Ebay Question for Frequent Sellers

Golf Xcellence · December 8, 2005

I have avoided selling on Ebay, but I have a bunch of stuff to sell and

I think it might be my best venue.

Right now I have a non-business Paypal account because I am trying to

avoid the 3% fee. The question is, is there someway to make a listing

in Ebay that specifies only taking Paypal payments from someone

who is not using a credit card?

I would appreciate any help with this.

Thanks

Garry

ur1down · December 8, 2005

I have avoided selling on Ebay, but I have a bunch of stuff to sell and
I think it might be my best venue.

Right now I have a non-business Paypal account because I am trying to
avoid the 3% fee. The question is, is there someway to make a listing
in Ebay that specifies only taking Paypal payments from someone
who is not using a credit card?

I would appreciate any help with this.

Thanks

Garry

That is a mistake as you will drive down bidding due to decreased market. Don't do it. If you wan't the extra 3% that badly, estimate the final value and add it onto your shipping and handling, however you have to be careful with this also because gouging people in S&H turns bidders off also.

The bottom line is that ebay is providing a forum and paypal is providing a service and these cost money. You should be prepared to pay for using things.

Golf Xcellence · December 8, 2005

I have avoided selling on Ebay, but I have a bunch of stuff to sell and
I think it might be my best venue.

Right now I have a non-business Paypal account because I am trying to
avoid the 3% fee. The question is, is there someway to make a listing
in Ebay that specifies only taking Paypal payments from someone
who is not using a credit card?

I would appreciate any help with this.

Thanks

Garry

That is a mistake as you will drive down bidding due to decreased market. Don't do it. If you wan't the extra 3% that badly, estimate the final value and add it onto your shipping and handling, however you have to be careful with this also because gouging people in S&H turns bidders off also.

The bottom line is that ebay is providing a forum and paypal is providing a service and these cost money. You should be prepared to pay for using things.

I appreciate your comments. It's funny I really don't mind it on Ebay, I guess for some reason

it bugs me to have to pay the fee on trades made on forums like this. And I don't like asking

for an extra 3%.

Oh Well, I guess I'll just have to suck it up and pay.

Thanks again for your comments

Garry

Gozz · December 8, 2005

I have sold many things on ebay and I always put in that "Due to Paypal fees I can only accept bank drafts through Paypal (ie no credit cards or debit cards). I have never failed to sell something at the price that I wanted. Once you accept a credit card or debit card through Paypal you have to go to a business account and will always have to pay the 3% even if it is a bank draft. People who have been on ebay long enough know about the 3% fee with Paypal and normally will help you avoid paying it.

baimo · December 8, 2005

I will only buy if paypal is accepted and with credit card. I want recourse in case I buy from a crook. I also sell a good amount of stuff and always accept paypal w/CC. I chalk it off to the cost of doing business.

You could definitely limit the auction to Paypal without CC, but I think you limit your customers.

Everardo · December 8, 2005

Look I'm not a fan of paying fees either but PayPal is providing a service allowing you to collect payments electronically, which is a lot faster and more secure than mailing money orders. Plus accepting credit cards does open up the item to a lot more potential buyers. It's no different from any other mechant that accepts credit cards. Stores, restaurants, etc all have to pay fees for accepting credit cards as forms of payment.

My feelings are if you don't want to pay the CC fees, then don't accept them at all but charging people extra shipping or handling fees because they want to pay you with a credit card is cheap. You don't have to use PayPal or even offer it in your ads if you don't want to.

Per PayPal:

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.

Under Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express regulations and the laws of several states, including California, merchants may not charge a fee to the buyer for accepting credit card payments (often called a 'surcharge').

* In order to comply with these laws and regulations, sellers may not charge a fee for accepting PayPal

* This limitation does not prevent sellers from imposing a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge (in other words, the handling fee for transactions paid through PayPal may not be higher than the handling fee for transactions paid through other payment methods)

ur1down · December 8, 2005

I have sold many things on ebay and I always put in that "Due to Paypal fees I can only accept bank drafts through Paypal (ie no credit cards or debit cards). I have never failed to sell something at the price that I wanted. Once you accept a credit card or debit card through Paypal you have to go to a business account and will always have to pay the 3% even if it is a bank draft. People who have been on ebay long enough know about the 3% fee with Paypal and normally will help you avoid paying it.

Well ebay has done the research and they show that you would sell your items for more by accepting credit cards. I have over 300 transactions on ebay and have learned how to get the most out of my auctions.

Also, as someone else in this thread indicated, I never purchase from anyone that won't accept credit cards mostly for protection purposes. So right here in this thread you have turned off 2 potential buyers, how many do you think you lose worldwide? A lot.

Gozz · December 8, 2005

I have sold many things over many years. I have not sold 300 items therefore I do not need a business account. Everything I have sold has exceeded what I was wanting so while it might discourage a few that does not mean I can not get a great selling price. If you pay attention to the feedback you know if you are getting ripped or not. Also, ebay owns Paypal so I'm certain that they want you to have a business account. Bottom line, if you are going to sell a lot of things you will need the business account. If your like me and sell a few items a year it's your call. You still get the same protection with Paypal you just don't get the secondary protection of the credit card.