Paypal? Safe?

Hello all, I was going to get a Paypal account a few years ago along with an Ebay account, but when I did a google search for "paypal" I saw the PP site and then nothing but anti-paypal sites like: paypalsucks.com, paypalwarning.com, paypal - horror stories, etc. I even did a search in these forums and saw that people had problems. I'm considering getting one now since there are some places where you can only use PP to buy stuff plus you can order faster than with personal checks. Is there a safe way to use PP? I'm guessing a seperate bank account (savings/checking?) just for PP is part of it.

Most folks on CPF seem to use it and have had no problems. I had some difficulty with my account at one point and have since cancelled it. Way too much piracy going on and, I feel way too open at this point. My choice, my preference. The fact that I do not have PayPal has made some purchses more difficult but I've still managed to stay broke!!!

Karl

I think there are so many people using paypal that you're bound to hear a few horror stories. On the whole, I'd say its much safer than giving your credit card details to obscure websites. I certainly haven't had any problems with paypal. I think you run the same risks by handing over your credit card at a shop.

karlthev said:

Most folks on CPF seem to use it and have had no problems. I had some difficulty with my account at one point and have since cancelled it. Way too much piracy going on and, I feel way too open at this point. My choice, my preference. The fact that I do not have PayPal has made some purchses more difficult but I've still managed to stay broke!!!

Karl

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I am with you on this No paypal No way. If someone don't want my USPS Money order or personal check. then they don't need to do business with me.
Yes I see a lot of adds that say paypal only. Well they are out of luck selling to me. :lolsign:

I think the way it works is it either works or it doesn't. You walk on PayPal just fine, until you fall down the grain silo and can't get out.

There's not much love for PayPal; to most of us, it's a necessary evil.

I'm looking forward to the widespread acceptance of Google Checkout. It promises to be more "universal" than PayPal and is spreading among merchants pretty quickly. Plus, it's less expensive for merchants/recipients to use.

can't sell "magic mushrooms" with google checkout.

http://base.google.com/base/help/base_payments.html

I have been using paypal for a few years now, no problems at all. I use it for both buying and selling. I have it tied to a bank account that I rarely have more that $100 in. I also keep my paypal account around that amount of money. It is convenient and easy to use. I bought a lot of items from outside the US. Paypay makes it easy to do.

I have heard of people having their accounts frozen, and it taking months to get it opened again.

So - like anything - some folks will like it - others will dislike it.

I use Paypal and haven't had a problem. I use a special bank account. I figure it's better than giving my credit card number to the various vendors. I think it's quicker and easier also.

As for your Google search, there's a lesson in there somewhere. People that have problems with something, post messages. People who don't have problems don't post. Then consider that some people have problems with everything, and some people simply hate anyone who is successful.

PP does not fall under the normal fed banking regulations. If they lost your money, it's not insured like a bank. Also, their policies heavily favor the buyer over the seller. I have been screwed by unscrupulous buyers claiming nondelivery, etc. Don't keep any money in your PP account in case they decide to freeze up your account due to some minor infraction, which could take 6 months to resolve.

Yeah, I only buy. I haven't sold anything using Paypal. But don't sellers also have problems with credit cards? I remember many years ago someone telling me they would sell something via credit card. The buyer would call the credit card company and claim they never received the goods. The credit card company would withhold payment.

Maybe it's a little better now. Apparently you have to fill out forms to protest a credit card payment now.

Rayne said:

Is there a safe way to use PP? I'm guessing a seperate bank account (savings/checking?) just for PP is part of it.

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I use them. I don't particularly like or trust them. They make me read an ad before I can get into my account. They nagged me for quite a while to give them access to a bank account, and eventually threatened to cut me off if I didn't. So I gave my PP account its own separate, tiny little bank account so they could not futz with the rest of my money. When PP is tied into a back account or credit card they seem to be able to just help themselves to it any time they want. I also don't leave any serious amount of money in PPs possession for any length of time.

