Is PayPal any good?

[Patrick L]

Lots of good advice here, thank you all!

I have bought on ebay using the guest feature, and just used my credit card. Truth is, I don't really think I need this for buying. I rarely sell anything online, except occasionally here, and in that case I trust the forum members and accept their checks or money orders.

The reason I am considering it is that, due to recent circumstances, I will be selling some fairly pricey musical instruments on forums similar to this one, just music oriented.

I guess I would definitely set up a neutral bank account, I have heard they can freeze accounts linked to them. I also might just set this up to accomplish what I want to do, then just shut it all down when I'm done with it.

Thank you again for all the advice!

[rancher1913]

a word of caution on pricey musical instruments. a friend sold a really old squeeze box that belonged to his grandmother, it had some kind of fancy internals and was a top of the line accordion. guy bought it and my friend shipped it, guy got it not problem, about a week later the guy says its not as described and returned it, my friend got it back but it was missing all the fancy parts and was useless, my friend tried to stop the payment return and was denied so he was stuck with a ruined accordion and no money.

[am44mag]

Optics Planet lists PayPal as a payment option, and I have used it to buy AR parts there. I believe that their main issue is with the actual buying and selling of firearms. You can get the payment past them very easily, but should there be an issue with the transaction, they will not only not help you, but they will likely lock your account and possibly seize any funds in it (PayPal account, not bank account) when they find out that it was for a firearm.

I do not like their politics, but they have a very good system for sending money and nobody else offers a similar system on a widespread scale. They basically have a monopoly. As already stated in this thread, if you choose to avoid every anti-gun business, you are going to have a very hard time of it. You might as well unplug your computer, toss your phone, and give up most modern luxuries.

[am44mag]

a word of caution on pricey musical instruments. a friend sold a really old squeeze box that belonged to his grandmother, it had some kind of fancy internals and was a top of the line accordion. guy bought it and my friend shipped it, guy got it not problem, about a week later the guy says its not as described and returned it, my friend got it back but it was missing all the fancy parts and was useless, my friend tried to stop the payment return and was denied so he was stuck with a ruined accordion and no money.

That sounds like a lawsuit.

PayPal almost always sides with the buyer, which is one of their biggest issues. They offer buyer protection, but no real seller protection.

[William Yanda]

I use PP. I do not agree with their anti-gun policies, but they have been an effective means for me to collect for Ebay sales. They charge .30 plus a percentage per sale. To me, it is a cost of doing business, similar to postage, packaging supplies, etc. I carry PP plastic and find it an easy means to tap into my funds. I don't remember having the card refused. Transfers between "friends and family", not for goods or services, incur no fees. I do not feel bad about paying the fee because they do offer protection for the buyer.
The advantage over a cc for me is that transactions are not scrutinized by SWMBO.

[knifemaker]

a word of caution on pricey musical instruments. a friend sold a really old squeeze box that belonged to his grandmother, it had some kind of fancy internals and was a top of the line accordion. guy bought it and my friend shipped it, guy got it not problem, about a week later the guy says its not as described and returned it, my friend got it back but it was missing all the fancy parts and was useless, my friend tried to stop the payment return and was denied so he was stuck with a ruined accordion and no money.

That was a mistake on the part of the seller. He should have waited until he got the item back to examine it to see if it was in the same condition that he sent it. Returning the payment before getting the item back allowed the buyer to remove the funds from his account before any complaint was lodged with Paypal. Only option left is small claims court that is not worth it if buyer was in another state or far from the seller's location.

[abunaitoo]

I don't like them, but I do use them.
They are rabbit anti-gun.
Donate to every anti-gun group possible.
Support every anti-gun damacrat.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup I use it because I had my credit card hacked twice just using the card. Much safer with paypal.

I've used it for years. Best thing is, it gives a middleman who protects you from fraud. If someone doesn't deliver, they take the money away from them. If using for business, never use the "Friends and Family" dodge like some do. They don't cover those transactions.

[ioon44]

This is where I am with paypal also "I don't like them, but I do use them. They are rabbit anti-gun." I look at it this way , if we use paypal for gun related purpose's, then paypal is being used for something they are against. The left being the hypocrites they are they will always take the money.

