Tell me about Paypal
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
I don't know much about it so I googled 'what is paypal' and found a lot of info-both positive and negative.
SizzlininIN
Master Chef
Here's my experience with it:
I had my own account for gosh like 6 years I'd guess. Then several Christmas' ago my DH wanted to get me the Kitchen Aide Mixer that I saw on Ebay. Well we set up his account and won the auction and went through paypal to pay for the item. DH had more than adequate funds in his checking account to accomodate the withdraw. Well PayPal withdrew alright.......one time then the next day they tried again but of course then there wasn't enough to cover that large sum again only about 3/4 of that amount. This resulted in our bank saying that they were going to charge us $20 for insufficiant funds. I contacted PayPal and they refused to remedy the situation by refunding our $20 we had to pay to the bank. Well then to add more fuel to our fire a few days later they tried to withdraw the amount again and caused another $20. We were furious by this point. They had no business trying to withdraw money after the first attempt. So needless to say I closed his PayPal account and closed mine also. We had to cancel that checking account that my husband had for many, many years, open new account and order new checks. So suffice to say I am very anti PayPal. If I can't pay with a check or money order then I don't order anything on Ebay. But with my great feedback I can usually email someone that only lists they accept PayPal and they agree to take my check but hold the item for so many days for the check to clear.....which is no biggie to me.
I had my own account for gosh like 6 years I'd guess. Then several Christmas' ago my DH wanted to get me the Kitchen Aide Mixer that I saw on Ebay. Well we set up his account and won the auction and went through paypal to pay for the item. DH had more than adequate funds in his checking account to accomodate the withdraw. Well PayPal withdrew alright.......one time then the next day they tried again but of course then there wasn't enough to cover that large sum again only about 3/4 of that amount. This resulted in our bank saying that they were going to charge us $20 for insufficiant funds. I contacted PayPal and they refused to remedy the situation by refunding our $20 we had to pay to the bank. Well then to add more fuel to our fire a few days later they tried to withdraw the amount again and caused another $20. We were furious by this point. They had no business trying to withdraw money after the first attempt. So needless to say I closed his PayPal account and closed mine also. We had to cancel that checking account that my husband had for many, many years, open new account and order new checks. So suffice to say I am very anti PayPal. If I can't pay with a check or money order then I don't order anything on Ebay. But with my great feedback I can usually email someone that only lists they accept PayPal and they agree to take my check but hold the item for so many days for the check to clear.....which is no biggie to me.
Raven
Sous Chef
I too have used PayPal for 6 years now and I've never had a bad experience with it.
First and foremost! - The first thing you should do is go to your bank and open a seperate bank account, and tell your bank that you do not WANT the new acount linked in any way to any of your other accounts, and make sure that your bank knows that your using it for a cyber account and the bank will flag it as a cyber account and take special security precautions.
This way if anyone ever hacks the PayPal database, or if PayPal ever loses a laptop, your household account is never at risk and no one can come in through your cyber-account and sweep all your other accounts.
Also sign up for your banks Online Banking option so you can manage how much you have in that account. You can check your balance, transfer money from one account to the other, and all from the comfort of your living room.
Once you set up this account you will need the bank name, account number and routing number to provide to PayPal to get a verified account. Once your PayPal account is verified, you can buy or sell on Ebay with no problem. You can keep a certain amount of money in the account (say $100.00) and sweep the rest into your household account where it's safe, then if it's ever hacked, you will only lose what is in the cyber account and not your life savings.
We have what we call an "E-Bay account" with a debit card. It's great because if we have any special banking needs (like a vacation) we can set aside just the money we want to spend and use that account.
When you pay for something you also have the option to use a direct draft (out of your verified bank account) OR use your credit or debit card. That way if there is not enough money in your cyber account to pay for a purchase, you can use your credit card to pay it and not overdraw your cyber-account.
Like I said, I've used my PayPal account extensivly for 6 years now and have never had a problem. I did overdraw my cyber account by 3 cents one time and my bank covered it without an additional charge but that's the only problem, and that was my fault.
~ Raven ~
First and foremost! - The first thing you should do is go to your bank and open a seperate bank account, and tell your bank that you do not WANT the new acount linked in any way to any of your other accounts, and make sure that your bank knows that your using it for a cyber account and the bank will flag it as a cyber account and take special security precautions.
This way if anyone ever hacks the PayPal database, or if PayPal ever loses a laptop, your household account is never at risk and no one can come in through your cyber-account and sweep all your other accounts.
Also sign up for your banks Online Banking option so you can manage how much you have in that account. You can check your balance, transfer money from one account to the other, and all from the comfort of your living room.