If you have PP connected to a credit card you can use whatever protections the credit card has if you have trouble with a purchase. I had some trouble with getting someone elses shipment on a PP order. PP told me (in a polite corporate manner) to fark off, so I went to the CC people instead. PP perked up and took an interest after I went to the CC people, but I let PP discuss it with the nice credit card help desk people in Himmachal Pradesh for themselves. (Heh)

Ken_McE said:

I use them. I don't particularly like or trust them. They make me read an ad before I can get into my account. They nagged me for quite a while to give them access to a bank account, and eventually threatened to cut me off if I didn't. So I gave my PP account its own separate, tiny little bank account so they could not futz with the rest of my money. When PP is tied into a back account or credit card they seem to be able to just help themselves to it any time they want. I also don't leave any serious amount of money in PPs possession for any length of time.

If you have PP connected to a credit card you can use whatever protections the credit card has if you have trouble with a purchase. I had some trouble with getting someone elses shipment on a PP order. PP told me (in a polite corporate manner) to fark off, so I went to the CC people instead. PP perked up and took an interest after I went to the CC people, but I let PP discuss it with the nice credit card help desk people in Himmachal Pradesh for themselves. (Heh)

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Like I stated earlier - a small bank account, separate from your regular checking or savings, is the way to go. Most of my transactions are under $100. While that amount is significant, It can't hurt me too bad...
One thing I have noticed though - when you transfer money into paypal - it always takes a few days for it to become available, yet - it is taken right out of the account. I believe they call that 'float'

A point most of you don't notice (and I understand why)is, that for most european buyers PP is the only way to pay goods in the US, other ways to send the money are very expensive and in europe only a few people own international credit-cards (most people use the so called EC-card).

I have used PP always with a bank account and made only good experiences: Fast, low costs and reliable.

Thanks for all the information and ideas. I was thinking something similar to what will has going on with a seperate bank account with a small balance. That CC thing sounds pretty good too since it looks like PP doesn't mess with them like they do with people. I agree that people are more inclined to report negative experiences than positive ones. Kind of sounds like what companies dealing with customers tell their employees, something like "a satisfied customer tells 3 people about their experience, while a dissatisfied customer tells everyone".

Ken_McE said:

PP perked up and took an interest after I went to the CC people, but I let PP discuss it with the nice credit card help desk people in Himmachal Pradesh for themselves. (Heh)

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:goodjob:

The paypal personal account does not charge fees for payments made to you. The business and premier accounts allow payments by credit card and charge fees. There may be some international implications as well.

International transactions are easy to do with paypal. I bought a number or German trains and accessories over the years. I worked in NYC and had access to a money changing store, I would 'buy' EUROs and mail them to the EBAY seller. Risky - sure - but I never had a problem. The fees that are charged by the money changers are pretty high. Most of these purchases were in the $30- $50 range. I would buy enough EUROs for a few transactions. To send money ( western union, bank transfers, international money orders to name a few ) is expensive on a small purchase. Also - on the plus side - using paypal charges the exchange rate, not some inflated amount, and - finally - the money gets there right away.

I recently bought a few items from a store in Switzerland, I used a credit card, Legitimate store, valid credit card. The CC company put a hold on the transaction because it was an overseas transaction ( they look out for fraud )
The company then tried 2 other times to run the credit card, I called the CC company to find out what was going on, They explained. I didn't get hurt, but I ended up sending cash to the store ( US Dollars ) . Actually, This worked to my advantage, I saved about $20 .

Whew - that was a lot - Paypal just makes some things easy to do.

I've had PP since around 2000 - I've never had a glitch (knock on wood).

I also have had few problems. Hope it stays that way.

No problems here either. Be a smart net user, stay to date on the latest security bulletins, update your OS and it's third-party software, check the site's certificates and don't reply to unsolicited Paypal emails. Also, take a peek at your online bank statements once a day (in my case three times a day).

There is one other thing. You will periodically get phishing emails. They look exactly like they come from paypal. They have the logo, the typeface, the constipated corporate style. It all looks perfect. They will explain that there is a security problem, or that they have "automatically debited you for $600.00", or that you need to re-enter or confirm some data or they they will turn off your account. There is a link you can click to fix the problem, and the link will have the word "PayPal" in it somewhere.

It's all fake. If you click the link you will be taken off to some hijacked address with a fake cloned PP website. The last one I got was tacked onto some horse breeder site. Guy didn't even know it was there. They will have you "log in" to what you think is PP. After you log in they will pump you for as much information as possible, the info goes off to some 16 year old in New Jersey or Kazakistan or something, and he parties down with your (now his) account. So don't let some email take you to PP. Bookmark it or type it in yourself.