PayPal Monopoly on Ebay

quote:

Originally posted by mckenziesgold1:
WE GOT A WARNING FROM EBAY <snip>

"Someone suggested Greenzap and I will definitely be applying for
Greenzap.com as an alternative payment svc. Are there any other safe
reputable buyer credit card internet payment alternatives we can offer to
Buyers?" <snip>

Perhaps that's the true reason behind the warning? Greenzap was revealed some time ago as a scam / pyramid scheme. (which is what led to ebay's banning of greenzap in listings, which in turn led to ebay's new policy about acceptable payment methods.)

So, we can thank damon westmoreland, linda murphy, and the others behind greenzap for ebay's new payment policy

Thanks for the heads up - did not know that history! Greenzap is a scam? OOOhh. Thank you. There have to be other reputable alternatives - please do not tell me PayPal has really cornered this market? Fran

you can read the entire history of greenzap at scam.com (including where some scam.com members - incl. myself - were threatened by speaking out against gz!) Has caused the longest running thread in scam.com's history

Has anyone found an alternative to PayPal? They are getting on my ever last nerve too!

VeriSign Payment Services A PayPal Business...so don't look at that one either! I typed in ONLINE PAYMENTS and several pages came up. Research in detail of the offerings would be needed, but it appears that PAYPAL(Ebay) has their fingers in several pies, so to speak.

I have been looking into ProPay, but that a credit card only operation. It has an annual fee and the transaction rates are comparable to PayPal. However, these days who doesn't have a debit card that they can pay with. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I am not sure where you are having these problems with accepting cash or other payments besides Paypal. I just listed 4 auctions that did not have Paypal and Cash or Certified Check were only methods in auction?
Is it the you specified that you did not take PaypaL?

If you're going to play on eBay and accept PayPal you have to agree to their terms of use. What's to understand? Sign up for a merchant account with MC/Visa/Discover etc and see if their terms are better. Accepting credit cards, the CC fees, the possiblity of charge backs, dishonest buyers, careless shippers, etc, etc, is part of having a business Do you operate a business? As for censorship, there's lots of places to bellyache on the Web, including this forum, even when it's OT.

If you're going to play on eBay and accept PayPal you have to agree to their terms of use. That was not a question, it was a statement. Some people, the vast majority that sell on Ebay, are NOT A LICENSED BUSINESS or POWER SELLERS. Some are simply looking for a less expensive alternative to online payment methods for their auctions. That of course would EXCLUDE credit card payments from any resource.

It seems to me, after studying this thread, that some sellers, after exceding their Personal PayPal account volume and being bumped up to a Premier or Business account, still want to use PayPal for free. Thus their request "no credit cards via PayPal" These sellers are operating a business. It might be a small business that doesn't pay much or even operates at a loss, but I simply can't feel sorry for them. When I look on ebay I see LOTS of auctions and big time sellers that still do not accept CCs or PayPal. Checks and MOs still seem to work.

Speaking for myself, I've had a Premier account for a long time. When it was offered I upgraded. Paypal was "free" in the beginning and it didn't make a difference regarding account type back then. My request for no credit cards had nothing to do with fees or account type. It was a matter of "choice" because of a nightmare over a charge back with a nasty person. Some people think they can "keep" your item and doing a charge back is a great way to get it for free. NOT! The avenues to resolve that problem were unpleasant, and tedious. Not something I want to do again! So, to expedite payments, I use Paypal and run the risk of the same thing happening another day because I have no "choice" but to accept credit cards. Yes, I also take money orders, but the key is time. I don't mind fees, I expect them. I mind NO CHOICE.

remember when paypal promised "never a fee"?

quote:

Originally posted by wayoutwest:
remember when paypal promised "never a fee"?

Those were the good ole days...<sigh>

And we believed them!
<smile>
Hey Steve, hope all finds you well.

Take care, Donna

I think they must have meant right that second. That was back when they shouldn't have to abide by Federal Banking Laws...... they were "free" and only facilitating payments from one party to another.. Now that they are judge, jury, and private investitigators, they need to charge fees to cover those costs, and should consider being regulated by a Power higher than their owners, Ebay. Have to have some humor here!

Well, I am just tired of my money getting locked up because PayPal wants to put my account on limited access. What is their problem. It's my money, I am running a complete legitimate business. How can they just hold my money like that for no reason. They don't even give a reason. I have never had my personal bank lock up my account and reverse all transactions! I lost nearly $700 due to them reversing transactions FOR NO REASON. I need a way out and a better and more reliable way to receive payments fast from my customers. Sure money orders and checks work great, but the time involved is not convenient. It's not the fees everyone wants to get away from. It's PayPal. Bottom line!

