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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Inquiry PAY PAL whats the stroy

Thanks for the kind words about the store Bill! Crazy day getting ready for the show tomorrow.

Don't remember which rule I broke exactly...just know that I learned a good lesson, lol. On the flip side, it also made me feel better as a buyer. All in all, paypal has made it much safer to do business. I could not imagine sending checks or money order to people whom you have never even met and cross your fingers that they send your items. Yes, paypal fees can add up quickly but credit card processing is not much better...chalk it up to the cost of doing business.

It could have been the credit card company that opened the claim but my dispute was with paypal...

BTW...it's Tina (Martina)
 
Well if anything, this sure has been an informative thread on the ins and outs of PayPal.

(BTW, also a fan of the store! ;) )
 
It does look like you got burned but would you agree that it's quite possible the pay pal account could have been compromised and that the actual account owner did not even know it for those few months. That the person you dealt with and that left you feed back was not the owner of the account. And that had you followed the seller requirements asked by PayPal you would have not suffered a lose?

"You must ship the item to the shipping address on the Transaction Details Page."

PayPal wants to protect you. They just want the seller to follow a few simple rules so they can do so. It surely sounds like you were scammed
. The thing is that out of the 3 parties involved PayPal is the least responsible, if at all.

Would you agree that in this case the reason you suffered a lose was due to your own actions.

Would you think it ok to ask the buyer to pay as a gift to protect yourself.

Btw...love the store. You guys deserve all the rave reviews you have received. Very, very, clean. Very nice displays. If anyone has the chance they should make sure they stop in at your place.[/QUOTE

Actually, if this was the case, shouldn't PayPal be on the hook for the money instead of the seller. If the persons account got hijacked I would blame PayPal for their lack of security.
 
Gotcha Bill! There is a lot of Phishing scams with both PayPal and Ebay. They send you an email that looks almost exactly like the real thing and ask you to click on a link to verify your info. I found out early on with both sites that if there really is an issue they ask you to go to the site, log in, and update your info not click a link. If you click the link you're giving a scammer your personal and financial info. On the 3% PayPal fee thing, I hate when a seller asks me to pay the 3%. And it always seems to be the guy who's selling animals for a few hundred that asks for it and the guys with $3000 plus animals don't. The thing is though even though it's against the TOS for PayPal to ask the buyer to pay the fee, what are you going to do about it as a buyer? Complain to PayPal? Then people just wouldn't take PayPal and you'd have to go through the hassle of usung Postal money orders like the old days. Before I figured this out, I got mad at my local Mom & Pop Pet store for telling me there was a minimum purchase amount for using credit/debit cards. The reason being they are charged a fee for every transaction, just like PayPal. I know that this policy is against the TOS they signed when they got their credit card processor. I told the clerk this and that if I told the company they would loose their ability to take credit. When I thought about it I realized how stupid that would be. I wouldn't be able to use my debit card for ANY amount then! I see Rich's point about the fees being a pain at tax time for someone who actually does this as a business, but most of the people asking for their buyers to pay the fee are just hobbyists who don't want to lose money. I never ask anybody who buys from me on Ebay or for snakes to pay the fee. I mean, come on, do you really need that extra $9 on a $300 animal?
 
You can still be protected if the person sending money, puts a note stating to ship to this address, even if their account has a confirmed address on it.
 
almost no one is covered by paypal

I know this is way late and do not know how I missed this thread. I use paypal and just let the chips fall where they may some ppl do gift some send regular. The ones who send it by way of gift I look at it just like that a gift of not paying the 3% and I have never really had any problems with paypal BUT you have all forgot one aspect we all over look all the time. I live in NYC and our drivers never ring the bell and just drop even if I ship with the "must sign for" option the delivery guys still leave it at the door. In the case where the delivery guy leaves it at the door nothing is covered by paypal. Kind of like some shippers do not cover health guarantee if not signed for. Dont know if this helps those wondering about paypal
 
I haven't sold using paypal in years but I do buy often.
If I know the person and we have a good business relationship I have no problem with it. I don't know the new terms regarding it so can't speak to that.
I did set up a dummy account so to speak so I only have the bare minimum to keep the account open in case paypal tries freezing funds should I sell again.
 
I did set up a dummy account so to speak so I only have the bare minimum to keep the account open in case paypal tries freezing funds should I sell again.
That should be very comforting to any prospective customers...
 
That should be very comforting to any prospective customers...
It's SOP for many businesses to use a "sweep" account for incoming electronic funds, not just from PayPal, but also for credit cards and wire transfers. Money is then immediately swept over to a working/main account as the public/sweep account credentials are more likely to be compromised by hackers.
 
Thats how some do it, They have a REAL account and a Spare one. They have all money sent to spare account, then send the left over after shipping to the real account so any claims are worthless for the buyer.
 
