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"Hidden" PayPal Fees Inciting Community Unrest
Several sites are reporting on the addition of extra fees to PayPal that are just starting to become common knowledge. While PayPal has certainly had their fair share of controversy, the new "transaction fees" that promise to affect the entire customer base are already well on their way to becoming another. "For example, a personal account sending another personal account money for a one-time payment for, say, mowing your lawn was not previously charged any fees on either side, but is now charged the usual transaction fee (the sender gets to decide who pays). The only way to avoid this is by selecting 'gift' when making the transfer — something you can't do if you're following through on a purchase or invoice from someone. And, if you fall into this category (which many people do), it's likely that you had no idea about the changes until just now."
... when is /. going to re-enable the direct credit card payment option for those who want to subscribe? I was a subscriber for the longest time until this option went away. Not everybody is willing to do business with Paypal or has the ability to do so.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
...than using a credit card.
I think I'm just going to close my Paypal now
My account was closed for me when I sold an item to someone on eBay who later claimed that he never received the item. Paypal locked my account over this dispute and claimed that I needed to provide them with a tracking number to get the block removed. I did so and then the buyer changed his story from "I never received it" to "he sent me an empty box"
In spite of the fact that his story changed once confronted with the tracking number they still sided with the him and permanently blocked my account until I "repay" them for the money they reimbursed him. If I hadn't already transferred the funds into my checking account I would have lost them and the item I was selling.
As far as I'm concerned Paypal can burn in hell.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
I sold an expensive (~$1800) camera package for a friend on eBay. Got an instant PayPal payment, with a confirmed shipping address, but no other communication from the buyer.
Shipped the package to the Texas address via UPS Ground. Followed the tracking info as it hit various points, and eventually made it to the destination...
...where it bounced, launching an exception that the "recipient had moved", and that it was being "redirected to the new address". An address which happened to be within 50 miles of my own address. The "buyer" continued to ignore emails.
Called up PayPal, explained that I'd shipped the package to a confirmed address. They said, "Yes, you should be covered under Seller Protection." I then explained that it had been bounced to an unconfirmed address, without any action or agreement on my part. "Oh," they said. "If you can't provide proof that the package has been delivered to a confirmed address, you aren't protected."
"So," I ask, "you mean that I can send a package using your approved shipper, with your approved tracking, to an address that you've confirmed -- and if the "recipient" redirects the shipment somewhere else, they can then claim that they never received the package, and I'll lose my payment with no recourse?"
"Well, I'm afraid so."
"So I guess I'd better recall the shipment and eat the shipping fee." "Yes, if I were you, that's what I'd do."
And that's why my eBay/PayPal annual sales volume has gone from five figures to one figure (0).
The ONLY way I pay though PayPal is via my American Express card.
One time I had a problem and PayPal was zero help. So I directed my
complaint through Amex. Good old American Express came down like a ton
of bricks on PayPal and REVERSED the transfer, which got PayPals attention quick!
All of a sudden, PayPal was in my court and got the seller to fix things.
I made an eBay sale recently. The charges, when I placed the auction, amounted to 50p, but by the time Paypal took them from my bank account they had quadrupled to £2. On an item that only sold for £15 this amounts to a 10% surcharge. But who is getting the extra £1.50?
eBay say that the discrepancy is down to Paypal, Paypal say they're just passing on eBay's charges. Yet, as far as I can gather, they are the same company?!?
I get the feeling they are "bouncing" small amounts like this back and forth between the two divisions in the hope that nobody will notice, or at least that we can't be bothered chasing it up.
I wish more sites accepted Google Checkout.
Only if you explicitly say "Google Checkout", I put in my auctions That I DO NOT accept paypal but have 'my own' credit card processor. Of course all I do is send them a Google Checkout invoice via e-mail and they pay it.
I'm sure if I started selling to someone that worked for paypal/ebay I might get caught but 99.9% of people out there don't give a damn.
I have a hunch that they figure out who to side with based on how valuable either party is to them. If you're an infrequent buyer screwed by a big-time seller, kiss your money goodbye, and vice versa. If both parties are frequent users, maybe they just take the hit. If both parties are infrequent users, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that they do what you describe above. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one (oops, wrong shady business on that last one).
"This thing does science so hard, you say, 'I've never seen that much science.'" -Sam