Does PayPal work well??

[RebelXSIFt.Worth]

I just bought a 5D Mark 2 and have a few EF lenses and I think I'm going to sell my EF-S lenses, but read on another post about problems with PayPal, which is what I was going to use. So my question is, should I still use it or is there a better way to receive payment? Thanks

[SCone]

Been using PayPal for several years without any problems. As with any buy/sell combination, ask plenty of questions BEFORE the deal is made.

[AndrewCCM]

Been working fine for me for years.

[ChristopherCoy]

PAYPAL is the DEVIL! Ask my checking account!!! Its WAY WAY WAY too easy to spend money with a simple click of the mouse....

That being said... its been working for me fine. Never had a problem, just use caution and be proactive about communication with the buyer/seller, as with anything else.

[RebelXSIFt.Worth]

I have a paypal account and have only used it for buying....so if I go to sell a couple of lenses on here will it just ask me if I want to use paypal in the process??

[jeffkohn]

I've used PayPal for years, both as a buyer and a seller and have had no problems. As long as you use common sense and follow the policies, you should be fine.

There's a verification process that's probably a good idea if you want to sell or otherwise accept payments, because it gives some additional assurance/protection to your buyers.

The biggest thing to make sure of when selling, only deal with buyers who have confirmed addresses, and only ship to that confirmed address. As long as you do that you should be OK; but if you ship to an un-confirmed address, you're basically waiving all protection. If it turns out to be a fraudulent purchase, you have no recourse and are SOL.

[RebelXSIFt.Worth]

Hey Jeff, Thanks so much. I have never sold thru PayPal. I'm going to mention the lenses to a few friends and if they are not interested I think I will post them for sale in the DFW area as "Local Only" and if someone is interested they can come to my work or home.....and see them there, and do it a cash transaction. If they don't sell that way, then maybe sell them thru PayPal. Thanks again for the advice. Kevin

[tc95]

Kevin...been using paypal's since 1999....Enjoy it..and ...Chris is right way too easy to spend money with it...

[bands321]

Just be careful. I have used it for years with no problems until last year I had $4500 stolen from my bank account. Now, I do NOT have my checking account tied to my Paypal account, just my credit card.

I think to sign up you have to tie the accounts together (Paypal and checking) but you can remove the checking account as soon as you have been "confirmed".

I will never have my bank account associated with Paypal again. It took 10 days to get my money back....and it's ONLY because my bank (Wells Fargo) did their own investigation and determined that it was theft. Paypal did an investigation and deemed there was "not enough information" and would not go any further.

Shawn

[RebelXSIFt.Worth]

Hey Thanks Shawn, yeah, I've heard a couple of stories like this and I am sure on the most part they are the acception ....but I'll just try putting there on here for local sale only and see if I can sell them that way first. Thanks

[ptrd]

My only bad experience:

Buying car parts via groupbuy's. This is totally on me too.

Put full deposit (along with others) for a car part which was to be made in 3 months. Well 3 months became 5 months and then "their site burned down". Sureee

Well since it's past the warranty period or return period, I'm SOL. The seller is a reputable seller who has done many groupbuy's before but this was the one time paypal failed for me.

[groovyone]

I have used it since before it was eBay owned. Works well and is a huge timesaver when buying or selling on eBay. The rates have increased some it seams, which sucks, but I have sold several lenses overseas and having them pay through PayPal is great.

[RKEnnis]

If you sell items on ebay and accept paypal, be prepared for them to randomly place holds on your paypal funds.

I've been selling on ebay for years and always use paypal. I have 100% positive feedback.

Recently, they decided to place a hold on the funds for a specific transaction. I'm still not sure why they chose that one - others in the same time frame they paid with no hold. They can hold funds for 21 days, or until you get positive feedback for the item, which ever is first.

In my case, I bought something else on ebay the same day as I got paid for the item in question, and paid for it with my paypal balance (the hold didn't show up yet at that point). Instead of them funding the item with my paypal balance, they hit my alternate funding source (my credit card). I was really steamed!

The paypal rep said they held the funds for that transaction because the amount was higher than what I usually sell - which is simply not true. I've sold many items of higher price.

I guess my point is that paypal works great, and is the fastest way to get paid, unless you get a hold placed on the funds.

Forewarned is Forearmed.

[billbunton]

I too have used paypal for years with no problem. However, I've heard of problems, most relating to bank accounts. I have my paypal account tied to a checking account at a bank where I have no other accounts, and normally keep under $50 in the account. That way I have a place to transfer money received, where I can use it for paying bills if I want. And if I need to buy something (and don't want to use a credit card) I can drive over to the bank and give them a check written on another local account.

[RebelXSIFt.Worth]

It sounds like people selling on E-bay have had the problems more than people on TPF