Wanda at The Reptile Ranch got me

This was about 6yrs ago I have bought 3 argentine boas from her for 850 shipped they came in sick looked like IBD shooting for the sky and not very stable. Called her an of course no answer, so I packed them back up the same day took pics and everything sent them back to the address she sent from with me paying shipping well she final called back an she was rude after I told her what was up she was like I dont live there anymore its like 2hrs away from where she was now. Not my fault called paypal and they sided with her and shut my account down an said I owed them ....really even with the proof ! I have never used them again and wont.
 
Your issue with Wanda is irrelevant to this thread - if you want to post about that, use a thread about her; if you want to post about PayPal, leave other parties out of it
 
Over years of doing business, Buyers tend to eat the fees or send as gift. I all of 2012 never had fees taking out of any of my transactions.

On the 1099k Form the fees, refunds and so on are a PITA to deal with when filing taxes. Having fees paid for or not even seeing many of them helps when filling out taxes.

Some say factor the 3% into the price if worried about it, but dont realize that factored in price not becomes part of your Net profit, which can lead to net loss over time.

On expensive items i never take paypal. Either Money order from USPS or certified check from bank.

:iagree:
I am expecting to be producing animals soon so I am trying to decide if and how I want to accept paypal.
The positive is the fast easy payment method opens sellers up to more buyers; the (big) negative for sellers is the lack of support for live animal sales that I have seen posted elsewhere in the BOI.

As a buyer I verify the seller is legit on the BOI; when I become a seller you better believe I will search my buyers on the BOI as well.
The sellers I have dealt with have preferred me to send a check and only used paypal for inexpensive snakes or for making a deposit to hold an animal.
None of the (highly rated) sellers I have dealt with have asked me to send the money as a gift or to add the 3% fee to the payment; I was inquiring with one seller (who came back as shady once I had his full name for a BOI search) say he wanted me to send the money as a gift or add the 3% (I declined to do business with him because of his questionable BOI results). Had it been someone who I have done business with in the past I would have sent a "gift payment".

I have bought some expensive animals and thus will be selling some that are expensive as well. I really like the idea that Rich does not accept paypal for expensive items, it is a reasonable way of avoiding a large monetary loss to somebody who wants the snake but does not want to pay for it.

I guess my main point is; with any payment method there will be pros and cons but as sellers (and buyers) it is prudent to figure out how much of a loss we are willing to risk and adjust our payment methods to fit our business needs, all while staying within the TOS of companies like paypal who are also trying to run a business.
 
Had it been someone who I have done business with in the past I would have sent a "gift payment".

While knowing the other party certainly might give you a sense of security in case something happens, don't you think that sending a 'gift' payment is cheating Paypal if it isn't a gift? You are using their services,after all.
 
While knowing the other party certainly might give you a sense of security in case something happens, don't you think that sending a 'gift' payment is cheating Paypal if it isn't a gift? You are using their services,after all.

Yes you are correct.
I have never actually sent any payments as a gift despite the hundreds of paypal transactions (as buyer) that I have made. I would only send a gift if it is actually a gift.

After re-reading my post I realize that I lumped "gift payment" and "adding the 3%" together as the same thing, so to clarify:
"(Had it been someone who I have done business with in the past I would have sent a "gift payment".)"
I would have added the 3% for someone who I have done good business with in the past as a favor for them; none have asked except the seller who turned out to be questionable (that I declined to do business with).
 
Lucille, I dont know if you know but paypal charges the gifter when they send as gift and there is no discount for gift so paypal does not get cheated in anyway. They just get paid by the buyer instead of the shipper. I have sent payments as gifts and if you need to see the transaction report it will show that I paid the 3% here is just a copy and paste from below the persons name and email
Amount sent:
-$1,700.00 USD
Fee amount:
-$34.00 USD
Net amount:
-$1,734.00 USD


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Date:
Jan 13, 2011
Time:
09:24:40 PST
Status:
Completed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Subject:
You've got money!
it doesnt show it the way it should but that 34$ fee is me sending gift exactly 3% of the 1700 payment.
 
I did read it and find it perplexing as I use it regularly between family and friends and always pay the 3% it does say it has to come from balance or your bank but my bank is connected to my paypal so I do not know why I get charged. I have a dedicated paypal/bank acct that I only use for purchases or sales(for tax purposes) and I have a seperate paypal for family hooked to my personal acct and thats the one I send gifts with. Hmmm maybe I should look into that or maybe because I have sent more then one gift as I do with my wife all the time(even when shes in the same room I have sent her paypal that she needed for her business). I am not worried about paying the 3% I think its a fine service for the price.
 
Sending a personal payment just doesn't make sense, in my world. Not that PayPal buyer protection amounts to a whole lot, but there is nothing when you send a personal payment (because there is no transaction). One can argue that using a credit card leaves some recourse, but then the buyer can get higher interest rates (or fares) because it is viewed as a cash advance.
 
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