Asking for the 3% PayPal fee

[Focal]

Has the policy changed on asking the buyer to pay for the 3% PayPal fee? I've seen more ads today asking for this fee than I have all year. IMO, asking the buyer to pay a 3% fee to use a method of payment that is obviously accepted by the seller ... seems unprofessional. If 3% compensation is such a concern, why isn't this already factored into the asking price?

 

[Focal]

I know I may have stepped on some toes with this statement, however, I turn down ads when this is fee is mentioned. Figured it would be beneficial to mentioned parties unless this is a Nick-specific issue

 

[AbsoluteApril]

You are not alone Nick. I skip ads that specifically ask for the fee. Isn't it against Paypal's policy anyways?

The seller should understand the fee is the cost of using the benefits of the service and if it's that much of a deal breaker, factor it into the sell price up front. (I kind of feel the same way about people that want to charge the box fee.)

I will add on some extra when I pay just because I think it is a nice gesture.

 

[SPJ]

If they ask for the fee, they don't even get considered as someone to buy from.

 

[FireStorm]

I agree, I skip any ad that asks for the Paypal fee. I'm pretty sure it is against Paypal's TOS like April said. And, as a seller, I don't worry about it. I choose to accept Paypal because it's convenient for me and probably for many buyers as well. And, even if I accepted and processed credit cards myself, I'd still have to pay some sort of fee anyway so it's not a big deal to me as a seller.

 

[Shadera]

Unprofessional, and tacky. I skip over ads that mention it.

Like April, I do add on a little bit to paypal payments I make, because I do feel it's a nice gesture. And even then some sellers refuse to be compensated for the fees. But I'd never do it if I were asked to.

And yes - it is still against their terms.
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?...ntent_ID=ua/UserAgreement_full&locale.x=en_US

Specifically, section 4.1 and 4.6:

4.1 Receiving Personal Payments. If you are selling goods or services, you may not ask the buyer to send you a Personal Payment for the purchase. If you do so, PayPal may remove your ability to accept Personal Payments.

4.6 No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method.

 

[mxracer4life]

To me, it is aggravating when someone either has the 3% requirement posted with the add OR if they tell you up front before even agreeing on a price. But I do understand the sellers point as well. You have the cost of the snake, which goes into the buyers pocket, but the shipping and pay pal expense does not. If you have a $650 snake plus $50 in shipping, then $19.50 in pay pal fees and then consider how many times a seller/buyer gets into negotiations, it can come out to much less. For instance,you find a snake that is listed at, lets say $350 plus shipping. Seller gives you a quote on shipping for $65 to your zip code, so your looking at $415. How many times have you do you think somebody will say, how about $400 shipped? I see it all the time. So there is $15 lost, then $12 for pay pal and the seller ends up with $323. It's not a big deal to everyone, but to some people that adds up. If you are selling a litter of 12 babies at this $350 price to help compensate for all of you costs through the year, that's $276 you could potentially loose in sales. I am just trying to see it from both ends here. I personally, have at times asked for the 3%, but a lot of it depends on if there were any negotiations, or if its a return customer. I don't sell a whole lot, in fact, haven't in quite some time, but it is something I at times will consider asking for.

 

[Sariel]

I'm actually glad to see this brought up and the opinions on it. Ive seen adds asking or had people ask me when the deal is made to include extra for the paypal fees which I had thought was abit tacky myself, but I generally included it. Ive also included alittle extra when not asked like the aforementioned nice gesture.
I've never asked for it myself though, when selling and never expected it, but as its becoming more prevalent I have been wondering if it wasnt becoming a hobby "standard" to make sure the seller gets his/her full asking price and buyer eating the extra fee. Thanks for bringing this up to discuss.

 

[AbsoluteApril]

Jeremy, if a seller is negotiating with a buyer, the seller should take into account the fees/charges, etc when determining their bottom line. At least IMO

 

[Plethora Of Pythons LLC]

Box, Styrofoam liners, snake bag, heat pack (if needed) and paypal fees are all part of selling. If you want to cover those costs, then negotiate them into the price of the snake. Same goes for credit card fees. It is against the terms of service to charge extra for them, so it should be built into the price.

Also, I've had a sellers complain that I did not send them Paypal money as a gift to avoid the fee. Not sure if there is any protection at all if that happens.

 

[mxracer4life]

Jeremy, if a seller is negotiating with a buyer, the seller should take into account the fees/charges, etc when determining their bottom line. At least IMO

I agree. There are other ways that cost can be calculated and added into selling price. If a buyer was negotiating a price with me now, I would just explain in a polite way that for me to cover cost of shipping supplies, pay pal cost etc, I need to get my asking price.

 

[Double B Reptiles]

Now days, paypal will ask the buyer if he/she wants to pay for the selling fee; I just did it the other day. Out of courtesy for the seller, and to ensure he got the full amount he was wanting, I decided to cover it. I feel it is a nice gesture, and I do it every time I buy from someone. I think that it is nice if other buyers do the same.

 

[mxracer4life]

Now days, paypal will ask the buyer if he/she wants to pay for the selling fee; I just did it the other day. Out of courtesy for the seller, and to ensure he got the full amount he was wanting, I decided to cover it. I feel it is a nice gesture, and I do it every time I buy from someone. I think that it is nice if other buyers do the same.

I could of swore when I purchased someone on ebay last week it stated the same thing. But once a couple people posted about it being against paypals policy I decided not to mention that.

 

[Shadera]

Now days, paypal will ask the buyer if he/she wants to pay for the selling fee; I just did it the other day. Out of courtesy for the seller, and to ensure he got the full amount he was wanting, I decided to cover it. I feel it is a nice gesture, and I do it every time I buy from someone. I think that it is nice if other buyers do the same.

