided in my favor.

Paypal is not perfect, but pretty much similar to any bank in regards to selling, or buying.

[Storydude]

4700 bucks for a Monarch Lathe. Pewf. Gone. All because the "buyer" claimed the lathe was not as described.

4700 bucks and deaf ears at Paypal.

4700 bucks and the "buyer" said I didn't ship properly.

4700 bucks and I got back a BED and PART of a crossslide.

Take your chances with Paypal. I prefer the old fashioned methods.

[Handloader109]

4700 bucks for a Monarch Lathe. Pewf. Gone. All because the "buyer" claimed the lathe was not as described.

4700 bucks and deaf ears at Paypal.

4700 bucks and the "buyer" said I didn't ship properly.

4700 bucks and I got back a BED and PART of a crossslide.

Take your chances with Paypal. I prefer the old fashioned methods.
I understand, but unfortunately, This issue would be with any online system. No dang way would I sell a $5000 item that isn't ftf cash only. Unless it is a business.

[Handloader109]

4700 bucks for a Monarch Lathe. Pewf. Gone. All because the "buyer" claimed the lathe was not as described.

4700 bucks and deaf ears at Paypal.

4700 bucks and the "buyer" said I didn't ship properly.

4700 bucks and I got back a BED and PART of a crossslide.

Take your chances with Paypal. I prefer the old fashioned methods.
I understand, but unfortunately, This issue would be with any online system. No dang way would I sell a $5000 item that isn't ftf cash only. Unless it is a business.
And with that kind of loss, I'd be Makin' a road trip..... Just sayin'

[MaryB]

I ALWAYS video the opening of any return packages. I had a guy complain about a slabbed American Silver Eagle. I said fine, return it and I will refund your money. Paypal goes by tracking BUT I instantly got on the phone and stopped the refund. I told them I have video evidence of him shipping back a slug of steel in the box. Paypal asked for the video so I uploaded it to photobucket and gave them the link. No refund for the dude, plus he got banned from paypal for fraud. They do take it very seriously but you also have to protect yourself when dealing with anything over $20! Helps that I was running about $10k a year in transactions through them at the time too with ZERO strikes against me for issues. Oh and the guys complaint on the slabbed coin? Slab had a scratch in the case that I had highlighted on the ebay listing so he knew it was there.



PayPal sides with the buyer. In any dispute, they will give them their money back. You send buyer a $1,500 gold bullion coin. He files a dispute saying it isn't as advertised. He sends you back a 1972 Washington quarter. PayPal refunds him his money. Your complaints are ignored.

I've done many transactions, mostly from gun boards, without issue. But if you run across a thief, the system is rigged against you.

[MaryB]

$4700 and I would have been on a plane to the scam artist with a search warrant to search his shop for my equipment!


4700 bucks for a Monarch Lathe. Pewf. Gone. All because the "buyer" claimed the lathe was not as described.

4700 bucks and deaf ears at Paypal.

4700 bucks and the "buyer" said I didn't ship properly.

4700 bucks and I got back a BED and PART of a crossslide.

Take your chances with Paypal. I prefer the old fashioned methods.

[imashooter2]

I ALWAYS video the opening of any return packages. I had a guy complain about a slabbed American Silver Eagle. I said fine, return it and I will refund your money. Paypal goes by tracking BUT I instantly got on the phone and stopped the refund. I told them I have video evidence of him shipping back a slug of steel in the box. Paypal asked for the video so I uploaded it to photobucket and gave them the link. No refund for the dude, plus he got banned from paypal for fraud. They do take it very seriously but you also have to protect yourself when dealing with anything over $20! Helps that I was running about $10k a year in transactions through them at the time too with ZERO strikes against me for issues. Oh and the guys complaint on the slabbed coin? Slab had a scratch in the case that I had highlighted on the ebay listing so he knew it was there.

For every seller wins story, there are a dozen or more seller loses.

