Paypal fees

[Colyn]

Do people not realize that it is a violation of paypal rules to charge a fee to cover their paypal fees??

[S-Man]

This has been covered ad nauseum in other threads

One Example: http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...assifieds.html

I like how Wayne Put it: "Paypal violates my TOS".

[KenJulio]

The buyer would have to report the seller for anything to take place. I havent heard of anyone being restricted from using paypal because of it. *shrugs*

[brad]

Yes, but adding extra for Shipping and Handling is not.. its all semantics.

PayPal fees, CC merchant fees, bank fees... all part of the cost of doing business.. and if you are exchanging money on PayPal, you're in business.

[Jim Victory]

Originally Posted by Colyn

Do people not realize that it is a violation of paypal rules to charge a fee to cover their paypal fees??

Did you know that people have a right to sell their items and not accept paypal as a payment option?

If the buyer wants to use this payment option then they can expect to pay more for the item to cover the fees. The payment of fees by the seller is not being required only the price will be modified if the buyer wants to use this payment option.

The paypal fee structure was primarily established for transactions on e-bay. In fact it is required for e-bay sales that the seller pay the fees. I don't think this applies to private sales anymore than using "gift" payment options to avoid paying Paypal fees.

[rbalcom]

Originally Posted by Colyn

Do people not realize that it is a violation of paypal rules to charge a fee to cover their paypal fees??

Well, I sure didn't know. Maybe that's because everytime I make a personal payment, Paypal asks me who should be charged the fee, me or the person I'm sending the money to. Guess they don't know their own rules.

[Colyn]

Dear Colyn Goodson,

Thank you for contacting PayPal, my name is Marie and I am happy to
assist you today.

PayPal offers our members access to the world's leading online payment
service. As our network of members has grown, an increasing number of
sellers of goods and services are accepting payments through PayPal.

Merchants may not charge a fee to the buyer for accepting credit card
payments (often called a 'surcharge'). A surcharge may not be imposed or
any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. A handling fee
may be charged in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long
as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher
than the handling fee charged for non-PayPal transactions.

For the Terms and Conditions of the User Agreement, click the "Legal
Agreement" link at the bottom of any PayPal webpage and click "User
Agreement."

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us again.

Sincerely,
Marie
PayPal Consumer Support
PayPal, an eBay Company

[vclipse3g]

As brad already mentioned, there are CC Merchant fees for business to receive credit card payments, but since this is done through paypal, these businesses (or recipients of payments) will never have to worry about merchant fees.

Originally Posted by rbalcom

Well, I sure didn't know. Maybe that's because everytime I make a personal payment, Paypal asks me who should be charged the fee, me or the person I'm sending the money to. Guess they don't know their own rules.

Here's the thing though, Paypal say that you don't get charge the 2.9% + $0.30 (and up) fee if you "Pay" or send the money, and you'll only see the fee's deducted on funds you receive.

Unless it was like this before, I never noticed an option of who's going to get charge for the fees.

[vclipse3g]

oops... double post.

[Truckman]

When I was in business, the fees charged to me for accepting credit cards as payment amounted to thousands of dollars every month...I never charged extra for credit cards, but my prices always had the fees factored in...Sometimes I offered a discount for paying cash...Somebody has to pay the fees associated with paynent methods and I can assure you it won't be any seller who expects to stay in business...Ben

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by Jim Victory

Did you know that people have a right to sell their items and not accept paypal as a payment option?

I agree..this seller required paypal payment..

Originally Posted by Jim Victory

If the buyer wants to use this payment option then they can expect to pay more for the item to cover the fees. The payment of fees by the seller is not being required only the price will be modified if the buyer wants to use this payment option.

My issue is when I entered into an agreement to buy an item from a seller for a set price but when he sent his paypal info he informed me I had to pay an additional fee to cover the fee paypal was going to charge him. I then backed out of the deal since he was less than honest and up front from the beginning.

[dbphotos]

It costs 3% to use PayPal so someone has to pay for it. If the seller expected the payment for that then it certainly should be stated up front, but I see no problem with a seller wanting to cover that. I just factor that into my pricing and don't ask for an extra fee, it just works better for me.

If pushed legally, I would think that this portion of PayPal's TOS would probably be a violation of trust laws. They are basically wanting users to hide fees. But that's just my opinion.

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by dbphotos

It costs 3% to use PayPal so someone has to pay for it. If the seller expected the payment for that then it certainly should be stated up front, but I see no problem with a seller wanting to cover that. I just factor that into my pricing and don't ask for an extra fee, it just works better for me.

Whenever I sell off eBay any fees are factored into the total price so I have no problems with it being done like that but this seller wanted to charge me an extra $25 on fees that might cost him $2-3 more after we had already agreed on a total price..

Originally Posted by dbphotos

If pushed legally, I would think that this portion of PayPal's TOS would probably be a violation of trust laws. They are basically wanting users to hide fees. But that's just my opinion.

I can't comment on their TOS since I do not know the legalities involved here..

[cooltouch]

Originally Posted by Colyn

Merchants may not charge a fee to the buyer for accepting credit card
payments (often called a 'surcharge'). A surcharge may not be imposed or
any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method.

Regarding the use of credit cards, I don't know if laws differ from state to state or if it's federal, but I know for sure that, back when I lived in California, it was illegal to tack on a surcharge for taking credit cards. So it stands to reason that it should not be allowed for Paypal fees either.

As far as the whole fee business goes -- you know, if you have a merchant account and accept credit cards, you're gonna be paying transaction fees anyway. I had a merchant account for years, and it was a hassle because I wasn't always using it, but I always had a monthly minimum I had to pay. In this respect, Paypal is much simpler. It works the same as a merchant account for all practical intents and purposes (but without the monthly minimum charges), and the fees charged are not all that much higher than what my account charged me. So I still consider it just the cost of doing business and appreciate it for the convenience.

[ElanR]

Originally Posted by Colyn

My issue is when I entered into an agreement to buy an item from a seller for a set price but when he sent his paypal info he informed me I had to pay an additional fee to cover the fee paypal was going to charge him. I then backed out of the deal since he was less than honest and up front from the beginning.

This really is your issue and not one that bothers anyone else I've seen. Paying extra for the use of Paypal is customary in the few discussion boards I frequent. I suspect it's no different in the many I don't. I don't think it's fair for you to accuse the Seller of dishonesty just because you are uninformed.