posted on June 16, 2004 05:21:54 PM new
Hi, I have a situation and wonder if I am missing something or doing something wrong. I only accept Paypal through bank account transfers. That is the way I want to keep it right now. I accept Bidpay in case someone thinks it's mandatory to use their credit card. Only twice has someone used their credit card to pay through Paypal and then I was given this choice - either deny the payment or accept the payment by agreeing to sign up and start accepting credit card payments. BTW I also accept personal checks and money orders. The first time this happened the buyer was very understanding and after I denied her Paypal payment she sent me a personal check. This time I am having more of a problem. When it first happened, I sent an email to the buyer explaining what had happened and advising them I was going to deny their Paypal payment, was nice, explained why, etc. I received an email back saying basically that "I sincerely hope denying my payment was just a mistake on your part. I have won these auctions. This is being reported to Ebay." I sent an email back explaining the situation again. Instead of some kind of email response, I received another credit card Paypal payment again! I am including the text of my last two email messages to the buyer for your review. I want to know how I can make this any plainer. This buyer has over 400 feedback, mostly good, just a few for no response and no payment when they had a family emergency (during a short period of time). My other question is this - Do I have something set up incorrectly about the Paypal? I clearly state in my TOS, Payment Terms, and Invoices that I accept Paypal through bank account only. Is there something I can do to where Paypal will only accept their payment for my auction if it is through bank transfer? Has anyone else had this problem? My feedback is over 1200 with only 1 neg and that was retalitory from non paying bidder. I don't want to get negged over this. This buyer's tag line states they are in a profession with a respectable income but yet this auction was only for $16 and they can't seem to pay another way other than credit card??? Help!
Second Email:
Hi, I sent you an email right away but you must not have received it. The payment came through Paypal as being from a credit card, which I can't accept. I'm not trying to be difficult and if you did use your bank account then I don't know what is stopping it from showing up that way. Regardless I was asked to accept or deny the payment, and if I wanted to accept it then my only choice was to sign up to start accepting credit cards which I don't want to do. I realize to get an email that your payment has been denied seems suspicious and that is why I sent you a personal email first before actually denying the payment. If you will check my feedback I think you will see that I am an honest seller and not trying to do anything wrong. I think the best solution would be if it is possible for you to use another method of payment. If it is imperative that you use a credit card, I do accept www.bidpay.com which means that you purchase a western union money order with your credit card and they mail it out for you and everything (for a small fee). However, I do also take personal checks and money orders. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Sincerely, *
Third Email:
Hi. I have received another Paypal payment from you which is coming through as credit card payment. I don't know if you are not getting my emails or just not reading them or what. I will be forced to deny this payment too and I'm sure that will upset you again. There is really a simple solution to the problem - if you will use another form of payment I will be more than happy to mail your item out to you. If you are using your bank account and it is still coming through Paypal as a credit card, while that may not be the way it is supposed to work, it is totally beyond my control. If you want to mail a check or money order to me, I will mail out your lots. Then if you want to take the bank account versus credit card issue up with Paypal and/or Ebay, so be it. But the way it stands now we are at an impasse because it keeps coming through as a credit card payment and I cannot accept credit cards. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. P.S. Once again, if you feel that your credit card is the only way you can pay, I do accept www.bidpay.com wherein you purchase a money order with your credit card. I feel I am doing everything (within my control) to resolve this matter. Sincerely, *
posted on June 16, 2004 05:31:18 PM new
My thoughts?
Maybe I'm missing something here but the additional PayPal fee for a $16.00 payment via credit card as opposed to a transfer from a PayPal balance is maybe $0.50.
posted on June 16, 2004 05:33:12 PM new
At a guess, I would say the OP is afraid that the buyer would do a charge back on the item.
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posted on June 16, 2004 05:46:01 PM new
I'm really a kind of "small potatoes" seller but yet the extra money does help me out. I think I pay enough fees already. Yes I am afraid of chargebacks. I read on this board about all kinds of scams going on and that kept me from accepting Paypal at all for a long time. I just thought if I kept credit cards out of the equation that would lower my chances of having problems. I have several Paypal payments per week through bank account with no problem and that is the way I myself prefer to pay on Ebay.
posted on June 16, 2004 05:58:47 PM new
When I buy something it's from my PayPal balance but if a person is a bidder only they don't HAVE a PayPal balance. An eCheck, which is what happens when they pay from their bank account, takes 4-5 business days to clear, which holds up getting their item.
Is it the additional fees or is it fear of a chargeback? I don't know what the fee difference is between eCheck and credit card payments. It's such small change I don't really pay attention to it. I've never had a chargeback or any other bidder problems with PayPal.
REGARDLESS, for whatever reason, this seller has the RIGHT to her terms & the RIGHT to expect bidders to abide by them.
Although I accept cc's thru PayPal, I can understand one's reluctance to be UPGRADED just to appease this bidder.
