You can say that again. You can’t even use ebay these days without paypal. I despise PayPal and their fees and their rules and regulations...they are worse than the worst bank you could do business with.
You can, but it probably isn't worth the bother. Ebay requires sellers to accept one of several methods of electronic payment, and if you're not a business able to take credit cards directly, that leaves ebay-owned Paypal; or ebay-approved Moneybookers, Paymate, and Propay. They carry the same risks as Paypal, although I don't think any of them have the 21-day funds hold policy that is currently freaking out the less-than-power seller class.
I despise PayPal and their fees and their rules and regulations...they are worse than the worst bank you could do business with.
Paypal has the discretion to decline to process any transaction for just about any reason under the sun, which is a serious problem for the non-pro seller and those who occasionally sell when they need a bit of extra cash. You never know if your deal is going to be sunk by Paypal -- leaving you with ebay seller fees you still must pay. Their latest outrage is the lengthy hold placed on funds sent by the buyer. So far it applies generally to infrequent sellers or those with less feedback. Paypal holds the funds for up to three weeks, meaning the seller must ship at his own expense even though the buyer has sent shipping funds via paypal. The hold can remain until delivery confirmation or even later. If the buyer doesn't post positive feedback, Paypal may still hold the payment! Meanwhile Paypal is making interest on that money, the seller cannot touch it.
This is nothing short of criminal IMO.
For a better idea of how bad it is, go to your Paypal account if you have one, locate their discussion boards and start reading. Ebay also has a Paypal discussion forum at its site which is also loaded with horror stories.
Ebay is like a pirate's cove, past which you may not sail without paying the ransom. And if you pay it, you are part of the problem!