I started this thread several weeks ago out of frustration with PayPal's unreasonable policies on lots of things. I have watched the comments following. Some nay-sayers try to insinuate we do not want to pay any fees. That is ludicrous!! Of course we know we have to pay for a service to accept credit cards for us for Auctions. We just want REASONABLE fees, timely deposits into our bank accounts and some other friendly competition between legitimate Credit Card On-Line Companies with PayPal. I'm tired of accepting, as someone else put it, "THAT PAYPAL IS JUDGE, JURY AND CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT WITH OUR MONEY!!" For instance I'm tired of them holding e-checks from customers for up to 5-6 business days "routinely". Then when it finally gets credited to my PayPal account and I transfer money into my bank account it takes another 3-4 business days. What's up with that???!!! It takes forever to get our money from PAYPAL deposited into our bank accounts??!!!! That was one of the main reasons I did not take personal checks or money orders. Now, I've changed my mind on that. It's almost faster to accept personal checks and money orders and you do not have to pay outrageous PayPal fees on top of Ebay listing fees and Ebay Final Value Sales commission fees. The exorbitant "fees" are eating my profit big time!!

I'm tired of their monopoly and cornering this market with Ebay at their helm. Surely some big companies are going to recognize a great opportunity to take these giants on!!

I have been seriously looking into ProPay. ProPay is a registered agent of Wells Fargo Bank and Merrick Bank. They are a credit card merchant. Their fees are comparable to PayPal. And the best thing about ProPay is that eBay does not own them. They don't play the judge thing with YOUR money. Sure a chargeback is a possibility but you have the right to fight it yourself, not PayPal. And this buyer/seller protection they offer is a lot of crap. PayPal don't put their money on the line. It's you, the buyer or seller that loses their money, not PayPal.

Well, finally someone else that realizes that the BUYER PROTECTION thing is a lot of HOOEY big time.. A Seller shipped me a cracked sink, I shipped back, she collected fraudulent money from DHL, told me where to go and laughed at me, left me negative feedback, called me a whacko.. blah, blah, blah.. Paypal said my claim was VALID, I had to fax them proof of returning the item, TWICE, numerous emails, and phone calls, and THEN after 3 months they said.."PLEASE CONTACT THE SELLER AGAIN AND ASK FOR A REFUND". I blew.. Buyer Protection my BUTT! Filed a complaint with Ebay against their company,PAYPAL. That was a funny one! I got my money..BUT you're right, Paypal DOES NOT PUT THEIR MONEY ON THE LINE. IF PEOPLE THINK BUYER PROTECTION IS INSURANCE, forget that thought.. Paypal will pay you if they can collect from the other party involved in the dispute..otherwise NOT!

quote:

Paypal will pay you if they can collect from the other party involved in the dispute..otherwise NOT!

That is exactly right. I could not have said that better myself. Thanks!

Now there I have to disagree.
A month ago I would've agreed with you wholeheartedly but here's what happened.

I purchased from a buyer in August of last year. No delivery of product, no answers to emails, no answers to contact member, no answers to my phone calls.

I file with Paypal for the protection that's stated on the auction. (that's the ticket if they have the Paypal protection)

Nada!

Next month.

Nada!

Every month I would contact Paypal via phone in regards to this, always asking for a supervisor...Nada!

Finally a month ago during one of my monthly phone calls to get this refunded (Yes, I'm like a bulldog once I latch onto something, I don't let go!) the supervisor I spoke to stated she didn't understand why it hadn't been refunded.

She stated that the file was still open. I said..Yes m'am. I'm not closing it until I receive my refund as is guaranteed by Paypal protection. (I had taken a screen shot of the original auction too and had that for my records even though the seller was NARU and the auction was off eBay records to be viewed.)

This particular supervisor promised me in writing that if I closed the case she would send me the refund. I stated, No thank you...I would do that once I had the refund in my account.

Refund was to my account within 4 hours. I closed the open file for dispute and that was the end of it.

I'm kinda embarrassed that it was only for five plus dollars..but it was the principle of the dispute.

It was guaranteed and I wasn't getting any valid reason besides the seller has no money in their account to reimburse you. I kept fighting them with the Paypal purchase protection guarantee and finally after six months (either they were tired of me or they were trying to clean the books up) I got that five plus dollars back!

One battle down!

I understand everything everyone is saying..but unless eBay ALLOWS we the seller to use whatever means we want to use to accept funds..then we are SOL when selling on eBay.

Good Luck,
Donna