More listings go PayPal only
21/12/2007 at 13:27
eBay have just announced that from mid-January, all one-day listings and all listings in some categories, will allow only PayPal as a method of payment. The affected categories are:
- Computing > Software
- Consumer Electronics > MP3 Players
- Wholesale & Job Lots > Mobile & Home Phones
- Business, Office & Industrial > Industrial Supply / MRO
Back
One day listings are often favoured by scammers, as the short listing duration panics buyers into a quick purchase before anyone can spot potential problems with the listings: extra buyer protection here is probably a good thing. But sellers are bound to wonder how far off a totally PayPal-only eBay site can now be?
northumbrian says
3:32 pm on 21/12/2007
if paypal/ebay offered a discount or some form of carrot, I would willingly to go paypal only without being forced, for all listings
Chris Dawson says
3:38 pm on 21/12/2007
Yippee, but why haven’t they made it all computing stuff instead of just some of it? I don’t sell software, but I’d be more than happy for eBay to force my buyers to pay with PayPal, saves the trips to the bank to pay in cheques
Mark says
5:06 pm on 21/12/2007
Paypal is the real cash cow for ‘ebay inc.’ so it’s no surprise that they are milking it for all it is worth.
Kate says
2:42 pm on 22/12/2007
I would happily not take Paypal at all, it’s too damn expensive. Particularly when you are selling low cost stuff. Thankfully when I have sold really expensive stuff like my partner’s bass guitars I have always managed to persuade people to pay by bank transfer or cash on collection.
It annoys me that sellers pay all the fees and buyers get all the protection.
Eddie says
11:58 am on 23/12/2007
“it’s too damn expensive. Particularly when you are selling low cost stuff.”
If by low cost you mean your items are less than £12/£10 in total (including P&P) then you need a Paypal Micropayments account, which has a lower fee structure.
Not a lot of sellers are aware of MicroPayments, and are not the most straight forward of accounts to set up, but once done – you do get charged lower transaction fees.
abs says
9:24 pm on 23/12/2007
i agree with chris. i only use paypal as a form of payment, i think its great.why would i want loads of cheques bulding up. the time it costs me to go to bank, stand in Queue, etc, the fees i pay paypal would cover this lost of time!!!!! suits me!!!!
Suzanne Wells says
2:18 pm on 24/12/2007
I agree with Chris. As an eBay seller, I only accept Paypal. I stopped accepting “paper” transactions years ago. It seemed that those having to mail a payment took longer to pay, if they paid at all. At least with Paypal you have an electronic record of the payment with the buyer’s contact info. Also, refunds are easy and trackable. It would be fine with me if eBay required all buyers to use Paypal. My theory is that if a buyers doesn’t have a Paypal account, there is a problem – either they can’t be approved, or refuse to register. If that is the case, I don’t want to deal with them anyway.
Kate says
5:09 pm on 26/12/2007
“My theory is that if a buyers doesn’t have a Paypal account, there is a problem – either they can’t be approved, or refuse to register. If that is the case, I don’t want to deal with them anyway.”
I have to disagree with that. Some of my best customers don’t or won’t use Paypal. Sometimes I sell several items on the same day and get a cheque for one before I get a Paypal payment for another. Personally I don’t have a problem with non-Paypal payments at all and I’m quite happy to pick up those non Paypal sales that other people don’t want
Each to their own I guess.
“If by low cost you mean your items are less than £12/£10 in total (including P&P) then you need a Paypal Micropayments account”
Most of my sales are less than £10 – I don’t recall hearing about Micropayments (Or maybe I did and rejected it as unsuitable, I don’t remember) – I will go and investigate.
pete says
10:37 pm on 26/12/2007
my advice is avoid paypal where possible. That is harder than it sounds but is good advice. Use nochex, no chargebacks ever, guaranteed!
Dan Wilson says
11:56 pm on 26/12/2007
You having a larf, Pete?
Chris Dawson says
1:23 am on 27/12/2007
Having a larf is about right
From the Nochex website “The responsibility for chargebacks and their associated costs on sums received by you always lies with you as the seller, but we aim to do our best to help you reduce the risks, however all chargebacks that are charged to your account are subject to our standard chargeback fee of £10.00.“.
Also worth nothing PayPal have a chargeback fee but it’s only £7.00, not £10.00 – Oh and it’s also waived if you have PayPal preferred on your eBay listings.
“No chargebacks ever, guaranteed” That’s just wishful thinking!
pete says
10:30 am on 27/12/2007
never had a chargeback with nochex or any problems. Paypal on the other hand…absolute nightmare! The most unprofessional company I have ever dealt with, another 5 years and they will be gone, as soon as their is an alternative people will leave paypal.
Paul says
12:17 pm on 25/03/2008
I think if Paypal is going to be made compulsory then ebay should lower the fees it charges us for accepting payments through Paypal.
Like a few of the posters here have said, Paypal is ebay’s cash cow and gives sellers very poor protection.
Just an idea, but shouldn’t Paypal also be making it a default that a person HAS to confirm their details withing 7 days or be prevented from using the system