Posted on 10/11/2008 12:11:41 PM PDT by shortstop
Short of government forcing the end of money orders (which wouldn’t surprise me), this is an opening for an auction site that allows money orders.
As an eBay seller, I don’t accept those two forms of payment anyway.
Is there some problem with United States Postal Money Orders? It arrives in the mail, you go to the P.O. and change it for CASH. Problems? What problems? Going to the P.O.???
Small trip (for most) and ensures no-hassle ACTUAL payment. Good for seller, good for buyer, if the buyer doesn't mind waiting weeks & weeks before he can file an inquiry into whether or not a particular money order had been cashed, or not? No problems for the seller, there.
Never trust Paypal with more than you can bear to lose.
When I buy anything large, a check drawn on my local bank is the safest way to pay. If it’s REALLY big, I call the bank and tell them what’s up.
Paypal can kma.
Sellers have no recourse. I quit ebay cold turkey a few years ago after several buyers received items from me then claimed non-receipt. I had delivery confirmations but the system wouldn’t let me enter them and there was no one to call with Paypal. They sent me “please add money to your paypal account so we can send it back” to the scammers emails. I walked from it all.
My wife still uses ebay as a seller; she’s a stay at home mom who sells items on ebay for a part time job. It’s gotten to the point where buyers abuse the one-way feedback system and constantly try to game the “buyer protections.” Really a shame but they seem to have lost all sense over there.
And to have John McCain tout Ebay CEO Meg Whitman as a possible cabinet member really irks me. She helped run the whole thing into the ground in search of growth, and all they’ve gotten is declining revenue and a whole lot of ticked off longtime users and now former users.
We’re moving towards craigslist and Amazon wherever it makes sense - and when you factor in saving the 20-30% of fees that ebay is jamming on sellers and the theft and fraud, you can sell for less on those two and make a lot more money.
I only accept Paypal anyway. So, I don’t have too much of a problem with it. I have a major problem with them limiting the shipping amount that you can put on an item though!!
Agreed.
Paypal wasn’t able to help me with the issue. It was WAMU credit card (of all people!) services that froze the transaction in my favor within 24 hrs.
Money orders and checks are a waste of time, you have to wait for them to clear and they're more prone to fraud than even credit cards.
Most people pay with PayPal, but sellers pay fees for accepting a PayPal payment. If someone pays by money order or personal check, there is no fee on the payment. It looks like eBay is forcing all sellers and buyers to use PayPal so they can make even more money from sellers. There is no advantage to the seller in this as they will continue to be charged for accepting PayPal payments. The buyer isn’t charged anything. As usual, the seller gets screwed.
If you take the (USPS) mo to the po, how long is the wait? A minute?
Ebay makes money off Paypal.
If the seller uses paypal, he has to give a cut to ebay.
I used to accept paypal for money transfers only - in other words, I didn’t want to accept credit cards. I got a letter from ebay that if I used paypal, I wasn’t allowed to put in my auction “no credit cards allowed”. So I went to only money orders. Now that is out.
Between ebay fees and paypal, the percentage can really mount up. I used to sell lots of one and two dollar items when ebay started- it was actually worth it. But ebay killed the goose.
Say you sell something for one dollar.
First there is the insertion fee - fixed at .15 cents.
Then there is the closing value fee - 8.75%, or 9 cents.
But wait-there is the paypal fee (required now)
about 2.5%, 2.5 cents
and a fixed fee of .30 cents
So the total bill to sell a $1 item is now about 57 cents. That is why so many sellers charge too much for shipping, it’s the only way to make selling profitable.
Not a lot, but a lot of people used to throw lots of household stuff on ebay - you could pick up stuff for a dollar or two, and have fun - it was a lark. I used to make a few hundred a month and clean my garage at the same time. Now if I were to do that, I would almost lose money.
But ebay has lost that vision. They’ve slowly been putting more and more restrictions and problems on the sellers, trying to make ebay a shopping mall and making it hard and no fun anymore. My guess is since last year, when they told sellers they couldn’t give negative feedback anymore to bad buyers (pretty much your only protection) they’ve had a flight in ebay sellers.
It’s almost like the government. The answer to slumping sales because you’ve put too many restrictions on your sellers is -drumroll- more restrictions!
Unfortunately for ebay, unlike the government, you can take it or leave it. So I left it.
Yes, and I’ve gotten two, with instructions to ship the product to Asia upon receipt.
It’s a problem if the postal money order you receive is FAKE.
Also, leaving ANY money in your PayPal account is STUPID. Get their debit card and pull it out right away or immediately transfer any money that comes into the PP account into your bank account.
If you do that, a lot of PayPal hassles just don’t happen.
I only use paypal when necessary.
I've been selling on eBay for almost 10 years. One of my biggest complaints is that they don't protect the sellers from fraudulent bidders. I list very low ticket items at least once a month or every other month. Inevitably, there's at least 1-3 individuals who make multiple bids and don't pay. If eBay wanted to really be effective, they would certify the identity of all buyers and sellers before they are allowed to conduct any transactions. And, they should limit the number of items a person can bid on until they have received at least five feedbacks from different sellers.
BTT
Thanks. I’ve never sold much on there, but have bought plenty including plumbing fixtures for a house we built. But I hardly ever go there anymore, and the last big thing I bought online - a lens for my camera - I got through Amazon.
This is a business decision based on a direct threat and changes of rules by the IRS.
Expect all of EBay’s competitors to do the same in the 2009 calendar year.
Most people pay with PayPal, but sellers pay fees for accepting a PayPal payment. If someone pays by money order or personal check, there is no fee on the payment. It looks like eBay is forcing all sellers and buyers to use PayPal so they can make even more money from sellers. There is no advantage to the seller in this as they will continue to be charged for accepting PayPal payments. The buyer isn’t charged anything. As usual, the seller gets screwed.
Got ya!
That does stink.
Yes, Ebay will make more money off the Paypal sales percentage by fording this.
What if the SELLER doesn’t comply and still continues to accept money orders and checks. Can Ebay really STOP that?
“Offer PayPal, a merchant credit card, and/or one of the other approved electronic payment methods by October 20 when checks and money orders will no longer be allowed.”
What are the other
“approved electronic payment methods “
other than credit card or Paypal?
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