Getting Complaints About Bidpay

I've said it before and it's worth repeating...paypal is the devil.

Here's me

Here's ND

Here's ND's customer for the week

Here's paypal


Seriously I stopped accepting paypal a long time ago...about 2 years I think. And I've never been happier. Almost all of my "headache" transactions were paypal transactions. I accept Visa/mc, Bidpay, money orders, personal checks, travelers checks, & cash.
Nick

Well I used Paypal for a lotta years without paying fees. I started to have a bit more movement and I had to upgrade my account. Frankly speaking, and I find having to pay fees something I could do without, but I don't think Paypal charges that much to offer a secure, reliable method of payment. I'm european, so I even pay more when I convert dollar payments to euro payments, but what other way would be as simple and that much more cheaper than Paypal?

Mike here's a couple of thoughts. First, paypal users tend to expect their item to be shipped within a few hours of the time they paid. Since most of my auctions end on weekend nights and the store is closed Sunday and Monday, by Tuesday morning I'd have gotten several emails from some buyers wondering why I hadn't emailed them with tracking info yet. Nobody wants high maintenence transactions but paypal tends to breed them.
It's a common misconception (that paypal encourages) that sellers prefer paypal because it provides instant payment. The only thing you get instantly with paypal is pixels...not money. It takes several days to have the funds electronically transferred to the checking account...longer even than the usual Visa/MC merchant account takes. Not to mention that if you want paypal to send your money to you in check form, it takes one to two weeks and they charge you to do it. Also, they throw propaganda around with sayings like "Most dishonest dealers prefer payments via money order". Of course what the customer sees in that statement is "Any seller that asks for a money order surely must be dishonest!"

I remember when they were new their website boasted the phrases "Always free" and "Never a charge". We see how long those lies lasted.

Here's a scenario that happens all the time. A seller ebays an item, buyer pays with paypal. Seller sends item to buyer...then 30 days later paypal takes the money from sellers account without any warning, saying Sorry but this transaction was funded with fraudulent funds. The seller is out the item and the money with no recourse against paypal and little hope of recourse against the buyer. The world is thick with savvy scammers that know if they pay with paypal the advantage is theirs. If a seller ships to an unconfirmed address, or without some kind of online tracking, all the buyer has to do is claim non-receipt and the money and the item are theirs to keep forever.
And here's a sweet scam...anyone can put a Signature Waiver on file with UPS or Fedex...this means that you give your permission for the packages to be left by your door and you waive signing for them. Paypal doesn't recognize Signature Waivers so when the customer claims it never arrives, the seller loses since there's no signature to prove delivery. Online indications that it was delivered are not enough if a buyer yells loudly enough that he didn't get his package.

And that's just a couple of things that happen routinely in paypal land. For more great stories check out the paypal discussion board on ebay, if it hasn't been pulled yet...or see paypalwarning.com. They're filled with horror stories of seized monies, frozen accounts, etc. Yes I realize many of these tales are probably false but even if 1% of them are true it's pretty scary.

There. I feel much better now lol.
Nick

Hi Mike. As far as going to get money orders, I completely understand. That's why I don't normally delay shipping waiting for checks to clear. And I should also restate that I do accept visa/mc directly through my secure checkout process. So buyers can pay without ever leaving their pc and have the item within a few days.
Recently I did an informal poll among some sellers that I know that accept paypal. The poll consisted of one question...Have you had money stolen from you via a fraudulent paypal transaction. 100% of the sellers...all 5 of them (yeah I know...small poll)...said yes. One person had just been stung for $400 the week before. Sorry to all, but being a target for shots like that just isn't something I want. I'm perfectly happy the way things are now, but I realize that paypal, like so many other things in live, is a matter of personal preference. Many sellers have used paypal for years with no problems at all. I see it as a Vanilla/Chocolate thing. Everyone should conduct their lives and their business in the manner that they're most comfortable.
Nick

quote:

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Originally posted by nds76

I've have a few buyers complain to me about the cost of BidPay to them to send me money. They always tell me they prefer PayPal and won't do business with me anymore. I don't accept PayPal anymore because people keep paying with a credit card and I can't take them or I'll be charged a fee for all transactions, credit cards or not.

David

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I prefer to use PayPal, as a buyer. It is fast, relatively safe, and saves money. I also used BidPay (now), as I have expanded my purchasing to international sellers who do not have access to PayPal. At least with BidPay, I know when the seller gets paid, and don't have to guess if/when the money order will arrive. The fees for BidPay are no more than the cost to purchase a cashiers' check or money order, and the postage to mail it. I have also purchased from European sellers who accept PayPal, but with the fees added to my bill. I just factor all this in when making my bids to determine what my total costs will be.

My only complaint with BidPay was when they eliminated MasterCard payments, which is what my bank's debit card was. I simply opened a new account at another bank that uses Visa as it's debit card, and all is well.

As a foot note, having 2 bank accounts, I now also have 2 PayPal accounts, one personal (no credit cards, no fees), and one premier (accepts credit cards). This way, unless the buyer insists on using a credit card to pay, I can direct them to my personal account and avoid the fees, for account balance transfers and e-checks.