eCommerce Tycoon

**Brian07002** · 02-10-2009, 06:52 PM

From experience, this is what I will have to say regarding this:

Paypal is good, nothing wrong with it from a trustworthy point of view (IMO). But from a customer view, I have had customers who'd rather pay via credit card without paypal in the checkout process (altogether)...Meaning I have had a website accepting credit cards using my own merchant account...Then, due to issues I won't get into in this message, I lost the merchant account and resorted to paypal as my only payment gateway, as a result, my old customers didn't want to use paypal. I will repeat, paypal is a good payment gateway, but some people don't prefer it over a merchant account that is directly linked to your business.

**redspin17** · 02-23-2009, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian07002

I have had a website accepting credit cards using my own merchant account...Then, due to issues I won't get into in this message, I lost the merchant account and resorted to paypal as my only payment gateway, as a result, my old customers didn't want to use paypal. I will repeat, paypal is a good payment gateway, but some people don't prefer it over a merchant account that is directly linked to your business.

Did you lose those old customers, or did they just complain about Paypal but then used it anyway? How many of your customers didn't like Paypal? It seems that at some point, you need to protect yourself rather than try to accommodate all your customers.

**noobster** · 02-23-2009, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by witnesstheday

When they see something online to buy and then go to the buy page and find themselves soon transported to a paypal page, does that lose me sales-closures?

I would not buy it the person does not have a real merchant account. If PayPal is an option, that is good. If it is the only option I don't feel comfortable. I have heard a lot of people complain about getting ripped off for goods sent.

**ernelle** · 02-27-2009, 07:31 PM

I've used Paypal as a seller and a buyer and have not had any issues. In fact anytime a site lists Paypal as a payment method that is how I pay. Recently I noticed that eBay is not allowing Money Orders for most transactions which is pushing many people to only accept Paypal.

**magicvw** · 02-28-2009, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernelle

I've used Paypal as a seller and a buyer and have not had any issues. In fact anytime a site lists Paypal as a payment method that is how I pay. Recently I noticed that eBay is not allowing Money Orders for most transactions which is pushing many people to only accept Paypal.

Yeah, because eBay now owns Paypal. What a scandal! Come and sell something on my site, but you can only accept payment using my own software. I'll charge you commission for selling your goods then I'll charge commission again for processing the payment, even though I didn't let you choose an alternative way to pay.

**chrishirst** · 02-28-2009, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicvw

Yeah, because eBay now owns Paypal. What a scandal! Come and sell something on my site, but you can only accept payment using my own software. I'll charge you commission for selling your goods then I'll charge commission again for processing the payment, even though I didn't let you choose an alternative way to pay.

I could not agree more.

Not forgetting they'll also charge you just for listing the item whether it sells or not.
And they wonder why people are leaving in droves!

**jenniec** · 03-01-2009, 06:44 PM

I am surprised to see little mention of Google Checkout. It's been a while since I compared the two, but the transaction fees of Google were cheaper, the money showed up in the account faster and I haven't heard the horror stories associated with Paypal. I'm sure PP has a bigger market share, so more horror stories simply because of larger numbers, but still it was enough to make me nervous. Generally people trust Google and I think they have an even bigger brand name recognition effect than Paypal.

**dropshipping** · 03-02-2009, 10:57 AM

I have had no problems with PayPal or Google. But I use PayPal more regularly. I think both offer great merchant solutions that do not require you have a full-blown merchant account which can be a headache and an expense.

**CrystalPay** · 02:13 AM

You could get a merchant account or use echecks(ACH), western union as an alternative payment besides using paypal for your mailorder business.

**nascar59** · 03-23-2009, 12:32 PM

I have not had any problems in the past couple of yrs with paypal but there customer service needs some updating

**pacesolutions** · 03-28-2009, 06:21 AM

Paypal is a good choice

**johnpaulgrant** · 03-30-2009, 10:36 PM

PayPal is definitely positioned themselves as the leader in this market

**CreditCardGuy** · 04-05-2009, 03:09 PM

PayPal is a great way for brand new businesses to begin accepting payments quickly and with (relative) ease. The problem with PayPal is that everyone and their mother can open an account. IMO only accepting payments through PayPal can detract from a companies professional image.

I would say the most cost effective time to open a merchant account is when your sales reach to about $1,500 - $2,000 / month in revenue.

**lynxus** · 05-06-2010, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CreditCardGuy

PayPal is a great way for brand new businesses to begin accepting payments quickly and with (relative) ease. The problem with PayPal is that everyone and their mother can open an account. IMO only accepting payments through PayPal can detract from a companies professional image.

I would say the most cost effective time to open a merchant account is when your sales reach to about $1,500 - $2,000 / month in revenue.

[ Edit: Just noticed this thread has been dug from the grave.. What a waste of my thoughts... ]

I have to agree.

I personally use Paypal with IPN integration for my custom site / service.

Its a great way to take money from people ( and their credit cards ) cheaply.
Yes they take a small fee ( a £25 sale for me works out to be about £0.75p in fees )

So it works well and is fairly inexpensive for new company's.

Yes, when you make more money. Move on and take the payments directly.

Using paypal is quick , easy and you dont need to be PCIDSS compliant ( as nothing is stored on your servers )