Only if you're sending it as a personal payment or gift, and then your buyer protection (what little there is) goes right out the window.

I sent out $2000 in payments yesterday via paypal, and not at any point was I asked if I'd like to pay any fees.

 

[mxracer4life]

Only if you're sending it as a personal payment or gift, and then your buyer protection (what little there is) goes right out the window.

I sent out $2000 in payments yesterday via paypal, and not at any point was I asked if I'd like to pay any fees.

But to send a payment this way to must go through pay pal. When you send pay pal through eBay it doesn't give you the option to send it as a gift or personal payment. Am I right?

 

[Shadera]

I've never been asked as a buyer if I'd like to pay the fees for an ebay transaction via paypal, either.

I'm not gonna argue with you, man. Just saying I've recently purchased things and the only time I've *ever* been asked if I wanted to pay the seller's fees for the transaction from paypal themselves is when I've attempted to send it via gift or personal payment owed, both of which do not cover you at all as a buyer.

 

[mxracer4life]

I'm not gonna argue with you, man.

I am not trying to start an argument in anyway. Just conversation. I will pay better attention next time I make a purchase and take some screen shots. I could be wrong. Just stated what I had remembered.

 

[Shadera]

From paypal's TOS:

8.1 Fees Overview.

Fees are based on whether you are making a Purchase Payment, a Personal Payment or a PayPal Business Payment. Some fees are expressed as a percentage of the payment amount. All Fees are in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise stated.

a.For Purchase Payments, the recipient of the payment will always pay the Fee.

b. For Personal Payments, the following applies: •The Fee depends on the Payment Method you use.
•The Fee is paid by either the sender or recipient, not both.
•The sender of the payment generally determines who pays the Fee at the time the sender makes the payment. If you send a Personal Payment from a third party (non-PayPal) website or by using a third party’s product or service, then the third party will determine if the sender or recipient of the Personal Payment will pay the Personal Payment Fee. This will be disclosed to you by the third party before the Personal Payment is initiated.
•It is free to send a Personal Payment to someone in the United States in U.S. Dollars if you use your bank or Balance as the exclusive Payment Method. If you use a different Payment method to send a Personal Payment, the Fees set out below will apply.
•Additional Fees apply if you are sending or receiving money to or from a country outside the United States, or transacting in a foreign currency.
•If you use your credit card as the Payment Method for a Personal Payment, you may be charged a cash-advance fee by your credit card company.
•In some instances, Personal Payment pricing may not be available. In these instances, all payments must be Purchase Payments.
•Personal Payments may not be available on non-PayPal websites or other applications that offer you the ability to send a payment from your Account.
•Personal Payments may not be sent to recipients in certain countries.

Accepting personal payments if you're selling things is grounds to have that privilege yanked out from under you.
According to paypal's own terms, if you're using the method you should be using, you'll never be asked by them to pay a fee. If you think you are, I'd suggest you double check which tab and boxes you're ticking, because you have zero protection when making purchases that way. (paypal buyer protection is a whole 'nother argument)

Just the messenger ...

 

[mxracer4life]

But to send a payment this way to must go through pay pal. When you send pay pal through eBay it doesn't give you the option to send it as a gift or personal payment. Am I right?

When I purchase a good through eBay, there isn't a place to choose what kind of payment I want to send when using pay pal, it doesn't even send you to the pay pal website. So there is no choosing services, goods, personal payment, gift etc. Once you have chose to pay through pay pal, your only choice at this point is to choose credit/debit/pay pal credit or bank account. Like I said, I could be wrong, I will make sure next time I make a purchase.

 

[Dennis Hultman]

Unprofessional, and tacky.

Sellers take note.... It's unprofessional not to mention against Paypal's TOS.

Regardless if purchasing and Paypal's system allows the buyer to do so, it is still against the TOS to force such a fee to only paypal users and it is completely unnecessary. It doesn't take much work to figure the cost into the animal or shipping and handling. Why alienate buyers? Why portray yourself in such a unprofessional, penny pinching manner? Perception is the key and these sellers missed the boat.

Look, I understand costs but you agreed to the terms of paypal by accepting and using the service. To a lot of people that follow those terms you stand out as unethical, tacky and unprofessional.

It's the same with small businesses in my area that put minimums on credit card purchases vs cash. I understand the costs and how small business tries to justify such things but it is still tacky and was against MasterCard and Visa policies. That changed with the "Wall Street reform law of 2010".

I still find it tacky. Even if I'm using cash, I try to steer clear of such unprofessional behavior. Consumers get in a habit of going to certain gas stations and stores. Even if I'm using cash 90% of the time or it is usually over the minimum that they require, I'm going to where I don't have to worry the one time I don't have cash or it is under the minimum. It becomes a habit and that business loses customers that most of the time would be going over their requirement.

Policies like that keep some people away and lend to keeping their businesses struggling by the same practices they put into place to try to prevent it. They don't look at the bigger picture. They get to wrapped on that one time the customer might just want a pack of gum and pays with a credit card and what they might lose on fees. Well, you keep that customer away. Good job, but you also keep them away when they wanted to fill their tank or buy a lot of stuff because now they go down the street out of habit.

Figure the fees in the price of goods and services.

It's the same with paypal. By pinching pennies and trying to save costs, people end up costing themselves so much more by alienating a lot of buyers. They buy from someone else.

It's not like the fee would be a deal killer if it were included in the price like it should be. For many we simply skip the ads when we see "add 3% for paypal purchases". When the price is included in the animal or handling it goes unnoticed.

Be professional and follow terms you agreed to by accepting PayPal.