If you are selling an item and you are taking PAYPAL, why not add the 3% to your list price rather than announce that if you are using PAYPAL you get to pay 3% more.
It seems to be a negative approach to using a payment system that is easier for the buyer and seller, and it guarantees instant payment. You do not have to go to the bank, it is right their in your PAYPAL account.
CCLINHOTRODRODEO

I agree! I take all kinds of CC at my biz. AE is the highest! But thats what you pay when you want instant payment. PayPal is no diff. Send a check or MO if you can and wait? There is no free lunch! Somebody pays!

I agree, you just have to figure it in up front as part of your cost.

Because cash is king.
I believe I price at fair value so why turn off a potential buyer by adding the 3%. Let the buyer decide if that service is worth it to them.
I add the dreaded 3% disclaimer when I'm selling an item that commands a high dollar amount and shipping will probably be significant enough to find an alternate way of payment i.e. cash, MO, check or trade. At a brick and mortar business I find it to be a bit tacky.

Many people I have sold to do not pay by paypal.

And who wants to pay 87.25 ? They will just offer you 85.

I agree with Alberto. I also only charge the paypal fee if the customer wishes to pay it as I consider them as getting the service, not me. I just like the flexibility and like to keep the costs down as much as possible. However, I am more of a poser than a vendor so what works for me may not make sense to you real vendors.

I sent you an extra .50 on my order.
did you get it?

Ya, I thought that was weird. Your a real pal

The service is beneficial to "both" the buyer and the seller.
If you advertise a part for $87.00 and I can pay for it without having to go to the bank or USPO for a Cashiers Check or MO, then I will use PAYPAL. If I am a seller and I can get paid for the item I am selling immediatley and not have to take a check, or MO to the bank. And the money that is in my PAYPAL account draws interest, then I see a benefit for both parties. And I will pay with PAYPAL the $87.00 rather than try to save $2.00, that I will spend on gas and time.
CCLINHOTRODHEAVEN

I agree, like I said, for you "real" vendors it makes sense.

there is a reason they call it Shipping and Handling.

So you dont haggle craig?


ok, i'll give you 82.51!

Okay I accept cash check or money order. I have to get in my car that I buy gas and insurnace for, and I have to take the time to go to the bank, and deposit the cash the check or the MO.
All cash and check and MO buyers will pay 5% more.
CCLINTHEPOINT

Even better!


"Discount for non Paypal transactions!"








I knew there was a positive way to spin it.

I think it all depends on what you are buying.

3% on a $100.00 part is one thing.

If you are buying a $7000.00 3.6 motor, then it's something different altogether.

I for one would by anything from Mike or Craig, sight un-seen with whatever they asked.

Unknown ebay seller, not so much...

just what I was thinking...

I totally agree Craig. I see people using this tactic on a $100.00 item so we are dealing with 3 bucks and the conveniance is certainly worth that.

As I have gotten older I value my time more and prefer to keep things simple and easy.

On the other hand, I manufacture some motorcycle items and when someone wants them shipped overseas, I typically charge a $10.00 service fee for going to the Post Office and filling out customs forms regardless of payment method. Round trip will eat an hour so it's actually cheap. Some get irritated at the fee though.

Everyone sees a buck a little different I guess.

I use paypal all the time to send money, but am wary of receiving money via paypal from people that I do not know.

I spend a goodly portion of my day online, and hear about (and from) lots of scammers. Scammers love paypal, because it errs on the side of the customer, and not the seller. One of the scams these days is to buy via paypal, get the object, and retract the payment (or file a dispute and hope that the seller just does not want to deal with it).

But, I suppose there will always be scammers, no matter what mode of money transfer you use. My girl at the time was once paid with a forged money order. We did not know it was bad for several weeks after we deposited it.

Time to go ride.
Zach

I used to a fair amount of selling on ebay, and I would put something like "$1 discount for Money Orders" or something like that. Of course, this was before there were counterfeit money orders to worry about... For my reptile transactions, Paypal is really the only way to go as time is often of the essence when it comes to live animals. I usually add 1.5% in the shipping and handling and look at it as splitting the Paypal fee.

I also just realized that I have another convenience allowing me to deposit checks without hassle. I have an ATM in the front of my local grocery store that is open 24hrs so I just deposit my checks every time I go grocery shopping. Thus, its no harder for me to receive checks as I am at the store once a week.

What he said.

Plus if you ask $88 and someone offers your $85 cash, you can always say Yes.

Their fee does scale down with larger payments. On the $7000 engine money discussed the fee would be $175 (2.5%) instead of $210 (2.9%) for a merchant. It is pricey, but you only need one fake cashiers check and it starts to look cheap.

In addition - with a fake cashiers check, it's not unheard of for you to end up in a jail cell for the night if the bank suspects that you the depositor are the perpetrator instead of the guy who tried to buy your engine. Add some bail money into the mix, and the $175 can start to look like a complete bargain.

Not saying that everyone should use paypal, but it is a very useful service in a lot of instances.

its also not unheard of for buyers to recieve their items and then file a dispute,
screwing your Paypal, taking the money from you, and your payment system is out of commision while you try to sort it out.

I'm torn on paypal personally. It works, but it really is heavily weighted towards the buyer.


Any bad experiences to share?

I haven't had any bad experiences, but they are out there. I suppose at least if you get scammed with Paypal, they would notice if the same buyer filed complaints against a number of sellers, whereas with a cashier's check nobody would know.


You're right though - nothing is 100% safe .

I sell on ebay. I sell quite a bit. My fees for ebay and paypa for the last couple months are as follows.

April
Ebay $471.81
Paypal $168.66
Total $640.47

May
Ebay $237.83
Paypal $82.72
Total $320.55

June
Ebay $196.46
Paypal $64.32
Total $260.78

This represents 15%, 16% and 17% of my total sales

There are a lot of things to figure in when taking Paypal but one thing that no one has mentioned is that it is against the paypal rules, that is right Paypal/all CC Company rules, to add a percentage on top of a sale to cover the costs of taking a credit card. Now I also happen to have been told by ebay that is is not a problem if you want to offer a discount for cash or other forms of payment. I like paypal. I have had no real problems with them yet. I have had a couple of disputes but one time the item finally arrived in The Netherlands and the other time a guy in Italy would not return the item to Paypal so they would not give him his money.

What really bugs me is the guy that offers a rediculous amount for something but does not take into account the fact that even though there is no "overhead" for ebay sellers we have to pay fees which others do not. My ebay store costs!!! Ebay costs!!! Paypal costs!! I stock items that cost!! I had one guy recently that told me that I was charging to much for something because he could go direct and get the same price. I told him that I was a retailer for the company and that he did not understand how it all worked and to call them and order from them. He promptly replied that I was the one that did not understand and that as an internet business I should be charging 20% less than retail because of my lack of overhead. Truth, the item that he was refering to was an item that is sold by one of the members here and the discount that I get is 21.16%. Look at the numbers above. Do you want to do it???

Back to the question of 3%. Do I charge it? It is part of the overhead and my margines take that into consideration.