eBay Advice

[MaryPat]

I won an auction for a couple of hooks I really really want. The seller is in the UK; I'm in the USA. Not a problem according to the seller's write-up. It said s/he takes Paypal which has always worked well for me. I sent the payment; the seller rejected it explaining that s/he did not want to pay the transaction fee for accepting a credit card payment. She did not accept credit card Paypal transactions despite it saying she accepted Paypal.

 

Dutifully I emailed Paypal to find out how to handle the situation and how to get a payment to the seller without using a credit card. Paypal responded by saying what the seller was doing was illegal and that the seller had to upgrade to a premium account to accept credit card payments.

 

Back to the seller who suggested I add my bank account to Paypal. Never heard of this, but I'm reluctant to do this as this seems to be a 2-way street in that Paypal can take from my bank account.

 

The seller's other option was to mail a UK money order (that sounds like a hassle finding someplace to buy a UK money order).

 

Technically I could cancel the bid for the seller not honoring the statement about taking Paypal but I want the hooks.

 

Has anyone ever used Paypal with their bank account?

 

Should I be suspicious enough of the seller to cancel the bid? There are over 500 satisfied responses on eBay for the seller, so I don't think this is a scam artist.

[mudpie]

My PayPal payments are all made from our bank account. I have been doing it this way for at least 4 years and I have never had a problem (i.e., money being taken without me first initiating it). You don't need to be concerned that the seller will take more money than your bid. The seller can't take ANY money. It is transferred to them by PayPal. If PayPal were in the business of cheating people out of more money than required for an auction, I doubt they'd remain in business. In my opinion, there is nothing to worry about.

 

BTW, many sellers will take PayPal, but only the type you are asking about, and refuse to accept PayPal connected to a credit card. Not sure why.

[theworm]

I actually linked my bank account to paypal long before adding my credit card, and I've never had a problem. I think that the seller is in the wrong here, and that you should do what you are comfortable with, but I would not worry about linking my bank account - they've been great.

I recently had a papypal problem where someone hacked into a dummy account in my name and was doing on-line gambling. Paypal's response was GREAT. I was impressed with how they handled it.

[Jsilvers]

This happened to me once, too. Fortunately, the seller was in the US, so I just sent a check instead. I do agree that the seller should have explicitly stated that she would not accept a credit card backed PayPal payment. But that's what feedback is for.

 

Since then, I opened a checking account strictly for paying through PayPal. I keep only a small amount in there.

 

You really need those hooks.

[chrisdfriend]

Do not add your bank account to paypal! We had to close our bank account because of them making unauthorized withdrawels!

[Lady_of_Roses]

I'd suspect the reason some sellers take paypal, but not credit card paypal is because they end up having to pay for an account that can take credit card paypal. I sold a handful of cheap items a couple of years back and found out as a seller that there are both kinds of paypals, and no icon exists that means 'non-credit card paypal.' Paypal kept trying to pressure me to pay for an upgrade account to take credit cards. As I made a whopping quarter off each sale and didn't intend to sell stuff on ebay regularly to justify the expense, I simply wasn't willing to do that.

[theworm]

When we accept credit card payments we have to pay a small fee. Transfers from bank accounts are free. Some sellers are trying to avoid this fee. They pay a listing fee, a fee if it sells, and they don't want to pay another. That's the cost of doing business, though.

[Natasha]

I do agree that the seller should have explicitly stated that she would not accept a credit card backed PayPal payment.

 

The seller cannot do that. If the seller says that he accepts Paypal, then he must accept all forms of payment through Paypal. This is a relatively new rule in eBay's practices. It used to be a seller could accept non-credit card payments *if he didn't show the Paypal logo with the credit card images* in the auction. This is no longer true. I found this out the hard way, as I had one of my auctions cancelled because I stated in my auction that I did not accept credit cards through Paypal. So, no more eBay selling for me, because I do not want to pay a surcharge every time I accept a credit card payment through Paypal.

 

It's just Paypal/eBay's way of forcing people to pay them more money in fees.

 

I have heard of having a checking account exclusively for eBay, linking it to Paypal, and keeping the balance down to just what is needed to cover purchases. Most people have had success doing this, if you can get a free checking account.

[aussiecrocheter]

I have been caught by this also. I ended up having to get a US bank Cheque, but boy did it cost me. I ended up paying about four times the cost of the item I had purchased. Am extra careful now.

[craftybutterfly]

Do not add your bank account to paypal! We had to close our bank account because of them making unauthorized withdrawels!

 

 

That surprises me, in that to my knowledge they can not take more than what you authorize them to pay. This sounds like somebody hacked into your account and was making illegal money transfers. Did you get Paypal involved and let them know this was happening? Did they attempt to find out what the problem was and rectify it for you? Seriously, it sounds like you were getting scammed. I agree with what another poster said, if paypal was in this kind of business, they would not stay in business very long.

 

I have always used my bank account attached to my paypal, never a credit card, and have NEVER had a problem, not even once. I hate credit cards, don't use them at all, and if I need one, I use my debit visa card that is attached to my checking account. If I don't have the cash in the bank, I can't make the purchase. I have proven in the past that I can not be trusted with credit cards. Hubby and I cut them up years ago, and vowed never ever to be strapped with credit card debt again. It taught me how to live within my means. Today, we are 100% credit card debt free!!! I digress.....

 

I've never bought anything from an overseas seller. And to be honest, as a rule, I don't buy from overseas sellers because I was afraid of something like this happening. I strickly buy only from US sellers. Sorry this happened to you, and I hope you get your hooks.