[Geezer in NH]

www.paypalsucks.com (http://www.paypalsucks.com)

All you need to know. Plus 1. 8K in account stopped because of Rifle barrel sale. Been Wth them form them starting, they loved selling by them then not. Took 6 months plus and the NH AG and Sec of state threatening to seize all assets as a non bank to get my money from them.

NEVER AGAIN PAYPAL SUCKS.

[abunaitoo]

I decided to try a take my first paypal payment.
Buyer made a good point about "friends and family"
He added extra to cover the fee's on my end.
Felt it was not right for the seller to side step the sellers fee's by using "friends and family"
I agree with him. It just does not feel right o me.
So I will add, in my description, that if paying with paypal, I wll add the fee's cost to the sale total.
Seems fair to me.
Reading of some of the problems some have had, I think I'll limit my payments to lower amounts.
Something that will not hurt me to much if it goes sour.

[imashooter2]

A very reasonable position. Good luck!

[Handloader109]

I I'll add a bit. If you do much with PayPal, and generate $s to much of a degree, I'd move most to my bank and out of PayPal. One thing to note, these guys started out separate from eBay. EBay purchased and ran the company as one for a good number of years. About a year or so ago, (might be 2) they separated again. So there have been changes.. Good and bad.


Oh, and everyone here is a friend until they prove different.

[MaryB]

Using postal money orders for larger buys gives you some fraud coverage in the form of postal mail fraud. They WILL track down any scammers and prosecute them so it makes it a bit safer. You can also get a credit card that is based on deposits, that gives you fraud coverage too!

[BrassMagnet]

Oh, and everyone here is a friend until they prove different.

That is how I feel about.
CastBoolits is my Family and MY Friends are here!
I buy a lot elsewhere, like FleaBay, and they are not friends.
I just got scammed on FleaBay last month. A full, but very old, swaging setup. It had a starting price and a "Buy it now!" price out of Canada. The price was so good I did the "Buy it now!" and I never heard from the seller again. No tracking, no nothing. When it was three days past the latest delivery date (Almost a Month!) I opened a dispute and my only comment to the seller was "Any tracking info?" which went unanswered. So no communication ever with the seller.
FleaBay promptly refunded my money and I bought some brass from an old friend here on CastBoolits!
All is well that ends well!

[abunaitoo]

Took another payment.
Buyer sent extra to cover the fees, and I refunded the difference.
I think it's the best way for both parties.
When I list something, I'll include that a extra fee will be added to cover the fees. A refund will be returned for the over payment.
Extra will depend on the final price of the item.
I'm feeling better about taking payments.
Now to try and get the money out.
Hope it goes well.

Might have found a problem with this.
When I return the over payment for the fee, someone has to pay for the refund transaction.
So I'm guessing this might not work as well as I had thought.
Probably just charge for the fee, no return if over.

[Tom Myers]

Took another payment.
Buyer sent extra to cover the fees, and I refunded the difference.
I think it's the best way for both parties.
When I list something, I'll include that a extra fee will be added to cover the fees. A refund will be returned for the over payment.
Extra will depend on the final price of the item.
I'm feeling better about taking payments.
Now to try and get the money out.
Hope it goes well.

Might have found a problem with this.
When I return the over payment for the fee, someone has to pay for the refund transaction.
So I'm guessing this might not work as well as I had thought.
Probably just charge for the fee, no return if over.

abunaitoo,

It has been my experience that, when a refund is made to a customer:
1. Pay Pal Refunds the customer the full price paid for the item:
2. Pay Pal Debits your account with the full price paid for the Item.
3. Pay Pal Credits your account with 2.9% of the full price paid for the Item.
4. Pay Pal keeps the 30¢ Flat Fee for the Transaction.

It doesn't appear that Pay Pal charges the 30 cent flat fee for the refund transaction so, if you issue a refund, you are only short by 30 cents. That's one of the costs of doing business

To avoid refunding any fee overpayment, you can figure the amount to jack up the selling price to cover the 2.9% transaction fee and the 30 cent flat fee.

Here is the initial formula:

Selling Price - 2.9% x Selling Price - 0.30 = Money Received

After doing the algebra to make this into a simple procedure, you come up with this.

