do not take paypal

That's partly eBay's fault for not educating the buyers and leaving our reputation to be judged by part time buyers who don't give a thought or care about a sellers reputation.

It works in eBays favour, makes it difficult to get discounts out of them especially as you can get back stabbed with the DSR's too.

So it just is not worth wasting time over it, protect your own interests, work to rule in a fair, courteous and factual way.

I think that's enough said on this by me

I am a little guy. Not selling to make a million just selling because its fun and its a good way to clean out the cupboard and give me excuses to hit a yard sale or two. I will sell a few items a week or month then I'll lay off sales for a few months.
I prefer paypal it just makes things easier for the buyer and simpler for me.
I to go to the bank daily we have a family business so it requires daily banking.
But as a small business person I am realist that there is overhead expenses so the paypal fees along with the ebay fees are minimal overhead fees.
I don't add huge handling fees to my shipping a min of $1 to cover my packaging supplies. My starting fees to me are min. I try to keep my pricing as low as possible.
I just like the safety of paypal and not to mention waiting for the money orders to arrive.

Not accepting paypal on ebay auctions is like building a house with no roof - incomplete! The only person/persons that can afford not to accept paypal on an ebay auction is someone who is selling something that everyone wants but cant get anywhere else. Thats the only time it really makes no difference because they want it "period" and they will pay for it however they have to. For us not so fortunate sellers who have to compete with 50 other sellers to make a sale on the same item..If we don't accept Paypal we might as well just pour some gasoline on our business ,throw a match to it, then stand back and watch it burn.

I agree. To my annoyance I found I sold almost my entire auction to someone without feedback and without the possibility of getting an paypal account. Nothing was that expensive but 6 books together is quite a loss if she doesn't pay. Sunday was such a disaster in sales. I guess people can't afford gas, food and books.

It is so simple, send two reminders, one at 5 days after winning, another on the 7th, file unpaid on thye 10th, and move on

Why get so worked up, alternative is to take PayPal only at least you do not have to wait for the post

quote:

I guess people can't afford gas, food and books.

That's a sad statement but quite believable order of importance

I accept paypal and google checkout on my website. I also accept money orders and personal checks. Whenever someone orders and chooses a personal check as payment..it rarely ever shows up in the mail and so i end up putting the item back up for sale...Man I love getting that You have a paypal payment at the same time I get the order...lol. Personally Ive never had a problem with paypal.("Knock" on wood)

eBay and PayPal are the devil!!! In the beginning they were perfect. But as time went on they became to big for their britches. eBay has become a multi-billion dollar corporation that only answers to it's share holders. (Which is how they'd be doing it if I owned them) They have absolutely no concerns for sellers. So we need to just get over that point. PayPal is a necessary evil for me. As a previous poster commented, most of my buyers would not buy from me if I didn't take PayPal. I do alot of consignments, and everyday it gets harder and harder to get new consignors due to eBay and PayPal's absorbent fees. Something is coming along and will take their fair part of the market. There will be an alternative, we just have to be patient. Consider for just a moment.... Google and Craigslist developing something... hmmmm. Some people dream of success. While others wake up and work hard at it!

I have often wished I has some other way to accept credit cards other then paypal.

two words

Merchant account.

quote:

Originally posted by ChooChooGuy:
It is so simple, send two reminders, one at 5 days after winning, another on the 7th, file unpaid on thye 10th, and move on

Why get so worked up, alternative is to take PayPal only at least you do not have to wait for the post

that is a great idea. thx!

What I do is about 3 days before the payment is due is send this. A friendly reminder that payment is due by Sunday. Usually naming the day of the week jolts recognition better.

One time, I sent a buyer 3 payment reminders. Each time she would reply by asking me for a total $. I dutifully resent the $ due each time & then waited for the payment...& waited......

She ignored the EOA & invoice that both showed the total amount due. Still no payment.

Finally, I wised up & realised she was pulling my leg & I sent a NPB or whatever it was called at the time to eBay & explained what the buyer was doing to me. By this time I assumed she would never pay (buyers remorse).

Like magic, Payment was immediate. ROFL It's funny now that so much time has passed.

Another comment---

I realise that buyers may operate from more than 1 computer (work, home, friend's house). So I try to keep in mind that they actually may not receive my e-mail.

Now I try to only use eBay's message system so they can catch their messages no matter where they are (fingers crossed).

I send a non paying bidder thing right away. A lot of buyers will only pay if they get one. The others will eventually be removed.