 

Sorry, I'm long winded today!

[sjkmaurice]

I would not add my bank account to my paypal account unless you can open up one with security features in case someone gets your information and only keep the barest minimum in it.

 

And it is Ebay's policy that if you advertise your item with paypal as an option for payment, you have to accept credit cards. If you want the hooks, you'll have to do what you can, but you can cancel the transaction because the seller isn't selling according to the rules. The reason people don't accept credit cards is because once you decide to accept credit cards, all incoming payments are charged regardless of whether or not they are credit card transactions.

[chrisdfriend]

Paypal wouldn't do anything about it! And we had to pay $200 in overdraft to our bank! On top of that paypal keeps sending me a bill which I do not owe! It already came out on our bank statement so I know it was paid!

[Brandybuck]

I have had a PayPal account for about 3 years, been Verified for almost that long, and I use my bank account. I use it on eBay as well as other sites that take PayPal. I have never had a problem with anyone either hacking into my account nor taking out unauthorized withdrawals. However, two of my coworkers use PayPal through their credit cards, and both of them have had issues with eBay hackers; they ended changing their accounts more than once. I have also used my PayPal acct for overseas transactions thru eBay; once again, I haven't had a problem.

 

I do agree with skjmaurice, though; I'd cancel the transaction and state the reason in your feedback; legally the seller cannot do that to you. PayPal loves to add on charges for sellers who use them for credit card transactions. It's a hard road to navigate.

[Brandybuck]

Paypal wouldn't do anything about it! And we had to pay $200 in overdraft to our bank! On top of that paypal keeps sending me a bill which I do not owe! It already came out on our bank statement so I know it was paid!

 

 

All I can say is ouch. PayPal certainly isn't perfect; my coworker who I spoke of earlier ended up mailing in copies of her transactions with a nice letter stating her lawyer's address and what she would do if they continued to harass her on payments that had already been made. That seemed to get through to them. Makes me wonder now if I should get a nice separate checking acct just for my PayPal.

[JCB]

BTW, many sellers will take PayPal, but only the type you are asking about, and refuse to accept PayPal connected to a credit card. Not sure why.

 

As other have said, Paypal no longer allows this. If a seller uses Paypal they must also accept Credit Cards. Yes, they will then incur some fees for the privilege.

 

I have been verified with Paypal for quite a while now. Verified means that I have a bank account listed with them. Although it is very rare, I have heard of instances where Paypal froze a person's bank account while they investigated some problem (often not the bank holders fault) For that reason I chose to open a checking account with only a small amount of money (less than $100). I found a bank that offered free checking accounts.

 

When I purchase something on eBay, and pay for it with Paypal, they try to use my bank account. In teeeeny, tiiiny font it states "Other fund sources" (something like that). I always check that and opt to use my Credit Card, as I have more recourse if a deal goes south.

 

You may also be able to pay with an international money order, but I'm not sure where you'd get that.

 

Joan

[mudpie]

Post Office

[Yearnin' for Yarn]

I am Verified through PayPal as well---meaning it's connected to my bank account. I've used it to buy patterns from designers' websites and purchase things off ebay--I have never had a problem.

 

Nicole

[Vickietoria]

Oh! I've had some problems lately with people sending spoof e-mails saying they're from ebay/paypal. If you click the link that says reply to sender, then the sender somehow (through the magic of internet) has your passwords and everything, and can get into your account and make transactions. That happened to me once, but for whatever reason, the person didn't make any transactions. I had to change all my passwords, and now, I always send any e-mail I get to either spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com depending on if it's ebay or paypal that I got the e-mail from to begin with. They are very prompt in telling me if it is real or not, and so I do that. It is so sad how many ways people can steal your information and take your money these days...

I hope that everything works out for you!

Victoria

[sem464]

I have always had my checking account attached to paypal & have never had any trouble. They do charge fees for people to be able to take credit card payments, but to let you know, check card is concidered a credit card when making a payment. I have never received a bill from paypal, because it is taken out the payment before you receive it. It keeps everything straight. As far as overseas purchases, I don't make them. The shipping is always more and it is just so much to go thru to get things.

[nightowl]

MaryPat, if your seller will accept a UK cheque, perhaps I could send the payment for you and you could either PayPal me the money or we could do a trade or something? PM me if you'd like.

I too have had a PayPal account for the last five years. I added my bank account a couple of years ago for exactly this reason, to pay a French seller who also had only a "private" account and could accept PayPal bank-funded payments but not credit card payments. I didn't know the rules had changed, as Natasha has said; thanks for the information! That definitely puts paid to vague plans I had to sell some craft books on Ebay.

 

I've never had a problem with PayPal using either my card or my bank account. My card is actually a debit card, so the money comes out of my bank anyway, but I prefer to pay with the card because then I get more details on my bank statement, for some reason. PayPal send a confirmation email for every transaction so you would be alerted right away if there was any unauthorized activity.

 

As for buying from overseas sellers, nearly everything crochet-related I buy from Ebay is from overseas, usually the US. We have no choice since there is so little crochet stuff available here and again, I have never had a problem.

 

Smiles,

[Brandybuck]

If you get a message from ebay that's not also in your Inbox in your MyEbay section, then it's definitely fake. If I see one in my email acct, I automatically check my eBay acct first before I open it. I get the fake emails all the time(a lot more recently, too!), but they mostly go right to my junk box so I automatically delete those. When I contacted PayPal, they told me that if you see anything in the subject line that mentions password verification/change, it's not from them, because they will never ask for your password through your email account.