How does PayPal work if you're a seller?

[Benzadmiral]

I've bought things on eBay and one or two other places before, and used PayPal. It was simple, from a buyer's perspective: The charge hits the credit card you've linked to your PayPal account.

What if you're a seller? Let's say I have a vintage watch I want to sell, and I post my ad on a busy forum. I get a solid bite from a buyer, he agrees to my price, and he uses PayPal. Do the funds he sends go onto my card as a credit, and to get the cash I have to do a cash advance? (Never done that either, because I understand there are vicious interest rates on that.) If my card balance is 0, would I then have a credit on the card?

Or, as I've gleaned from a search here, can PayPal be told to put the funds directly into my bank account?

And PayPal takes 3% of the funds? Should I simply post the price as including both that 3% and the shipping fees, so he pays me one figure, and my costs come out of that?

TIA!

 

[HTSS_TR]

The total selling price includes shipping and handling will be credited to your Paypal account after Paypal subtract their commission.

When you have credit in your Paypal account you can transfer the credit to your bank account that you set up in your Paypal account.

Paypal is very safe, there is no chance for you to loose any money because of buyer doesn't have fund in their credit card account or bank account. It is very fast too, it took few minutes after buyer paid and you're receiving credit.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Thanks, HTSS_TR,

So I should simply post the price as ($NNN plus domestic shipping plus 3%). The buyer transfers funds to my PayPal account, PayPal deducts their 3%, and I get the remainder?

It does sound simple and safe -- a great many people use it, to put it mildly -- but I've read a few posts here of people having issues. Are problems just more likely to crop up for high-volume sellers or with high selling prices?

 

[BeanCounter]

I think money can be transferred as a "gift" with no 3% deduction if necessary, but yes, you may want to include that 3%, or whatever the exact amount is, is added using paypal, unless if that amount is small enough that you would rather take the hit to save the trouble from depositing a check/money order/etc.

From the times I have sold, I think I would typically take the hit unless the amount got substantially higher, but then again, it probably is more fair to be compensated for that amount. Just depends who wants to pick up the tab from paypal.

 

[danster]

Actually, it is against their rules to charge the buyers an additional fee for using their services.

You may not need to pay any fee if you have the (basic) individual account and you receive less than $100 in payments in a month.

 

[BeanCounter]

As to your last post, I would just say to read the paypal site over really good. Sometimes there are quirks with how much money you can transfer or receive in a specific amount of time, etc. etc.

By problems, were you referring more to people not paying up or it being the sellers' fault? Or did you mean problems with the transferal process of funds?

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: danster
Actually, it is against their rules to charge the buyers an additional fee for using their services.


I didn't know that. Good to know though, I may have to look into that.

Some of the more recent folks I have sold to I knew, and they threw in a few extra bucks to cover the charge, but I didn't have the sale set up that way. Oh well.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: BeanCounter
As to your last post, I would just say to read the paypal site over really good. Sometimes there are quirks with how much money you can transfer or receive in a specific amount of time, etc. etc.

By problems, were you referring more to people not paying up or it being the sellers' fault? Or did you mean problems with the transferal process of funds?

Skimming over some posts here gave me the impression that if PayPal arbitrarily decides that a certain transaction is "risky," you have a heck of a time clearing up the misunderstanding.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

My paypal account was stolen and it took me forever to get it straightened out. Watch out for bogus, very credible faux paypal emails that are out to steal your P.I.

 

[mpvue]

I've used paypal for as long as its been around, no issues. my wife has a ebay store, and I've sold a lot of of stuff. I just consider the paypal charges the cost of doing business.

 

[Pablo]

Paypal has strengths and weaknesses as all forms of systems for accepting money do. It's so easy with Paypal, and it so easy with the built in USPS shipping.

We just set up a complete regular cc acceptance system. We thought it would be cheaper than Paypal. All said and done, it's about the same. There are 3 basic layers of companies who must be paid. The worst is the merchant bank.....but anyway our business has increased, because there are just some people who won't use Paypal, even if just for a cc purchase without needing an account.


Paypal is relatively safe and quick. (Use all precautions and manually log in)

Paypal is quirky before you have a rep as a merchant. Eventually the number of random payment reviews decreases. They somewhat protect transactions - but never ever forget they are out to protect #1, Paypal.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
My paypal account was stolen and it took me forever to get it straightened out. Watch out for bogus, very credible faux paypal emails that are out to steal your P.I.


Just look at the links and see that ANY phishing emails are NOT a Paypal site. Just like any other email asking for you to click on them. Email 101...

Also it is correct, against the rules to change extra for any CC payment. Paypal or not.

You can offer a cash discount, but not a CC surcharge.

Bill

 

[Augustus]

It's possible to have more than one PayPal account. But you'll need a separate checking account and email address for each.

You can have the basic account to avoid the fees for transfers totaling less than $100(?) a month - no credit cards.

And the PayPal business account (2 types) - which is required by eBay (which owns PayPal) because eBay requires eBay sellers to accept credit card payments.

Dig around on the PayPal site for details.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah


Also it is correct, against the rules to change extra for any CC payment. Paypal or not.

You can offer a cash discount, but not a CC surcharge.

Bill



Really? My state has a $5 "convenience fee" when paying business taxes with a credit card.