Hi Skinny, this will all be irrelevent when ebay finalizes no checks/mo. and you cannot mention it in your listing you eccept either.
It sucks I hope someone stops it, I love paypal, and hate checks but don't want my customers not to have a choice. You might as well get your Paypal acct up and running, so you can be ready when they change it.

Hi,
The change is scheduled for October 20th, 2008.
That is when ebay will no longer allow checks or money orders. Hope i don't lose customers from that change.

From eBay's FAQ about the new payment policies:

Quote
What should I do if I have long-standing, repeat customers who insist on paying with checks or money orders, even after I explain the benefits of electronic payments and offer suggestions?

We know this may happen occasionally, and if you accept checks or money orders from these customers a reasonably small percentage of the time, this will not be a violation of the new payments policy. However, we will not allow abuse of the new policy and will be watching for sellers who accept a significant amount of prohibited payments. Remember also, you can refuse to accept these payment methods. If the buyer doesn't pay, you can file an unpaid item (UPI) complaint. Buyers who insist on paying with these prohibited payment methods in a UPI claim will lose the claim and will not be allowed to leave negative feedback.

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/August2008Update/OtherFAQ/index.html#3

AND

* eBay will not automatically take action against a seller with a low completion rate. We realize that there are many valid reasons for low completion rates, including the one raised by @Amber, who posted that she frequently uses PayPal invoices with her buyers. (We are reviewing the checkout flow with an eye towards determining and eliminating the most common reasons a seller is forced to resort to PayPal invoicing for eBay sales.)

* We will investigate sellers with low checkout completion rates on a case by case basis. Specifically, we will check to see if the seller is soliciting check or money order payment from their buyers. If we don’t find any evidence of this occurring, we won’t take action against the seller.

It appears like it'll be business as usual for the sellers who accept mailed payments but get them rarely. What the "signifcant amount" could be any number though.

* eBay will not automatically take action against a seller with a low completion rate. We realize that there are many valid reasons for low completion rates, including the one raised by @Amber, who posted that she frequently uses PayPal invoices with her buyers. (We are reviewing the checkout flow with an eye towards determining and eliminating the most common reasons a seller is forced to resort to PayPal invoicing for eBay sales.)

My take and other boards understanding is this: You won't be able to advertise that you accept payments other than PP, however if a buyer uses ask a question to ask if you accept checks/money orders, you can say yes.

You know - there is a price for convenience.

I accepted PayPal from the beginning for the convenience.

Most people that pay with checks or money orders are honest, and frankly I ship as soon as I receive the check, not after it clears (except in extreme amounts) and have never been shafted.

But, PayPal allows me to close the transaction immediately! Yeah, the fees are extreme, especially when added to Ebay's. I sild a $1000 guitar for $650, and after paying Ebay and PayPal took home around $600. $50 is a LOT to pay on an item that you lost money on, in the transaction.

But for me to wait for a cheque from France, and to wait for it to clear, etc etc or to sell it only in the USA with our recession, well, I guess it is a wash!

You know - there is a price for convenience. I agree with this comment, but "I" should be the one to make the decision whether to use it or not. It should not be FORCED on me.
I don't agree with not being able to accept other modes of payment. I, like you, accepted personal checks and money orders and never had a problem with them. Again, like you, items were normally sent out the day the payment was received, no matter what mode was used.

The straw that broke the camels' back was when I bought something and was then directed to use a paypal account to pay for it. I didn't have a choice.
I do not agree with this, therefore, the only option I see for me is NOT TO SELL on ebay.
My listing days are over for now and I really miss it. I started this to have FUN and make new friends, and it worked for awhile, but it's not fun anymore.

This not accepting money orders has really hurt my business. Apparently new people who register to bid on ebay or not being told of the new rule. I get to the point where the customer asks if I will take a money order. I reply. Ebay won't let me. Even though there was a high rate of non payment when they paid by paypal. Many people just forgot to pay. Now the people won't pay or won't bid because they can't pay by paypal. There are still people who are cash only. They don't have cards or checking accounts. Maybe the wish to hide apurchase from a spouse. What ever it is people need to have a choice.

You can accept a money order as long as the "buyer" asks you. Look at the discussion board from my ebay page. You may have to hunt for the information, but it is there. The trouble is that most people don't even know they can ask.

I still accept checks and money orders - even with the new rules.

However - it reeks of monopolization that Ebay would require that everyone use Paypal - the same corporation - to pay for transactions.

I just opened an account with Ebid.net - but they have absolutely no traffic. Paypal feels that since they are the biggest, they can do whatever they want.