Once you set up this account you will need the bank name, account number and routing number to provide to PayPal to get a verified account. Once your PayPal account is verified, you can buy or sell on Ebay with no problem. You can keep a certain amount of money in the account (say $100.00) and sweep the rest into your household account where it's safe, then if it's ever hacked, you will only lose what is in the cyber account and not your life savings.
We have what we call an "E-Bay account" with a debit card. It's great because if we have any special banking needs (like a vacation) we can set aside just the money we want to spend and use that account.
When you pay for something you also have the option to use a direct draft (out of your verified bank account) OR use your credit or debit card. That way if there is not enough money in your cyber account to pay for a purchase, you can use your credit card to pay it and not overdraw your cyber-account.
Like I said, I've used my PayPal account extensivly for 6 years now and have never had a problem. I did overdraw my cyber account by 3 cents one time and my bank covered it without an additional charge but that's the only problem, and that was my fault.
~ Raven ~
AllenOK
Executive Chef
I've never had a Paypal account, so I would really know how it works. However, I usually get one email each month or so that states my Paypal account has been frozen. I always delete that email, as it's fraud, and most likely, is someone fishing for account info to hack that account.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
I have had a palpay account for many years. I used it for eBay only. I have probably only used it 6 or 6 times, but never had a problem with it.
amber said:
I've had paypal for a few years, but only use it for ebay purchases. There are no fees (to buyers), and monies/payment is tranferred immediately from the account of your choice. I've never had a problem with paypal. The only 'con' is, do not click on a link in an email for a bogus purchase (purchase you did not make), or asks you to confirm your credit card #s, personal info etc. Type palpal in your browser, and view your paypal account. Whenever I receive these fraudulent emails, I report them.
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vagriller
Head Chef
I have paypal. I have never had any problems. It's not a bad idea to just use your credit card and not your bank account. That way things won't get taken out of your account, and with your credit card company you have some recourse if something goes wrong. One time I bought something on ebay from a guy in Canada and things went awry. I reported him to paypal, and since he had a paypal visa he HAD to resolve the issue with me to unlock his visa account. I have used paypal for over 60 transactions without any problems that were caused by paypal.
I've had paypal for a while now and have used it to send and receive funds from ebay purchases and sales, and never had a problem.
It's like anything, there are going to be bad experiences and good. I do like the idea of having a seperate bank account not linked to any others for it to draw from. I am in the lucky/unlucky position that I have no money, so if someone is trying to defraud my bank account, they'll be lucky to get 20 cents!
It's like anything, there are going to be bad experiences and good. I do like the idea of having a seperate bank account not linked to any others for it to draw from. I am in the lucky/unlucky position that I have no money, so if someone is trying to defraud my bank account, they'll be lucky to get 20 cents!
SizzlininIN
Master Chef
kyles said:
Yes but if they attempt to withdraw funds they've already withdrew and you don't have the funds to cover the additional withdrawal attempt will your bank charge you a fee for NSF for the attempt? If so, rest assured PayPal is not going to reimburse you for that NSF even though they had no business trying to withdrawal again. So for those setting up a seperate account for just PayPal.....I'd check with the back to see what you need to do to prevent this problem if the situation arises.
auntdot
Head Chef
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2004
- Messages
- 2,418
Have used paypal many times and have had no problems, but know, and know of, many who have.
We do what vagriller recommends and use our credit card and not a bank account.
After a while we were told by paypal we needed an account to verify our status (it was a legit request, seemed odd but we checked it out). Seemed idiotic after we had over 500 positives on eBay with no negs, but they insisted.
So we opened an account with essentially no money and they seemed happy and and that was that. But we still only use our card.
Yes we used to email folks who did not take paypal, as Sizzlin does, but found it more hassle than just using paypal.
We only use it for eBay for purchases, have never sold anything on it. Know some folks who do and they think it is a necessary pain in the neck.
That's all I know about it, my two cents worth.
We do what vagriller recommends and use our credit card and not a bank account.
After a while we were told by paypal we needed an account to verify our status (it was a legit request, seemed odd but we checked it out). Seemed idiotic after we had over 500 positives on eBay with no negs, but they insisted.
So we opened an account with essentially no money and they seemed happy and and that was that. But we still only use our card.
Yes we used to email folks who did not take paypal, as Sizzlin does, but found it more hassle than just using paypal.
We only use it for eBay for purchases, have never sold anything on it. Know some folks who do and they think it is a necessary pain in the neck.
That's all I know about it, my two cents worth.
Constance
Master Chef
I have a PayPal account that I use with my credit card for eBay purchases. I've never had any problem with it at all.
digigirl
Cook
I used Paypal for several years with no problems. But that was when I was using it to BUY things on eBay.
