posted on October 1, 2001 02:30:22 PM new
I am just now gearing up to back to selling on ebay after recovering from a broken ankle.
I would like to add payment by credit cards to my auctions. For you sellers out there... which service do you prefer? I have heard there is one that gives you a debit card...but I am not sure which one that is. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thank you for your feedback
Which is the best is highly debatable (and HAS been highly debated here often & loudly). All have their pros and cons.
Of them, Bidpay is the one that DIRECTLY costs the buyer (we can argue that buyers eventually DO pay for every service, directly or indirectly). It's primarily used by international customers who don't/can't use BillPoint or PayPal.
BP versus PP? Six of 1, half dozen of another which is best. PP personal versus PP business versus PP Preferred...choices to make based on your personal needs and ability to accept risk. PP Preferred is the one w/the debit card.
They are each loved, they are each hated. Why not offer all?
posted on October 1, 2001 04:12:49 PM new
I accept both Billpoint and PayPal and they pretty much meet all my needs on ebay. Billpoint tends to be less expensive for small sales but by far the majority of my customers use Paypal. Since you only pay for actual use of their services, it makes sense to offer both to your clients.
(BidPay I don't use and have never had a request for it. Should I ever get a request, I'll probably look into it too.)
Guess you can tell, I am customer driven. Proud American!
posted on October 2, 2001 12:10:29 AM new
I like to pay by check, but my customers seem to prefer PayPal. Since I started taking cc payments (about a month after PayPal started), I've only had one person say she only used Billpoint.
From a friend of mine (an eBay buyer): PayPal is easier than Billpoint to pay with.
Also, w/PP's debit card, I guess you reduce your fees. I haven't checked it out because I don't like leaving my money sitting there too long, but other users like that a lot.
posted on October 2, 2001 03:20:47 AM new
bidpay is great for international buyers.
i prefer paypal to billpoint, have a paypal business account, and use the debit card.
i chose paypal because it was easy to find out what the exact fees would be (i didn't find that to be true with billpoint), easy to set up the account, i like getting the 1.5% back with the debit card, and they don't charge you for transfers from your paypal account to your checking (billpoint does) - unless you have it set up to do an automatic sweep. and, when ebay had a glitch (perhaps that should be 'glitch') which set your seller preferences to insert billpoint into your auctions if you had a billpoint account, i was glad i wasn't signed up with them. last but not least, damon has been absolutely terrific helping us out here if there's been a problem
posted on October 2, 2001 06:14:10 AM new
If BillPoint didn't charge .5% for automatic balance transfers, wouldn't their standard fee be 35 cents + 2.5% (for transactions over $15)? That beats PayPal's 30 cents + 2.9% standard fee. So PayPal offers no automatic balance transfer (who the heck would keep their money in a PayPal account with PayPal's tenuous financial position??? --- see IPO prospectus) and yet charges .4% more than BillPoint when you take the transfer out of the equation?
posted on October 2, 2001 07:18:05 AM new
I have began to move away from billpoint toward paypal. Mostly because of their seller protections. Sure, they're not perfect, but it sure feels better knowing that I'm shipping to a confirmed address to someone who's got a track record with their service. And now that the USPS is giving free tracking numbers, it's all that much easier for me to use paypal.
Billpoint really annoys me, and I am very uneasy every time someone uses it to pay me.
I've never used bidpay, and don't plan to.
Actually, I probably would have dropped paypal completely if it wasn't for Damon. I stopped using them completely at the end of last year, and for the first half of this year, because they annoyed me. I wish they had more like Damon.
posted on October 2, 2001 02:03:55 PM new
eseller004,
thanks for the billpoint fees link, and for laying them out clearly in your post
the .5% that billpoint charges for the transfer, plus $.05 more per transaction fee, plus no debit card with 1.5% back, and that fewer people have a billpoint account than paypal = paypal is a better choice for me. and having damon right here is another big plus - for me.
posted on October 2, 2001 02:27:56 PM new
How can you people think that this Damon person jumping around to NON-PAYPAL websites answering question is real cutomer service. PayPal should get their own message board for cutomer service. IMO, the reason they don't is they don't want everyone who uses them to see how many problems they really have. Only a small portion of paypal users come to this message center. For them Damon is great, and more power to him, someone need to address PayPal's problems. But what about all those other people out there who dont frequent these boards. Who don't know about Damon. What are they doing. They probably get the kind of service we read about here until Damon steps in.
PayPal is Losing millions of dollars every month. They just added a clause to there user agreement, "will not voluntarily make funds available to its creditors in the event of bankruptcy or for any other purpose".
How about involuntarily, will they let them have your money involuntarily?
deliteful:
You don't have to use BidPay, you don't sign up for BidPay your customer does. They buys a money order from them and they mail it to you. You don't have to have anything to do with them ever. I've had several transaction completed with BidPay and have never been to their site. They send you a notice that they are sending you a money order. You can ship then or wait until you get the money order. I always wait because you never know what can happen before you get the money order.
posted on October 2, 2001 02:40:50 PM newand having damon right here is another big plus
I'd prefer having a customer service department available to call, with live people who have the ability to help solve my problem rather than having to depend on somebody finding my post on a message board, but that's just me...
posted on October 3, 2001 02:46:41 PM newBut what about all those other people out there who dont frequent these boards. Who don't know about Damon. What are they doing. They probably get the kind of service we read about here until Damon steps in.
i don't know what they're doing. probably calling and/or emailing, and getting mixed results. the only time i've had to call paypal and speak to a rep was recently, when paypal had upgraded their system, resulting in a glitch that caused debits to be subtracted twice. i wasn't at all happy with the rep i spoke with, but others posted on that thread of having spoken with good, responsive reps. of course i also not too long ago spoke with a terrible, rude rep for my credit card company, nearly closed the account as a result, then called back and spoke with another who was great, and it all worked out. reps are, after all, individuals. do i wish the rep i spoke with on the phone was like damon? you bet!
damon has often publicly posted his email address here, so there's no need to wait until he comes to read the boards. i've found he always answers his email quickly.
whizzo asked which we sellers prefer. it seemed reasonable that s/he would also want to know why we preferred billpoint or paypal, so i was giving my personal opinion and experience. and since whizzo asked here, s/he would also know about and have access to damon.
