Moving away from Paypal

[JAMAS]

doing some thinking/reading...

I think I am going to begin taking payments for anything I sell (like cargo boxes) via Amazon's web pay. Its free, unlike paypal. It might even be more secure (highly likely). I would encourage everyone to at least check it out since its free. It feels and looks just like paypal.

Just my two pennies.

[vt_maverick]

Interesting reading, though I suppose the arguments to be made are the same as those for/against the small credit union I used to use for checking and still use for auto loans.

Pros: Great customer service, no fees on anything, best lending rates anywhere
Cons: About 12 ATM and branch locations in the world, all about 3 hours from where I live now

On the other hand I have another account with a much larger institution that looks like this:

Pros: Lots of ATMs and branch locations throughout Hampton Roads and elsewhere within Virginia
Cons: Fees to do anything, car loan rates that are blasphemous for a credit union, credit card rates that are financially irresponsible for anyone not playing in the NBA

Same situation here I think. I've never had a problem with their service (knock on wood) but I would like to see their fees diminished or eliminated. One thing to keep in mind though: the reason Amazon is free is because they want PayPal's business. If they are actually successful at eliminating PayPal, they'll celebrate by charging fees. It's the American way.

[Y33TREKker]

I also think Paypal has gotten to the opposite end of the Supply and Demand scale. At first they supplied a service the public was demanding, now it seems they're demanding whatever price they want because they feel they control the supply. Same could be said about Ebay itself...their rates have gotten pretty much crazy.

It could be debated that the same thing is now happening with Netflix.

Amazon could be planning the same thing with Web Pay and going with the penetration pricing method to lure away Paypal customers (what better price than free after all), but only time will tell. It's obviously happened before. And for all we know, WebPay is either already owned by Ebay/Paypal, or will be if it proves popular enough.

With the invention of SearchTempest, I'm considering starting to just post my for-sale stuff on Craigslist.

[JAMAS]

I'm not sure which way everything will move in the future, but I will tell you this....I will always follow the trend of "Free". If Amazon become costly, then I will move to the next thing (if available). As long as its from a trusted company.

[JAMAS]

It could be debated that the same thing is now happening with Netflix.

I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, I feel like they have me over a barrel. I want the bluray in the mail, but my Son is addicted to Dora on instant (7pm every night). So I am stuck. I can't/dont want to cancel either service. On the other hand, if this extra cost causes them to put more new releases on instant, than that would be terrific. As long as my money is going to upgrade my quality of service, then I will learn to get over the extra couple dollars.

[BigSwede]

Thanks for the heads up, I was not aware Amazon was doing this.

No doubt they will charge fees eventually, but for now I will use them.

[VX KAT]

I also think Paypal has gotten to the opposite end of the Supply and Demand scale. At first they supplied a service the public was demanding, now it seems they're demanding whatever price they want because they feel they control the supply. Same could be said about Ebay itself...their rates have gotten pretty much crazy.

It could be debated that the same thing is now happening with Netflix.

Amazon could be planning the same thing with Web Pay and going with the penetration pricing method to lure away Paypal customers (what better price than free after all), but only time will tell. It's obviously happened before. And for all we know, WebPay is either already owned by Ebay/Paypal, or will be if it proves popular enough.

With the invention of SearchTempest, I'm considering starting to just post my for-sale stuff on Craigslist.

x1000! I've been selling household stuff on ebay for 8-9 yrs....it used to be great!.....now....not so much.....

Yes, you do get to reach a world-wide audience of potential buyers, and get to accept credit cards as payment despite not being a business... and yes, you do get some money in your pocket, I can't begrudge them making money since they do offer a service I choose to use, (and we all know ebay bought PP several years ago and they've really raised those fees significantly ) But daaaannnngggggg, they're just raking it in in bucket-loads ! Pretty much a predictable progression:
...offer popular item or service > get customers > get more popular > get more customers > raise rates > repeat process....

I've liked the idea of limiting my credit card info to one entity....What worries me with PayPal (or any other payment processor) is if they get hacked......yikes! ....and ya just know somebody's out there trying to do it right now!

[rowhard]

I guess my first thought is will there be a 'pay with amazon' button on order pages? If not, well,...

[Y33TREKker]

I guess my first thought is will there be a 'pay with amazon' button on order pages? If not, well,...

That'll probably be a big problem with Ebay at least. Since Ebay uses/owns Paypal, they'll no doubt resist Ebay members being able to accept payments using alternative methods like Amazon's WebPay for as long as possible, or at least as long as it takes to work out some sort of deal with WebPay where Ebay also gets a piece of the action.

It's too bad that Craigslist doesn't have an established $$$ exchange service in place yet. It'd make transitioning to selling there a lot easier, because as it is, Craigslist's suggestion that "dealing locally will help to avoid scams" has the effect of preventing some people from responding to even legitimate requests for additional information on items, let alone requests to sell long distance. A link to something like Escrow.com would at least be a start.

[vt_maverick]

Craigslist's suggestion that "dealing locally will help to avoid scams" has the effect of preventing some people from responding to even legitimate requests for additional information on items, let alone requests to sell long distance.

Big +1 there. Way to go CL, instead of providing real help in identifying con artists, let's just brand any potential out-of-town buyer as a scammer instead. I've had a number of info requests on VX's ignored no doubt due to this message. Do they honestly think with all these mash-up sites out there that no one legitimately uses CL to buy things they can't find locally?

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, I really want to close my current paypal account, but when I try, I get an error that says:

"This account cannot be closed at this time because there are outstanding payment authorizations. Please try again after the authorizations have been settled or voided."

Its like they are holding me hostage. Its really bad. I think I am going to move away from Paypal (and eBay) entirely. As they have gotten bigger, their ethics have gotten flushed down the toilet. There is virtually nothing you can do as a seller to protect yourself.

Bart

[Y33TREKker]

Yeah, I really want to close my current paypal account, but when I try, I get an error that says:

"This account cannot be closed at this time because there are outstanding payment authorizations. Please try again after the authorizations have been settled or voided."

Sounds similar to the "not wanting to get sucked into Facebook" episode from South Park.

Wouldn't it be nice if getting away from such accounts were as easy as having only to win a game of Yahtzee...

[Cobrajet]

Yeah, I really want to close my current paypal account, but when I try, I get an error that says:

"This account cannot be closed at this time because there are outstanding payment authorizations. Please try again after the authorizations have been settled or voided."

Bart

Are you sure you don't have a recurring payment authorization set up? I didn't realize I had one until I had a payment sent to MONCHA DESIGNS a couple weeks ago. I actually had two, but the other one had no recurring date, and therefore was doing nothing.

Go to My Account...My Profile...My Money...My preapproved payments.

In this case I was glad Scott had my back. I would hate to be late on my annual support payments

[BeeVenom]

WOW, i'm slow! Didn't know Amazon did something like paypal. Cool, hope they don't turn into a 'paypal' type money-sucker-outer from guys/gals like us in the future. Think I'll check into it and try it out.