eBay & Paypal - Policies and Practices

[Merlin1958]

Great point, Brice. My Sis in law works for the DOJ in mergers & acquisitions they should be looking into this crap!!!

[Brice]

Sometimes it seems they dance precariously close to rackateering, imo.

[Robert Fulman]

I think that if Walmart or Amazon tried this, they would fail miserably. There is no advantage for Walmart to not accept cash at their stores. Checks are a stretch, but they do ask for identification to try to minimize fraud. Amazon doesn't accept cash, but might take echecks for all I know. In those cases, the sellers are protecting themselves from fraud. They won't send the product out until they have received a form of valid payment.

However, eBay is not a seller. They match buyers and sellers. Their primary concern in selecting valid payment methods is to make sure that the buyers don't get screwed. I assure you that they have sufficient data to show that the vast majority of fraud on their site was being caused by sellers accepting checks or money orders in advance. Once those are cashed, there is almost no way to get a refund if the seller refuses to collaborate. When that happens, eBay gets the black eye, and people become less likely to buy on eBay.

Why would a seller want to accept checks or money orders? It's possible that they are trying to screw someone over (again, this is why I would never send one to someone on eBay). More likely is that they are trying to save the pennies on the dollar it costs to use PayPal. But in reality, all the seller is trying to do is pass costs of doing business on to the buyer. It's not like buying and sending a money order is free, or having a bank account is free. By insisting that the buyer uses one of those methods, you are just trying to do to your buyer exactly what PayPal is doing to you. It's no different than insisting that a buyer pay by paypal's gift option; if you want to net $100 on the sale of a $100 book, then set the price at $103, or whatever. eBay will never allow that option again, because it will just open the flood gates on fraud again, which in turn will cause eBay seller fees to go up even more.

Finally, I do not want it being classified as a bank. Regulation does not make things less expensive, and I certainly do not want PayPal to have the ability to loan my money out.

[herbertwest]

Is it me or Paypal changed some stuff?
It is now not possible for a payer to take the fees from their side... and i only have 2 options as a payer:
- pay for an item (the fees will be taken of the money sent)
- send money for a relative, 0 fees.

[Bad Penny]

No mate, you're correct, PayPal have changed their website a little

[RC65]

I noticed that, too. I just sent off some $$ and wanted to absorb the fees, but it wasn't possible unless I wanted to send a gift to a relative/etc. Since it was for merchandise and I wanted some sort of protection, I just added 3% for the fees to the money I was sending, so that the seller received the correct amount (minus the fees).

[Scoogs]

Interesting.
I admit, there's a part of me that considers the 3% to be the seller's cost of doing business.
As a seller, I'd build it into the cost to begin with.

It still beats giving ebay 10% in addition to the Paypal fee.

Just to clarify, this applies to general off ebay sales, not sales here.

[Randall Flagg]

I noticed they changed it ~7 days ago. It is the precursor to eliminating "Gift" transfers completely. They will do it in the future but the sender will pay (perhaps initially) a lower fee.

[Brice]

Luckily I consider you all family. At least until I die and it becomes will time. LOL

[herbertwest]

I noticed that, too. I just sent off some $$ and wanted to absorb the fees, but it wasn't possible unless I wanted to send a gift to a relative/etc. Since it was for merchandise and I wanted some sort of protection, I just added 3% for the fees to the money I was sending, so that the seller received the correct amount (minus the fees).

Are you sure that it's 3%?
They have a "tooltip" thing under the box... supposedly for saying the fees, but it doesnt. If only it was mentionning the fees, then it would be easier to calculate...

[herbertwest]

It's been a long time since i didnt sell anything on ebay... and now we cannot charge more than $4 for international shipping?
wtf?

[Brice]

Yes, apparently there is some magical shipping option that lets you mail anything anywhere for four bucks.

[tippy4]

It's been a long time since i didnt sell anything on ebay... and now we cannot charge more than $4 for international shipping?
wtf?

If you do it by weight and size, there should not be an issue.

If you charge a flat rate to all buyers, then you have to offer a $4 option.

So yes, there is a way around it....but it is stupid that a seller cannot charge whatever they want....just as they can decide at what price to start their auctions.

As a buyer, as long a I know the shipping price upfront...I can factor that in when I make my bid.

Why would a seller want to accept checks or money orders? It's possible that they are trying to screw someone over (again, this is why I would never send one to someone on eBay). More likely is that they are trying to save the pennies on the dollar it costs to use PayPal. But in reality, all the seller is trying to do is pass costs of doing business on to the buyer. It's not like buying and sending a money order is free, or having a bank account is free. By insisting that the buyer uses one of those methods, you are just trying to do to your buyer exactly what PayPal is doing to you. It's no different than insisting that a buyer pay by paypal's gift option; if you want to net $100 on the sale of a $100 book, then set the price at $103, or whatever. eBay will never allow that option again, because it will just open the flood gates on fraud again, which in turn will cause eBay seller fees to go up even more.

