[braillediver]

It's the cost of doing business.

I get back that “cost of doing business” by having a larger customer base, more confidant customers, the ability to take credit cards and some security (double security by using a credit card). Add to that the ability to ship immediately upon payment instead of having a transaction linger for weeks.

A check or money order can bounce at anytime even a month or 2. Add to that the hassle of going to the bank- the 4% is trivial.

If 4% is too much you’re probably in the wrong business.


Mitch

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's the cost of doing business. I get back that “cost of doing business” by having a larger customer base, more confidant customers, the ability to take credit cards and some security (double security by using a credit card). Add to that the ability to ship immediately upon payment instead of having a transaction linger for weeks. A check or money order can bounce at anytime even a month or 2. Add to that the hassle of going to the bank- the 4% is trivial. If 4% is too much you’re probably in the wrong business. Mitch

I suppose you're somewhat right, as you argue some fair points. I think, for me, its just knowing, that despite the very fast and convenient and secure service they are offering, that they are just able to be a bit greedier and take a bigger slice of your deal cos they can and are in a position to (being pretty much, the only existing option for this service). Maybe I'm just too used to buying from commercial retailers online, where the core price is it (obviously, if you meet the prequisites for free shipping etc), no add ons or cuts shaved off. I don't fully understand the mechanics of how paypal works and is implemented, in practice, physically, but it seems like, now that they have this facility set up and running smoothly, they are making **** loads of money for doing pretty much nothing! In the right (or wrong) frame of mind, I can't help but resent that!

 

[Blackmore]

However I am agree, want to point it out again. Nothing wrong with the fees, its just the step ( from 3.9% to 4.25% ) they made is huge, imo. Another thing, which is also have to be mentioned, is the exchange rate they offer you. For example EUR 1 cost USD 1.55 normally, but you will get USD 1.52 when paid through Paypal.
And I am not in the wrong business, just an open mind discussion, so lets do not get personal please. THX.

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's the cost of doing business. I get back that “cost of doing business” by having a larger customer base, more confidant customers, the ability to take credit cards and some security (double security by using a credit card). Add to that the ability to ship immediately upon payment instead of having a transaction linger for weeks. A check or money order can bounce at anytime even a month or 2. Add to that the hassle of going to the bank- the 4% is trivial. If 4% is too much you’re probably in the wrong business. Mitch

 

[santiclaws]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's the cost of doing business. I get back that “cost of doing business” by having a larger customer base, more confidant customers, the ability to take credit cards and some security (double security by using a credit card). Add to that the ability to ship immediately upon payment instead of having a transaction linger for weeks. A check or money order can bounce at anytime even a month or 2. Add to that the hassle of going to the bank- the 4% is trivial. If 4% is too much you’re probably in the wrong business. Mitch

I agree completely. For the service they offer, 4% is not much. A retail business which accepts credit cards has to pay a 2-3% fee for accepting credit cards, and I believe it is something like 7% for AmEx.

I'm willing to bet if you're selling, the ability to use PayPal will bump your final sales price by well over 4%. Many people will not bid on stuff at all if PayPal is not an option.

What bothers me about PayPal is their nonexistant customer service, and the "float" - they get the money immediately once it is transferred from your bank to your PayPal account, but they keep it for several days before making the money available in the account. Some enterprising lawyers are going to make some big money some day from that little practice.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by santiclaws /img/forum/go_quote.gif What bothers me about PayPal is their nonexistant customer service, and the "float" - they get the money immediately once it is transferred from your bank to your PayPal account, but they keep it for several days before making the money available in the account. Some enterprising lawyers are going to make some big money some day from that little practice.

What, you mean in a lawsuit against it?

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif I opened up a thread on this before but anyway, I'm going to ask again to those of you in the US: Why Paypal? Why not direct bank transfer?

Perhaps because in general bank transfers in the US will cost more than using PayPal, and also be much less convenient.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Perhaps because in general bank transfers in the US will cost more than using PayPal, and also be much less convenient.

Regardless of whether you do this over the counter or the internet?

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Regardless of whether you do this over the counter or the internet?

Over the counter is pretty much the only way it can be done, for the most part. Online banking is largely limited to transferring between your own accounts.

 

[slowfreight]

Im surprised PP did'nt raise prices sooner.

 

[floydenheimer]

I posted this a while back and no one seemed to care, so once again please check out RME!

 

[grawk]

Revolution Money has the additional benefit that it's owned by the owner of the washington capitals, so you get caps related perks

 

[FallenAngel]

I miss Canada; brilliant concept among the top 5 banks - they all agreed to use Interac EMT (Email Money Transfer). It's bank-bank, secure, no middleman (like the evil person that is PayPal which can and does hold money, restrict transactions, and a swarm of other nasty stuff); it costs $1.50 to the sender and you're DONE! That's it, nothing else, no privacy issues, all you need is an email address to send the money to.

Financial institutions in US are just plain stupid American bastards! Credit cards, money transfers, the amount of personal information stored by these companies, it's all so extremely screwed up! Guess that's why people use PayPal, banks make it hard to move money.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Over the counter is pretty much the only way it can be done, for the most part. Online banking is largely limited to transferring between your own accounts.

That's sad. Over here in Australia, we are not strapped with such fees for national transfers (done over online fronts). Transfers between different banks might take 1-3 business days longer than those within the same bank, which are instant, but that's about it.

I do not hold much faith in Paypal's protection policy either since the PP accounts can always be emptied and, more often than not, the defrauded have to resort to cc chargeback (which is external to Paypal already).

 

[Uncle Erik]

Does anyone use Google Checkout? I've never tried it, but it might be an option.

I don't sell much gear, but I use a rebate/reward credit card for purchases through PayPal. It is good protection against fraud and I get benefits from the card.