[ascast]

All above is true. I have an account, and pp credit card. Best thing when you buy something, you can pay for it and DONE. No stops at the post, which I tend to forget to do. I wish there was a gun friendly alternative that was as quick and convenient and universally accepted. Get your self hooked up.

[Geezer in NH]

I was with them when they started until they burnt me for 8K over there politik. Took over 6 months to get my money back. I have to thank the NH AG office for getting it for me.

I will never use them again.

[Alan in Vermont]

I've been using PP for probably 10 years. Now I ask my buyers to send me their PP info, then I send them an invoice. After that it's all super easy, once they pay it's only a click or two to print the shipping label and schedule a pickup, all without having to wrestle with the USPS site, in addition to that the shipping is at some(cheaper)rate and the difference in shipping cost pretty much covers the PP transaction fee. Even at full fee it's way cheaper/easier than messing with USPS money orders.

[trapper9260]

One of the mold company on that dose group buys MP they use PP. and did not have problems with it,Just do not use it often when I see I do not need to. They did took care of a problem that I had in the past that I bought some items from someone on Ebay and the person did not send the items So I contact PP and got my money back. No problems after that .

[higgins]

I opened a Paypal account years ago, primarily for buying parts and tools on ebay; at that time many small vendors didn't take a credit card. The last time I bought things on ebay, all the vendors I used took CCs. After my Paypal acct. being idle a couple of years I closed it because I just do not like an account of any kind out there for someone to access when I'm not using it.

For buying from individuals, like here, I have yet to find anyone that will not take either a personal check if the purchase isn't too big, or a USPS money order for a larger purchase.

[Randy Bohannon]

I like for everywhere it is used, keeps my bank info from the seller, just me and Pay Pal. I also use a special debit card tied to it for purchases, put $ in the account before I spend . Zero fraud charges, not so with any other Electronic/internet transaction except with a VPN

[Bazoo]

No, you don't have to have it, though it does make things easier. You can pay with a regular credit card, too. You can use Paypal elsewhere, too. I just installed the kitchen range I bought from Home Depot and had delivered to my house from the store for free, using my Paypal account. (wrote that as range, realized that it would have a somewhat different meaning in this forum. WISH I could have a real range sent from HD.

Perhaps it's just to sell? I don't sell a lot, but have sold some in the past. Been so long now since i set it up I can't remember.

That's pretty good, just bought a new range...

[tinsnips]

I have been using them for a long time for my business ,have a credit card connected with my account. I don't get my credit card hacked when using PayPal . I wish I could say that for my regular credit card use have been hacked numerous times.

[Stick_man]

We use PayPal as an option at work for receiving payment from our customers. IF you sell anything that is being paid for through PP, please make sure you require a PP verified shipping address. With that, you get the seller protection that some have mentioned. Make sure you ship via common carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.) and get tracking information. If the buyer is fraudulent, you can get burned without the protection. Buyers can still claim the item wasn't received or it was different than the description, but the more documentation you have, the safer you will be against fraud. I would guess that PayPal sides with the buyer in probably around 90% of all cases without the seller protection. Transaction fees are typically in the 3-5% range for domestic transactions. Tack on another 1-2% if foreign and their exchange rates are nowhere near the best available.

[Gobeyond]

I like to buy on PayPal because no fees. But selling is easy and dependable.

[Scrounge]

Perhaps it's just to sell? I don't sell a lot, but have sold some in the past. Been so long now since i set it up I can't remember.

That's pretty good, just bought a new range...

Haven't sold anything but books since I crashed my teaching career, and there was a long gap between that and selling all the Sailor Moon anime stuff my daughters suddenly outgrew a few years before that. Do buy now and again. Finally found a primer arm for my Spar-T press there a few weeks ago, been looking for one on and off for over 20 years. The odd camera, book, or tool, these days. Someone's trying to sell a set of indexing center for an Atlas mill for $800. He had no takers with 14 hours to go, and they usually sell for $123-178 according to the offer tool, so I offered $100. Probably won't get it, but who knows. I keep looking for a small mill near enough that I can pick it up, but no joy there, either, so far. Gotta be patient, I keep telling myself.