Paypal or Plastic?

[Dreadbelly]

I have found a suprising number of people pay me by check.

I don't mind, not at all, but it sure does take a while waiting on the mail.

Offer all options, no customer left out in the cold.

[SoldierSpike]

I'll use PayPal, but only if there is no other fast option. This is based on some of PP's TOS agreements, and their stance on certain issues which I hold dear.

Marc

[ckelly327]

I haven't had any problems using paypal almost since they came into existence. If it's for a small ticket item I have no problem with using the direct withdrawl from my checking account but if it's a little more expensive then I like the double protection of having paypal AND my credit card both offer payment protection so I use my credit card thru the paypal account. The only pain I've had with paypal is how long it takes to get money back to your account when there is a legitimate refund.

[James73]

I have only had one bad experience using PayPal however they are still my preferred method for paying for items purchased online. Having said that, the payment method consideration only enters the picture for me when bidding for things on eBay and similar sites (I will rarely bother to bid on items from a seller who does not accept PayPal.) When buying from an online vendor I will pay via whatever method they prefer, although I would be a bit suspicious of buying from a vendor who wanted me to send them cash.

[LK-13]

personally i prefer sending a money order via the mail.
but if i must i will use my credit card, but i hate using a credit card.
mail orders are like paying cash, the best way to do things.

i absolutely refuse to use PayPal!!
PayPal rooked me out of $60.00USD for an auction i never bid on.
so i will never use PayPal or bid on Ebay!!

[ccga3359]

I use paypal exclusively as I don't have credit cards. Paypal I have set up to my bank account. Most online companies take paypal and when checking out in foreign funds it shows the conversion for me. I know how much to leave in the account for when thosefunds are taken out (usually takes a few days for some reason though). With the lack of a credit card I have been unable to purchase something online quite often.

[LK-13]

I use paypal exclusively as I don't have credit cards. Paypal I have set up to my bank account. Most online companies take paypal and when checking out in foreign funds it shows the conversion for me. I know how much to leave in the account for when those funds are taken out (usually takes a few days for some reason though). With the lack of a credit card I have been unable to purchase something online quite often.

it takes time because it has to go before the Fed.s in the USA, because PayPal being American, your Canadian funds are crossing the border and electronic cross border transactions are monitored post 9-11.

[Bob C]

honestly, with paypal offering the ability to use a credit card WITHOUT signing up for a paypal account, I feel that paypal is the way to go no matter what kind of transaction you are doing.

Agreed. I won't bother with a business that forces me to mail them a check. It doubles the transaction time, at least. There's mailing time, then the time they spend making sure your check clears. I understand why they do that, but I'm not wasting my time that way.

Can I interject here for a second? I am not sure, but I think I see a common issue here about paypal privacy with bank accounts, and vendors getting card info?

PayPal will allow your to use your credit card, free of charge, without an account, and without sending your info to the vendor.

It sounds like most people think that to use paypal you have to sign up and give them your banking info, when in fact you do not. I've used paypal for two years as my only means of payment, and a great many users who refuse to set up a paypal account have successfully transacted their purchases without an account using credit cards on Paypal.

This is good info. I have used my credit card for dozens of PayPal transactions and have never tied a bank account to PayPal. Never had any problems, either.

[staticsan]

While traveling in Australia recently, I encountered a business practice that has yet to become very common in the United States. Vendors - in my case hoteliers and tour operators - would charge me the fee they paid to process a credit card transaction in addition to the cost of the goods and services....

It's only fairly recent - like in the last few years - that merchants were allowed to do this. For a long time, they weren't. Many still do not, but unsurprisingly, it's been the retailers on the thinnest margins who added it first.

Interestingly, it's having two effects. The first is to subtly encourage cash or EFT transactions (EFT charges are structured differently and merchants currently do not pass them on) rather than credit. The other thing is that it helps relieve the merchant burden of higher rate cards like AmEx and Diners Club. In fact, AmEx has been slowly losing merchants over the years because it's credit fee is higher than Visa or Mastercard. And now consumers directly know why.

Wade.

[staticsan]

After the horror stories that surfaced a few years ago, I was very careful to not tell PayPal my bank account.

Actually, it seems like PayPal has setup a proper Australian arm, which they would have had to do to work with the Au banking system. Linking accounts with it was quite an involved process only a few years ago. (But I still haven't done it.)

That said, I had a few period of a few months a little while ago where my only credit card was American Express. PayPal Australia doesn't accept AmEx, unfortunately. :/ That was a problem. OTOH, it's fairly common for Australian online purchases, particularly over Ebay, to do direct deposts into bank accounts. In that case, PayPal tends to only get used for overseas purchases.

Wade.