Paypal

Marc Montgomery · #1 13-09-11, 13:19

just curious. I have signed up for paypal..but I see lots of criticism

and as a newbie, I admit to not knowing the ins-and outs

The reason I signed up is that I thought it would be cheaper than a bank
EMT- electronic money transfer- which is a huge rip-off

i signed up with my credit card thinking (wrongly) I could use that to transfer funds. It seems I still have to use an EMT to put funds into paypal...which seems to defeat the purpose

Also it seems there are a great many angry complaints about PP rather exhorbitant exchange rates...much higher than bank exchange rates..which is a concern as many things are bought across borders.

it also seems a bit..well interesting ..that ebay owns PP and so almost insists that people use it.

What are your experiences - opinions.. alternatives

Ralph Volkert · #2 13-09-11, 14:55

Marc I have been using Paypal for some time (because I have used ebay for some time). Like you I originally started with my Credit card. I soon used my Bank account. It improved transfer times, decreased costs and I have never had a problem. Paypal will then only use your credit card incase of insufficient funds in your bank account. I use a seperate Bank account for paypal but that was only to keep things seperate.

Bob Carriere · #3 13-09-11, 15:32

I have used Pay Pall for all kind of money transfers.....far easier to have it linked to a special bank account. Any money received can then be kept on PAy Pall or cash deposited to your account..... the credit card datat is just for there assurance of payment. If the seller wants cash I send a Bank Money Order...... which I get free...... being a senior has its privileges.

Touch wood but never lost a red cent with Pay Pal or with any of the EBay transactions.

Bob

Marc Montgomery · #4 13-09-11, 15:37

thanks for the input..

On their website there are a LOT of complaints about overcharging on exchange rates...which I would think is a concern given that most of us buy across borders..

thoughts?

Bob Carriere · #5 13-09-11, 15:50

You deal with Ebay and Pay Pal they have you by the short hair.....

why is it that when the Canadian dollars is at $104.95 they still charge you a conversion rate to convert to US dollars....?? not even accepted at PAR....

Why is it an item is sold at $100 in the US and sold at $139 Cdn in Canada when our dollars is worth more.....?

What about buying a $5 item that can be shipped anywhere in the USA for $14.00 but the seller charges a flat fee fo $20.00 ....?

Just have to add these $$$ fees to realize the real cost.

I found some real savings can be made by having a regualr mailing address at a local ...across the border....UPS store...... you save on shipping and sometimes on custom PST/GST when you forget to declare expensive small items.

90% of the business done by the UPS store in Ogdensburg, NY is with Canadians.

Bob

gordon · #6 13-09-11, 15:51

I think all the other methods of moving money will be the same or worse.

I use PayPal for lots of small E_Bay purchases and all has been OK ( till now )

You can't really beat the convenience of being able to buy something online round the other side of the world and pay for item and postage in a few clicks.

Gordon

rob love · #7 13-09-11, 15:52

How do you figure that EMT is a rip off? The sender pays $1.50 and the receiver pays nothing. It is instant, and costs less than a cheque and a stamp in most cases.

I use paypal for out of country purchases, but as you mention, they really gouge on the exchange rates. As well, the person receiving the paypal payment pays fees, especially if the funds are credit card based.

I only link my paypal to my credit card. In the event of a dispute, and if paypal will not help me, I can go to the credit card company and reverse the deal. I can't do that with the bank account, since those funds are now gone.

Also with paypal, you have to be careful with your purchases. If you use it for any firearms (or accessories) and they figure it out (ie: in the notes of the purchase) then they will sieze all funds in your account and try to hold on to them for as long as they can get away with it.

If you want to read some of the horror stories on paypal, go to the http://www.paypalsucks.com/ website, and you may think again about how you use that service.

gordon · #8 13-09-11, 16:24

I've been charged £9, maybe US$15, for a single EFT, actually more than I lose in PayPal costs.

You can always estimate the payout conversion charges too. If I buy something in the US that costs US$90, with maybe US$10 for postage, the total will be US$100, but I send US$104 to cover a 4% currency conversion charge that the seller would otherwise get deducted.

You can also choose to do that by pre-paying the currency conversion charges as one of the PayPal options, which I find very useful.

Probably not a lot more to say, but I think the success of the system and the profits it generates shows that it works well, most of the time, for most of the users. My alternative used to be cash in an envelope but that didn't have good track record.