[ph0rk]

Everyone,
It seems paypal has changed it so that any sale of "goods" or "services" gets hit with a 2.9% + $.30 fee - the only way to avoid it (even with a personal account) is to select "gift" under the personal tab when sending money.

Looks like this just changed June 3rd, so FYI.

PayPal makes important changes to Policies effective June / July 2009 « TheBrewsNews

 

[Uncle Erik]

Thanks for letting us know. I wonder if credit card issuers jumped the fees on PayPal as a result of the recent legislation.

 

[kjk1281]

Quote:

(2) Personal PayPal accounts, where all payments except those funded by credit card, are free for the receiver. However, beginning June 3, 2009, personal PayPal accounts will no longer going to be available for use by anyone who sales goods or services no matter the amount. If you sell a $1 item then you must convert your personal PayPal account to a commercial account and pay fees on all transactions no matter the funding source used. This is a major change and many very small or part-time online sellers won’t see this one coming.

This is complete bullcrap. I have never sold a single item on eBay (and I never will), but I do occasionally sell an odd item or two on the For Sale forums here. If I'm forced to change my personal account to a commercial account, I'll have no choice but to raise my prices, even though most people pay me with their account balances. It's already bad enough that I was charged 6% on an international credit card purchase! Hopefully there will be some way around this mess (will the "gift" trick work?), since I see no alternative to PayPal emerging anytime soon.

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjk1281 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is complete bullcrap. I have never sold a single item on eBay (and I never will), but I do occasionally sell an odd item or two on the For Sale forums here. If I'm forced to change my personal account to a commercial account, I'll have no choice but to raise my prices, even though most people pay me with their account balances. It's already bad enough that I was charged 6% on an international credit card purchase! Hopefully there will be some way around this mess (will the "gift" trick work?), since I see no alternative to PayPal emerging anytime soon.

If the buyer sends the money as a gift it would work, but paypal won't "protect" any gift transactions.

Imho, 2.9% + $.30 is a bit high for protection.

 

[kjk1281]

Thanks ph0rk. I wouldn't mind paying the 3% for credit card purchases, but charging for balance transfers just seems a bit much.

The reason I'm a bit peeved by all of this is that I don't sell to make a profit, but merely to get rid of stuff I no longer use. In my view I'm not "cheating" the system, although it appears that PayPal thinks otherwise.

 

[tattoou2]

Humbug!!!

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjk1281 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks ph0rk. I wouldn't mind paying the 3% for credit card purchases, but charging for balance transfers just seems a bit much. The reason I'm a bit peeved by all of this is that I don't sell to make a profit, but merely to get rid of stuff I no longer use. In my view I'm not "cheating" the system, although it appears that PayPal thinks otherwise.

Yeah, it is pretty irritating. However, buyers can get around it by sending the money as a gift, they just lose any chance of buyer protection (not that it would have been much good with an internet forum purchase anyway).

 

[Uncle Erik]

Such a shame that the antitrust laws are no longer enforced.

Political comments withheld.

 

[floydenheimer]

US residents really should check out Revolution Money Exchange if they're not happy with paying fees.

 

[compuryan]

Sigh, I thought paypal already took enough money from me to cover the entire world's paypal fees. They must be making a killing if they take as much from everybody else as they do from me. That little 2.9% + $.30 is some serious **** if you're selling something thats close to $1000. And they still need to take more?

 

[krmathis]

Thanks for letting us know!

 

[MaZa]

Good to know. Are there any international alternatives for Paypal btw?

*edit* That would be equally easy to use that is.

 

[mrarroyo]

Greed and paying for the corporate perks explains the fees perfectly.

 

[LeftyGorilla]

???

They provide a service that you value using and you are upset about paying for it?

 

[linuxworks]

paypal hooks people then insists they attach more and more info to their account.

the thing is, they are NOT A BANK and give no protection. you are dealing with a COMPANY and not a bank. huge difference.

at some point, I'll stop using PP. I think they have an internal cutoff limit and if you don't 'link' you get cut off. I have not hit that yet (I am not verified but I am confirmed or something like that) but I've read that if you hit some number limit you MUST then link to something (card or bank). and they WILL dip in and hold your money, so I won't ever be 'linking' to a damned thing.

if I'm cutoff at some point, so be it.

paypal sucks. it really does. I see organized crime happening inside paypal (if not right away, over time).