e-bay users what is pay pal?

[alf3482]

I know you probably think this is dumb but what is it and how do you use it? just curious.(sp)

[Fishrat]

Paypal is a free service that that is offered to anyone that wants to buy / sell items from individuals online or otherwise.... Basically a way to transfer money online via credit card, bank card, checking acct. etc...
You must complete a user registration at www.paypal.com, they will verify your address and credit card info and then you will be able to send money directly to your E-bay seller using his email address and his name. There is no cost for the buyer of merchandise. I'm not sure about the seller (I've never sold anything this way). It's very easy to use and provides a reasonable level of secure transactions and a good paper trail.

[alf3482]

all right. Thank you. some one was selling with pay pal only i had know idea what it was. thanks again

[ChrisIsBored]

PayPal is a form on online cash. Using your credit card(or writing them a check) you can upload money into your PayPal account and use it to purchase things online. There are various online stores that accept PayPal(not a lot) and a lot of people on eBay and other sites use it as well.

They aren't what they used to be however. You'll get charged every time someone send you money, last I heard it was up to 2.5 % or something like that. It adds up over time when you sell a lot of stuff. I eventually got rid of it, too much hassle.

If you're not careful, it's an easy way to get reamed up the hole by fraud. PayPal does hardly anything to help you when this occurs. I had 3 or 4 transactions reversed on me, sent the product, PayPal reversed it later down the road, never saw the money again. The worst one was... i'm nice and happy, then bam, $300 was gone from a transaction almost 2 months prior. What a jip. In total I lost close to $500 in reversed transactions. They've worked on making it a little more secure now though, but alas, too late for me. I already closed my PayPal account long ago. I have no regrets.

EDIT: I spend all that time writing and two replies are sent before me :eek1:

[alf3482]

no i am glad you did i have done visa/ MC on other auctions never had to use a pay pal before, i was only interested in what it was for this one item that said pay pal only. last thing i need is another worry i'll stick to credit card only i think. Thanks for the info Chris.

[ChrisIsBored]

If you're only buying stuff from others don't get me wrong, PayPal is great! So many people use it and you can use your credit card through PayPal to send the seller their payment instantly. It's quicker than snail mail.

You just have to put more caution on the selling side. Especially when you're dealing with thousands of dollars.

For general purchasing stuff off ebay I'd say go for it.

[Snailman]

I am an eBy buyer and seller and I have been using PayPal a long time. It was all free and I thought that it was great. Then a did a dutch auction and I got an email from them and they told me that I had exceded the $100 a month reciving rule and that I would have to convert to a payment account which I did so I could get my money. From that view point it is great for buyers but not so great for sellers but id sellers don't accept it then it will be no use to buyers. Their charges are less than the other services so your only choise is money orders and I mail my share of them.