Then, a couple of years ago, when I was getting ready to move across country, I sold off all my stuff on eBay and used my PayPal account to COLLECT money. All went well until I was almost finished. With about $2,000 in my PayPal account, PayPal suddenly decided that they didn't trust me (even after having had this account for several years, verified with bank account, etc.). They froze my account and asked me to jump through a bunch of hoops - provide social security documentation, employment verification, etc - to prove I'm legit. I have no idea why I got singled out for this, my transactions were all very normal. Lots of small sales, nothing dramatic. No negatives, or anything.
Despite jumping through these hoops, they still have my money to this day. Basically, I have given up on ever seeing my money. It makes me very angry, but without having money enough to hire an attorney, I don't really have any recourse at this point.
PayPal IS extremely convenient when it works. But when it doesn't, it's a real problem.
My recommendation would be to use PayPal ONLY to buy things. Send money with it, but don't use it to collect money. Or if you do, do it in small batches, then withdraw before you start again.
That way, if they do to you what they did to me, it won't hurt as much.
Good luck!
Valerie
Then, a couple of years ago, when I was getting ready to move across country, I sold off all my stuff on eBay and used my PayPal account to COLLECT money. All went well until I was almost finished. With about $2,000 in my PayPal account, PayPal suddenly decided that they didn't trust me (even after having had this account for several years, verified with bank account, etc.). They froze my account and asked me to jump through a bunch of hoops - provide social security documentation, employment verification, etc - to prove I'm legit. I have no idea why I got singled out for this, my transactions were all very normal. Lots of small sales, nothing dramatic. No negatives, or anything.
Despite jumping through these hoops, they still have my money to this day. Basically, I have given up on ever seeing my money. It makes me very angry, but without having money enough to hire an attorney, I don't really have any recourse at this point.
PayPal IS extremely convenient when it works. But when it doesn't, it's a real problem.
My recommendation would be to use PayPal ONLY to buy things. Send money with it, but don't use it to collect money. Or if you do, do it in small batches, then withdraw before you start again.
That way, if they do to you what they did to me, it won't hurt as much.
Good luck!
Valerie
jkath
Hospitality Queen
What Raven said.
Also, when I was rapidly selling on ebay, I'd keep the money from sales in that account and act like it wasn't there. So, when I wanted to purchase a gift for my husband, I'd use my paypal debit card so he wouldn't see how much I'd spent.
Also, when I was rapidly selling on ebay, I'd keep the money from sales in that account and act like it wasn't there. So, when I wanted to purchase a gift for my husband, I'd use my paypal debit card so he wouldn't see how much I'd spent.
Raven
Sous Chef
I love it for selling things on EBay, but they do have federally mandated cut-offs up around the $2,000.00 range to keep people from laundering money and other illegal stuff.
All the hoops that DigiGirl outlined are true for volume sellers, but if I recall correctly it's a one-time thing and once they've verified that your not drug pusher or something your good. But it was the dollar amount that triggered the freeze. It's also cumulitive over a specific time period (though I don't remember the time period, 6 months I think but I'm not sure) so if you do a lot of small stuff in that time period and hit the trigger amount you'll have a few hoops to jump through but it's all outlined in the rules.
~ Raven ~
All the hoops that DigiGirl outlined are true for volume sellers, but if I recall correctly it's a one-time thing and once they've verified that your not drug pusher or something your good. But it was the dollar amount that triggered the freeze. It's also cumulitive over a specific time period (though I don't remember the time period, 6 months I think but I'm not sure) so if you do a lot of small stuff in that time period and hit the trigger amount you'll have a few hoops to jump through but it's all outlined in the rules.
~ Raven ~
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Thanks for all the great information. Good idea to set up a separate account just for paypal so that it wont affect my household checking account. My husband is the one that wants the paypal account and he already set it up using our checking account, so when he gets home I'll tell him about setting up a separate account for paypal. Thanks again!
Swann
Senior Cook
I was going to open one to pay for something until I read the fine print.... they want your bank number to transfer funds to the acc't whether you use it or not at their discretion.... needless to say I stopped that at once ( did not give them acct number) but I get paypal info re my acct that I do not have! I called them to stop but it hasn't in 3 yrs so it is in my spam acct. I think there is too much opportunity for problems that I do not need.
Swann
Senior Cook
Digidig girl... I would take Paypal to small claims court for that much money! Might try to go o one of the court shows as an aid.
vagriller
Head Chef
Swann said:
Those emails are not from paypal. They are "phishing" emails which try to get account info from unsuspecting users. Calling paypal will do nothing to stop these emails from coming to you.
mudbug
Chef Extraordinaire
Not interested in Paypal. If I truly madly deeply need something from Ebay (unlikely), I'll have my Ebay fanatic friend get it for me.