SELLER: ye will probably EAT A NEG out of this deal -- BUT, stick to yer guns, & then stick it to them with a FVF (bidder refused to abide by TOS) & NEG
posted on June 16, 2004 06:17:29 PM new
JMO - I think your e-mails are a little wordy and if you want to try again you need to be more blunt and concise.
For example.
Dear stubborn bidder, (just kidding about that part)
I do not accept paypal credit card payments. Nor, do I change my TOS (terms of sale) after the auction is over. Please pay by another method. I glady accept personal checks, money orders (and so on, whatever you do accept).
BTW - it may be that the buyer can afford to pay a different way - but has listened to all those consumer advocate reporters who say always use a credit card to pay for your on-line auction purchases.
There are two kinds of Paypal payments using one's bank account. Yes, e-checks take 4-5 days. But I use the other bank account payment method. I think it's called bank transfer. It goes through within hours. For all intents and purposes, it appears as fast as credit card.
When I pay a seller I have the bank option, the e-check option, and the credit card option.
posted on June 16, 2004 07:35:24 PM new
Meadowlark,
I don't think I've ever seen that kind of PayPal payment. Maybe no one has sent me one... Anyway, thanks for the heads up - I'll check it out.
The eCheck thing CAN be problematic for bidders who aren't aware of the clearing time.
You said when you pay, you have a choice of three types of payment. How do you do that?
My payments are always from my PayPal balance. Maybe I'm missing something. There are times I wouldn't mind having it go to a credit card. An iffy seller, etc. Just didn't know it was possible.
I always yank all my income funds out of my Paypal account and transfer to my bank right away. So when I go to pay, the default option Paypal hands me is an instant bank transfer. If I didn't remove the Paypal funds from my Paypal account before paying, and my Paypal balance is not enough to pay for a larger purchase, the default is that it will use my Paypal balance to pay for the first portion of the purchase, then suggest paying the balance via instant bank transfer.
I have to laugh, though, that most times when I pay, I use my credit card. The payment screen always defaults to instant bank transfer, but I pick "other payment options", then my MasterCard. It petulantly asks me if I really want to do that, with a whole paragraph as to why I should use instant bank transfer. It's obvious that Paypal tries to discourage credit card payments.
Likely, most of the buyers on eBay do not have a balance in their Paypal account, so they see the same defaults I do.
You would as well if your Paypal account balance was zero.
posted on June 16, 2004 07:55:26 PM new
Thanks for the info, Meadowlark.
The next time I buy something I'll look for the other payment options.
Mostly I don't care where the money comes from. I leave $$$ in my PayPal for buying purposes. But once in a while I would prefer to have the money come from my credit card.
There is a teeny blue link below the stated payment method that shows up on like the second screen when you are sending money. Altough, there is a good chance that it doesn't even show a payment method when you have a balance in your Paypal account! I bet it just wants to yank the funds from there.
posted on June 16, 2004 10:53:05 PM new
Do you have a PayPal logo in your auctions? If so then paypal says you accept credit card. Read below about eChecks. I hope thi helps.
When you use eCheck, you don't have to have a credit card or alternate funding source attached to your PayPal account. In addition, using eCheck means you won't incur credit card debt, since the money comes directly out of your bank account. eCheck is like writing a check, only faster and more secure.
To only accept electronic checks from PayPal, do not select PayPal as a payment option on the Sell Your Item form.
posted on June 17, 2004 04:47:09 AM new
If you change and accept credit cards then each payment you get from PayPal will cost you 30 cents plus the regular percentage. This tends to eat into the profits on the smaller items. Hang tough and don't let her make you change, it is your right to accept whatever form of payment you want.
posted on June 17, 2004 05:12:02 AM new
Thanks! I think I may have figured out part of the problem. First I HAVE been checking the Paypal link for my auctions and I will stop doing that. Secondly I think probably this buyer used their bank debit card and thought that was the same as bank account transfer. I don't THINK it is the same, I remember when I set up my own Paypal bank transfer account I had to put in my account number off my checks. I just looked and that is a totally different number than my own bank debit card number. I think this is where the confusion is. The bank transfers I am talking about do not have a waiting period, they are immediate. I like the thought that I am not spending money unless it is in my Paypal balance or in my bank account. Since a lot of people have been paying this way, I don't think it's too difficult to set up and it doesn't cost me anything. I have some work to do fixing my auctions!
posted on June 17, 2004 09:14:05 AM new
Debit cards are treated the same as credit cards by Paypal - so Personal account holders cannot accept either one.
By displaying the CC logos, even with your clarifying text in the auction, probably is causing this buyer's confusion.
If you've never upgraded before, you can upgrade to accept this one payment, and then downgrade your account back to a Personal account. This is a one-time option though, so if you can get the buyer to pay via another method, it'd be better.
