PayPal experience

PETSNEGGS · #1 05/14/08, 10:57 AM

Does anyone have much experience with Paypal? Can you use it without having it attached to a bank account? I know there are all kinds of pros and cons on banks but, I am at my wits end right now with my bank... But, I would need a means of recieving payments for things I make and sell along with I would need a way to use the money. Can you actually pay bills on line and such with paypal? I have signed up for it but, it still is so new to me and I don't personally know anyone that has used it so I am concerned. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you so very much and have a great day.
Deby

Windy in Kansas · #2 05/14/08, 11:07 AM

I have had a PayPal account for several years now and they have on bank information of mine. I do however use a pre-paid credit card and am only making expenditures rather than also receiving funds. I'm under the impression that you do need bank information to receive.

I have used PayPal for a number of transactions other than Ebay. I usually just use my pre-paid Mastercard whenever I can though to keep PayPal out of the loop. The pre-paid card operates like a debit card as I understand it.

halfpint · #3 05/14/08, 11:10 AM

I'm not sure if you are required to have a bank account, but at one time that was the only way to be verified. I set up a separate bank account with my credit union that I use for Pay-Pal, so there is never much money in there if it gets taken over somehow. Usually I keep less than $30 in there.

My son received a large payment via Pay-Pal, and was only able to receive $500 per month of his payment. I'm not sure if he has a business account or not though.

There are a lot more companies that accept Pay-Pal as payment now for merchandise, but you would have to check with the companies that you get bills from to find out if you could pay them through pay-pal.

I used Pay-Pal quite a bit in the past, but haven't used it much lately as most of my transactions were with e-bay, which I've not used much lately.

We're in the same state, I've found the Credit unions to be much better here (both interest and service wise) than the banks. Is there a credit union that you could join?

Dawn

Wags · #4 05/14/08, 11:13 AM

You don't have to be verified to receive or make payments with Paypal, nor do you have to be "verified". But there is a limit on how much an individual can receive through Paypal. I wouldn't count on using them like a bank for bill paying.

THETOOLMAN · #5 05/14/08, 03:53 PM

I use PAY PAL A LOT! i have never had any trouble out of pay pal. The sellers I have only had a couple. ONE this week. I payed for an auction with pay pal. The seller contacted me by email & wanted MORE MONEY! I contacted pay pal & pay pal gave my money back then cancelled the guys auctions---- all of them.. Class act!!

ErinP · #6 05/14/08, 04:08 PM

I've used PayPal for about ten years as both a buyer and seller. I've had thousands of transactions through them and only a couple of questionable experiences.

You used to be able to pay bills via PP, but if you still can, I'm not sure how. (Unless your recipient has a PP account, that is, and you just pay that way)
You can both pay and recieve without a bank account, but you can't withdraw any income without an account, if I'm not mistaken.
Personally, I've had a PayPal debit card for several years that I usually use to access my PP account.

gerald77 · #7 05/14/08, 04:22 PM

i like paypal. i've never had any problems. i also have the paypal debit card which is nice cause then i don't have to wait for payments to go to my bank account.

nappint · #8 05/14/08, 04:30 PM

Without having more specifics about what you will be doing with your Paypal account it's hard to say for sure what would be the best route. You can always open a bank account at a different bank and use it for your Paypal banking account. Just keep a few dollars in the bank account and use your Paypal for everything else.

If you want to use your account like a checking account you might be better off upgrading to a business account and requesting the Paypal debit card (if you do then go ahead and sign up for the 1% cash back bonus because fees are assessed to receive money

)However, You can pay anything with the Paypal debit card because it's a Debit Mastercard. I pay a lot of my household bills with it like electric, gas, food etc. You can also transfer money to your bank account if you want to go that route.

I've had a Paypal account since 2000 - most of that time I was a Powerseller on Ebay - I've only lost money once to a scammer/buyer AND I followed Paypal policy to the letter on that one so there is some risk using Paypal if you are going to be receiving money for goods sold - just make sure you know the "in's-and-out's" of Paypal before you decide to use it exclusively... PLEASE read Paypal's policies regarding seller protection and buyer protection - it's easy to lose money if you don't follow their policies.

HTH

barn-apart · #9 05/14/08, 04:40 PM

If there is a dispute over a sale ,( UPS damaged generator in shipment) Pay Pal can lock your account for 6 months, no money can be with drawn,but you can make deposits. This cost me $700 for 6 months , so you may want to keep that in mind about leaving large deposits on the books. Probably doesn't happen often,but!

Rocktown Gal · #10 05/14/08, 04:59 PM

I have had a paypal account for years and do not have a checking account connected to it. You need a checking account if you want to transfer funds to your bank account, it takes 4 days or if you want to add money to your paypal account. I also have a debit card as a business holder and I have high spending limits.