Before Paypal existed, I used to require USPS money orders for the items I sold. They were convenient for me because I could cash them at the post office immediately, and there was no risk of a check bouncing in my account, and on top of that, no fees for me. The buyer got their stuff quicker, but did have to pay about $3 for a money order...and make a trip to the post office to buy it.

Once Paypal started being used, I would give buyers the option of sending me a USPS money order, or if they wanted to use Paypal, I made them send me and extra 3% to cover my fees until Paypal outlawed that practice.

It annoys me that ebay will not ALLOW me to accept checks or money orders any longer. As a seller, I should be allowed to accept any form of payment. It is obvious to me that the PAYPAL ONLY policy exists because ebay owns PAYPAL.

I have no doubt that I have paid over $1000 in Paypal fees over the years.

[herbertwest]

Yes, apparently there is some magical shipping option that lets you mail anything anywhere for four bucks.

That's absolutely crazy. Especially if you remember that some people would consider that the price on the stamp is not the only cost : material (box, other protection item in the box, tape....), fuel to go to the post office if you dont have any nearby, time for going there... so $4 for sending a collectible item, nationally, and therefore internationally is absolutely unrealistic.

I ended up by adding $10 to my reserve, in order to compensate the low shipping fees.

[Brice]

As long as it's factored into the price for the item ebay/paypal can't really do a damn thing...at least until they start mandating minimum and maximum prices for your stuff.

[herbertwest]

As long as it's factored into the price for the item ebay/paypal can't really do a damn thing...at least until they start mandating minimum and maximum prices for your stuff.

It's still unfair + they get a bit more fees this way. Bastards...

[RC65]

I noticed that, too. I just sent off some $$ and wanted to absorb the fees, but it wasn't possible unless I wanted to send a gift to a relative/etc. Since it was for merchandise and I wanted some sort of protection, I just added 3% for the fees to the money I was sending, so that the seller received the correct amount (minus the fees).

Are you sure that it's 3%?
They have a "tooltip" thing under the box... supposedly for saying the fees, but it doesnt. If only it was mentionning the fees, then it would be easier to calculate...

It's 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. For most transactions (unless it's high dollar), that'll work out to around 3%, yes.

[Scoogs]

International sales have 3.9% Paypal fees.

I just noticed that Ebay has stopped revealing the actual selling price for Best Offer sales.
I see that as a negative for buyer and sellers both if they are trying to research the actual martket value on an item before buying/listing.

[carlosdetweiller]

I just noticed that Ebay has stopped revealing the actual selling price for Best Offer sales.
I see that as a negative for buyer and sellers both if they are trying to research the actual martket value on an item before buying/listing.

I'll take the contrary point of view (as usual, it seems) and say that it is a positive. It is really no one else's business what a buyer and seller agree to. I recently bought the artist edition of The Century's Best Horror Fiction with a best offer and am glad that the accepted offer was not made public.

[Randall Flagg]

I agree that a "best offer" price need not be disclosed. Obviously the buyer and seller know. ebay knows, they charge the fees.

[tippy4]

I just noticed that Ebay has stopped revealing the actual selling price for Best Offer sales.
I see that as a negative for buyer and sellers both if they are trying to research the actual martket value on an item before buying/listing.

I'll take the contrary point of view (as usual, it seems) and say that it is a positive. It is really no one else's business what a buyer and seller agree to. I recently bought the artist edition of The Century's Best Horror Fiction with a best offer and am glad that the accepted offer was not made public.

Ahhhh so YOU were the one that snagged it.

I agree with you Bob......it is really nobody else's business....but at the same time...I am interested in knowing what things sold for.

[Scoogs]

I can see that side of it too. It's just frustrating when you're trying to research current pricing on an item.

[cit74]

I can see that side of it too. It's just frustrating when you're trying to research current pricing on an item.

When you search completed auctions - you can list from highest to lowest - and it will place the best offer accepted in that order as well - so if it fall between 2 books that went for 300 and 350 - it still gives you a slight idea especially for market value...now if this was the only item of its kind then you are pretty much screwed. I agree with the anonymity.

[Scoogs]

Thanks cit74, that's a good tip.
I just want the data, so sorting that way would still help establish a ballpark range without disclosing the actual dollars and cents.

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

I can see that side of it too. It's just frustrating when you're trying to research current pricing on an item.

When you search completed auctions - you can list from highest to lowest - and it will place the best offer accepted in that order as well - so if it fall between 2 books that went for 300 and 350 - it still gives you a slight idea especially for market value...now if this was the only item of its kind then you are pretty much screwed. I agree with the anonymity.

That's the way I get round their new "hidden" prices as well.