My thoughts on Paypal
First, the service is now very, very different than it originally was
advertised to be. The original advertisements said the system was free, and
always would be free. The explanation given by Paypal was that they would make money off the "float". This is now not true, there are still "free"
accounts but there are also many fees and extra hoops to jump through. I am
disappointed that the reality is so much different than what was promised.
The cynical part of me thinks that Paypal had planned this all along. The
other part of me, the part that knows just how financially inexperienced my
of the internet start-ups were, thinks that the change in direction came
from more professional management once Paypal really got going.
As to my thoughts on the current service, I do not have many problems with
it. If you're a consumer who only occasionally makes a purchase, it is
free. If you do a fair amount of buying and selling on the internet, the
selling part will cost you money. However, you basically are gaining the
ability to allow customers to pay via credit card. This is very powerful
when selling as credit cards are very popular. Plus you get cash quickly
without having to wait for a cheque or money order to arrive by mail.
Merchant accounts cost a fair amount and Paypal is not expensive by that
measure.
If you buy or sell anything over the internet, especially if you accept
credit cards, you do face the real possibility of fraud. Stores face the
very real possibility of fraud every day. That is why they authorize
transactions (it gives them some insurance). I think that Paypal got worked over pretty hard by fraud artists. I reviewed their seller's protection and, if you follow their instructions, I think it is pretty decent.
"Seller Protection Policy. Beginning August 23, 2000, PayPal agrees to indemnify sellers of physical goods for chargeback liability resulting from a buyer's fraudulent use of a stolen credit card and/or false claims of non-shipment of goods for purchases made through the Service for payments received through PayPal of up to $5,000 per year when the following conditions are met:
The seller is a Verified Business or Verified Premier Account (U.S.).
The seller ships to the buyer's Verified Shipping Address.
The seller can provide reasonable proof-of-shipment which can be tracked online. This documentation must show that you shipped to the Verified Shipping Address. (Most U.S. carrier companies offer this service, including the U.S. Postal Service.) Because comparable proof-of-shipment is not currently available for electronically-delivered items, we are currently unable to offer Seller Protection for digital goods and other electronically-delivered items.
The seller accepted a single payment from only one PayPal account for the purchase. (Multiple payments from different accounts for a single item are a fraud indicator. Sellers should not accept such payments.)
The seller ships to a domestic (U.S.) buyer at a U.S. address.
When you receive funds through PayPal, if the sender's transaction is reversed for any reason and you do not qualify for the Seller Protection Policy for that transaction, you will owe PayPal for the amount of the reversed transaction plus any fees imposed on PayPal as a result of the reversal. You agree to reimburse PayPal from either your PayPal account or by other means. Although PayPal will vigorously pursue debt collection of any amounts owed to it, PayPal will never make electronic transfers from your checking account without your explicit permission."
So I think that the 2% you pay as a seller is comparable to what a merchant account would cost you, you get protection, and you get to accept credit cards as payment.
Michael
ps - they have an employee who actively posts and tries to help here