PayPal credit cards?

October 14, 2005 9:22 AM

I've noticed quite a few sellers, on Ebay and elsewhere, specifying that they don't want payment from a credit card through PayPal. Wha? Huh?

I've got a PayPal business account, have always transferred money from my UK Switch/Maestro debit card, and have never had a problem doing so - I just wondered why sellers won't take credit card payments through PayPal, if this is something I'm likely to run afoul of using a debit card, and just generally what's going on. It irks me that they'll claim to accept a standard method of payment like PayPal, then get picky about the source of the money, and I'm wondering if they have a valid reason.

posted by terpsichoria to shopping (8 comments total)

Um... Noting that chargebacks on credit cards are often the only way to undo a scam through EBay, I'd tell those sellers to get fucking bent, since if they rip you off Paypal sure as shit won't help.
posted by klangklangston at 9:25 AM on October 14, 2005

They have a personal PayPal account rather than a business account and don't want to pay the fees associated with credit cards.

Which is reasonable from a seller's perspective, except for the fact that by accepting credit cards they will almost certainly get more bidders and a higher price.
posted by kindall at 9:31 AM on October 14, 2005

If it wasn't clear, personal accounts can't receive credit card payments.

Another reason is that sellers have been burned by scammers who chargeback and don't want to deal with that hassle.

If you're feeling really annoyed, you can report the auction. eBay prohibits this.
posted by smackfu at 9:35 AM on October 14, 2005

Thanks, all - I'm certainly not irritated enough to report the auction (just mildly frustrated), and I suspect it's the fear of scammers that's caused the policy - I've emailed them to see where they stand on debit cards.
posted by terpsichoria at 9:47 AM on October 14, 2005

The paypal fee is 2.9% + $0.30, add that to the ebay fees (about 5% most of the time). Not to mention paypal
s currency exchange fee of 2.5%, although everybody charges a currency exchange fee...

The 'normal' retail profit margin is 50%, and ebay sellers are trying to undercut that... So, fees can be 20% of a seller's profit. The only reason it isn't more common is that customers get panicky, this thread is ample evidence.
posted by Chuckles at 9:52 AM on October 14, 2005

They have a personal PayPal account rather than a business account and don't want to pay the fees associated with credit cards.

Once you upgrade from a personal account to receive credit card payments, the PayPal fee (3.4% on transactions under £1500) applies to all methods of payment, not just credit cards.

Given that eBay owns PayPal, you can understand that the TOS prohibition feels to sellers as if they're being charged twice over.
posted by holgate at 10:00 AM on October 14, 2005

one more point on this: PayPal doesn't transfer money to accounts in every country. If this is a person with a bank account from out of the U.S. it's possible that's the reason.
posted by mirileh at 10:33 AM on October 14, 2005

Wow, I didn't know that. Looks like I'm back to checks, cash, and money orders only. It's amazing how badly eBay fleeces on low-price items.
posted by oaf at 2:40 PM on October 14, 2005