(Money Received x 1.029) + 0.3087 = Selling Price

Keeping it simple, multiply the amount you wish to receive for the transaction x 1.03, add 31 cents and you will arrive at a selling price that will be within a fraction of a penny of covering the item price, percentage fee and transaction fee.


************************

Item Price x 1.03 + 0.31 = Price to Charge for the Item.

************************

$25.00 x 1.03 = 25.75 + 0.31 = $26.06

Charge $26.06 for the Item.

Pay Pal deducts 2.9% of the selling price then deducts the 30 cent transaction fee and you receive the remainder.

0.029 x 26.06 = 0.75574 = 0.76 + 0.30 = $1.06 (Pay Pal keeps)

$26.06 - $1.06 = $25.00

You get the price you want for the item, Pay Pal gets their cut, your customer gets what he/she wants, everybody wins.

Hope this helps.

[DCP]

abunaitoo,

It has been my experience that, when a refund is made to a customer:
1. Pay Pal Refunds the customer the full price paid for the item:
2. Pay Pal Debits your account with the full price paid for the Item.
3. Pay Pal Credits your account with 2.9% of the full price paid for the Item.
4. Pay Pal keeps the 30¢ Flat Fee for the Transaction.

It doesn't appear that Pay Pal charges the 30 cent flat fee for the refund transaction so, if you issue a refund, you are only short by 30 cents. That's one of the costs of doing business

To avoid refunding any fee overpayment, you can figure the amount to jack up the selling price to cover the 2.9% transaction fee and the 30 cent flat fee.

Here is the initial formula:

Selling Price - 2.9% x Selling Price - 0.30 = Money Received

After doing the algebra to make this into a simple procedure, you come up with this.

(Money Received x 1.029) + 0.3087 = Selling Price

Keeping it simple, multiply the amount you wish to receive for the transaction x 1.03, add 31 cents and you will arrive at a selling price that will be within a fraction of a penny of covering the item price, percentage fee and transaction fee.


************************

Item Price x 1.03 + 0.31 = Price to Charge for the Item.

************************

$25.00 x 1.03 = 25.75 + 0.31 = $26.06

Charge $26.06 for the Item.

Pay Pal deducts 2.9% of the selling price then deducts the 30 cent transaction fee and you receive the remainder.

0.029 x 26.06 = 0.75574 = 0.76 + 0.30 = $1.06 (Pay Pal keeps)

$26.06 - $1.06 = $25.00

You get the price you want for the item, Pay Pal gets their cut, your customer gets what he/she wants, everybody wins.

Hope this helps.

You round up 2.9 to 3 I get that

How do you come up with .31 when the flat fee is .30

[Tom Myers]

You round up 2.9 to 3 I get that

How do you come up with .31 when the flat fee is .30

Sorry, I should have been more explicit in the previous post.

I realize that it doesn't look right but if the algebra is done correctly, sometimes funny things happen.

Selling Price - 2.9% x Selling Price - 0.30 = Money Received

2.9% = 0.029

(SP - 0.029 x SP) -0.30 = MR

Simplify the factors of SP
(1 x SP - 0.029 x SP) = 0.971 SP

0.971 x SP - 0.30 = MR

Any action that changes the value of one side of the equation must also be performed upon the opposite side of the equation.

Add 0.30 to each side of the equation

(0.971 x SP - 0.30) + 0.30 = MR + 0.30

0.971 x SP = MR + 0.30

Divide each side of the equation by 0.971

(0.971 x SP) / 0.971 = (MR + 0.30) / 0.971

1 x SP = (MR + 0.30) / 0.971

expand the division of each factor on the right side of the quation
SP = (MR / 0.971) + (0.30 / 0.971)

Simplify each factor on the right side of the equation
MR / 0.971 = 1.029866117 x MR
0.30 / 0.971 = 0.3089598352

Round off each value to the nearest cent
SP = 1.03 x MR + 0.31

Hope this helps.

[MaryB]

I charge the same price I would if someone was here in person buying from me. I eat the fee because it is a cost of doing business and about the same cost as a credit card processor.