PayPal

[Nolatoolguy]

I was considering opening a PayPal account to help make online transactions easier along with do my own ebay stuff. Any advice or caution on it? What's your personal thoughts on PayPal?

[johnsironsanctuary]

The good news is that Paypal makes it easy and quick to pay for stuff online, especially Ebay.  The bad news is that you must give them a credit card account and a checking account to draw funds from if your Paypal account is dry. Find a bank with free checking and open an account. Keep a low balance in the account, but keep it active enough not to incur fees.  Find a credit card with terms you can live with and apply for an account with a very low limit like $1000 or $1500. In spite of everything that they tell you about how safe they are, EVERYTHING gets hacked sooner or later. Keep the balances low enough that you won't die if something goes wrong and keep Paypal out of you regular checking and credit card accounts. So far, I have not had those kind of problems and I hope that you never have them.

[Lostmind]

It does make things faster and easier . What I don't like is all the personal info
they have and the controls they have on your bank account .
I've heard many accounts where they are on the buyers side only and the seller
looses , but I have not had any problems in two years. I guess if you follow the rules and be fair
you don't have problems. Most of the bad things I hear come from Ebay transactions.
Don't expect to ever talk to a real person.
With the cost of postage and money orders , it's getting where paypal is about the same cost on
items under $20.00
A lot of buyers won't do it any other way , so you loose them if you don't have it.

[sumner52000]

I love paypal.  I usually keep a balance of $200-300 in my account.  That should cover anything i find and want to buy.  When you get paid through paypal they keep .30 plus 3%.  But it is much easier than waiting on money orders and running to the post office.  I also love to print and pay for flat rate shipping from paypal then just leave it in the mailbox to be picked up.  Yes they charge a fee for the service they provide, but to me it is a reasonable amount.

[okeefe58]

Paypal is the greatest, and if your worried about hacking, they have a small key chain sized number generator device. You put in your password, then paypal asks for the number, press it's button and put in the number it generates. Works every time and extra secure. (also works with ebay) The generated number works for 30 seconds only, so you cant get more secure than that. Apparently they have different ones now than when I bought mine, and an option to work with cell phones. I paid 5 bucks for mine years ago:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing_CommandDriven/securitycenter/PayPalSecurityKey-outside

THERE - I even made a paypal post about a "tool"

EDIT: Holy National Debt - They're now $29.95 (WTH, That's only 6 times what they were 4 years ago)

[Papaw]

You can back your Paypal account with a debit card on a normal checking account. Just keep a good balance in the Paypal account, and the minimum to avoid service charges in the debit card account. The debit account probably shouldn't be your primary checking account.

Yes, they charge fees, but the service provided is worth it to me.

[dimwittedmoose51]

So far I've been happy with Paypal,as their 3% seems fair, but having it take 3-4 business days to transfer money from the PP acct. to my checking account is a bit much in these days of electronic banking.  They're just skimming more "float" off of us poor old tool freaks....

DM&FS

[dimwittedmoose51]

fprgpt to check the replies button....sorry...

[RedVise]

. The debit account probably shouldn't be your primary checking account.

That one is critical.

If you keep your Paypal separate from your personal account, you will have  much better chance of less grief down the road.

Brian L.

that sentence reads funny, but you get my meaning.

[Batz]

I find it extremely handy especially buying international, paypal makes it too easy.

batz

[amertrac]

stay awayI ]repeat [staway from paypal connect  they are always three or four days late in crediting your payment.use your credit card . it really works good on usps they give you a break. bob w.

[HeelSpur]

If I can't pay cash I just do without. That's my solution.

[1930]

. The debit account probably shouldn't be your primary checking account.

That one is critical.

If you keep your Paypal separate from your personal account, you will have  much better chance of less grief down the road.

Brian L.

that sentence reads funny, but you get my meaning.

Or you can just remain in the poor house like me and then you will not have to worry about what they can take from you

[mikeswrenches]

There is an unasked question here.  And that is are you going to be buying or selling?  If you are only going to be buying then you don't need a bank account, only a credit card...or a debit card as long as it is not linked to your checking account.  At least that is the way it was when I used to sell there.  As was pointed out above, get a credit card that will have a low limit...no more than you can afford to lose.  Paypal is very buyer friendly, but not so for sellers.

The reason you need a bank acct. is only for them to have some place to transfer your money to when you sell something.  Being extremely untrustworthy of Paypal, I opened a separate account that I used for Paypal to transfer money to.  As soon as they claimed they had transferred it, I then went to the bank and cleaned the account out and put it in a different account.  NEVER leave money in an account that PP has access to if they decide that you owe them for something, whether they are right or wrong, they will go into that account and take it.  It is then up to you to prove they are wrong.  Now they can also charge your credit card, but at least if that happens you can go to your CC company and file a complaint.

Here is something else that is not well know.  Paypal is not a bank!!  They do not have to follow any of the rules and regulations that banks have to follow...and they don't!!  In most states they are licensed as a money transmitter and generally have 10 days to get you your money, if you are a seller.  Just like Western Union.  As a buyer you pretty much don't care.  They therefore fall under state regulations rather then federal.

Is it convenient?  Absolutely.  Is it safe?  For buyers, Yes.  For sellers, not so much.

If you care to read more about PP go to the following link.  Or just google PP problems.  You'll be reading the rest of the night.

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/

Mike

[Lostmind]

Mike , you did a good job of describing what I mentioned  I had heard about.
I also remove my money from my paypal account ,usually the same day.
I also keep a low balance in the checking account I only use to transfer paypal to.
Good advice . Many other forums have posts about buyers filing claims against sellers ,
and paypal  seems to favor the buyer , same as Ebay.
It's a good , needed service , just be careful.