Ken Scharabok · #11 05/14/08, 05:15 PM

I also have several thousand transactions with PayPal. Only two problems. Someone disputed a PayPal charge against their credit card. Clearly an eBay sale. Clearly a delivery, still PayPal eventually deducted it from my account. Second was a pending item for a check. When PayPal notified me it had cleared, I shipped. Then later PayPal took back the payment as the check apparently didn't clear. Ticked me off they confirmed, then took back clearance.

uyk7 · #12 05/14/08, 07:58 PM

I used my credit card to verify my account but that is no longer good for PayPal. PP now wants my checking account information, which I don't want to give them. I cannot use the funds in my account until I verify with my bank information. I can withdraw funds by having PP send me a check but they charge for that.

gunsmithgirl · #13 05/14/08, 08:02 PM

You have to watch Paypal. If you run firearms parts or firearms through them they will suspend your account. I ran a few through before I shut down my account there. I refuse to support a company that does not support my second amendment rights. I now use bidpay which works like paypal but supports 2A rights and freedom.

oberhaslikid · #14 05/14/08, 08:11 PM

I got a Paypal debit card and use it like a debit or credit card to paybills or purchase at the store the money comes out of your account before you get home.

cab · #15 05/15/08, 08:24 AM

I used paypal for many years without a problem, then suddenly, and without notice they claimed that a payment I received was a "suspicious transaction". They froze my account and all the funds in it. I could not get anyone on the telephone to explain why, after dozens of similar transaction, this one was suddenly deemed suspicious. I sent countless emails asking for an explanation, and received nothing except form letters back giving me instructions to send them documents that had nothing to do with the transactions (shipping receipts-nothing was shipped-etc.). After several months, they finally sent the payment back to the sender, and I was lucky enough to have the sender resend it via bankwire. Paypal then informed me they were closing my account, again, simply stating that my business practices were too "high risk" for them. They never did close it as I get a notice from them every other month to "unfreeze" my account. I looked on the net and found several sites dedicated to questionable paypal actions. Be very careful with Paypal. I will never use them again.

FeralFemale · #16 05/15/08, 08:39 AM

DO NOT USE PAYPAL

Someone hacked into my Paypal account and used it to launder money. I found out about it when Paypal sent me this $900 dollar bill and I hadn't even used the account for months and ever used the account for anything more than small purchases. Luckily, the hackers didn't get into my bank account that was connected to it, but their multiple transactions put me owing $1000 bucks to paypal.

It took months and months to get it straightened out. Paypal customer support was horrible to deal with. They kept trying to blame it on me saying I had fell victim to a phishing scam, and I had NEVER send any account info to anyone ever regarding any account. In the end, they ended up sending ME a $1000 check of money that they didn't owe me. I guess it was somehow from the money launderer's transactions. I didn't cash it because it was dirty money, but now I sort of regret it after all the stress the situation caused me.

DamnearaFarm · #17 05/15/08, 09:02 AM

I've used paypal for about 10 years and never had a problem. We've got the paypal debit card as well, love those little cash back perks. There's also an option to get this autofill thing where they generate a onetime use card you can use to make purchases/payments online as well.

WildernesFamily · #18 05/15/08, 09:23 AM

I used paypal for years but don't have an account with them anymore.

If you ever sell locally with sales that involve local pickup or delivery of the item, do not use paypal to receive your funds.... if you end up with a dishonest buyer who reverses funds after picking up the item you will not get your money back from paypal because you have no tracking information for the item.

It will not matter to them if you send them a signed receipt from the buyer, nor his many emails about how much he loves his new item. Even though the paypal agent tells you your buyer is lying about the transaction details you will still be out of both the item and your money.

So if you choose to use paypal, just read over their seller protection policy VERY carefully, and read it again each time they make updates to it.

FalconDance · #19 05/15/08, 09:28 AM

While we have two PayPal accounts (two businesses), I would NOT recommend you open/use the service at this time (I will only accept payments right now from HT members and a select few others I know.). It is owned by eBay and eBay has implemented some VERY QUESTIONABLE practices of late - including absolute "buyer protection". What that means is that you can receive payment, ship an item and regardless of proof of delivery, proof (emails, other testimonies, whatever) that a buyer is attempting a scam, PayPal will always refund the buyer's money (sometimes with no warning and scanty if any customer service explanation), leaving you without product, without payment and sometimes with a lessened reputation.

Used to be a great service.

Nevada · #20 05/15/08, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FeralFemale

They kept trying to blame it on me saying I had fell victim to a phishing scam, and I had NEVER send any account info to anyone ever regarding any account.

You probably didn't. More likely you logged into your account, or at least thought you were, and your login info was captured. They are getting very good at that sort of thing. A high quality phishing scam can even have a real link to paypal's domain, yet still skim the info. You really shouldn't take it personally, but the fact is that if your account was compromised you can be 99% sure that a phishing scam was somehow involved.

As for the wisdom of using paypal, I use it constantly throughout the day. I typically make 25 or so sales per day, each one requiring payment by paypal. It's simply the way business is done online today. I wouldn't even consider giving it up.