Buying using Paypal balance

That sure is not clear to me either. I assume by paypal balance he means money you have in your paypal account and by checking I assume he means to transfer from your checking through paypal.You can do this by choosing other options when entering the amount to pay and then checking next to your checking account number as the prefered payer. Do ask him to clarify. If you tranfer money from your checking, it will notify him and tell him when it is cleared 3 to 4 days usually.

rsmiller40

Many sellers do not accept credit card payments via PayPal (or otherwise). This is because the seller has to upgrade from a "personal" to a "premier" account to accept them. They then get charged 30 cents per transaction plus 2.9% (or more) commission for the total amount of money sent them via PayPal. Many choose not to upgrade for this reason... but they lose all those customers who pay for PayPal charges from a credit card.

So it sounds like this seller does not have a Premier PayPal account and can ONLY accept money at PayPal if it is coming from your checking account or if you have a balance in your PayPal account. PayPal will not process credit card payments for them, because they only have a "Personal" account.

I have a Premier account with PayPal. Although the fees HURT, I think it the cons are outweighed by the pros. I won't lose buyers because of restrictive payment terms... and also PayPal is FAST and EASY to use. I like getting paid fast, and not have to wait for money orders and checks... and then holding checks til they clear. PayPal just makes the whole process go much smoother for me.

Plus, I keep a balance in PayPal and authorize them to invest that money in money market funds and earn 1.4% (currently) and the money is available 24/7. I have a PayPal debit/MasterCard card and earn 1.5% on my purchases which is deposited into my PayPal account. So I do all my business-buying with that card.

Hope that helps explain.

diva (aka Dag)

Odd.

When I set up my PayPal account, I used a credit card so that any time I paid via PayPal, PayPal would charge my credit card (so that I could get my 1% cash back, woohoo!). I wasn't aware that PayPal would actually charge the *recipient* because I'm not paying out of a checking account...?

I just checked the fee schedule on PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-fees-outside).

Receiving money is free for Personal accounts but cannot accept credit card payments: "Personal accounts can send any type of payment and receive any type of payment that is not funded by credit card."

So I guess I was wrong. I also guess that every person I've paid so far has a Premium/Business account, because I've never had a payment rejected.

Yep... EVERY time someone sends me money via PayPal, I get charged 30 cents plus 2.9% of the total transaction amount (3.9% if the money is coming from a different country). That means I also get charged 2.9% on shipping and handling and insurance if the buyer pays for it. And it doesn't matter if the money is being sent directly from the buyer's checking account, PayPal balance, or a credit card.

Doesn't seem exactly "fair" does it?... but hey, you pay for convenience.

diva (aka Dag)

Every merchant has to pay the credit card companies a percentage, varying from 2 to 4 percent, if someone pays with a credit card. The difference is that nearly all merchants will eat the cost, and then get to deduct it on their taxes.

Presumably, because PayPal is a low-margin business, they pretty much have to pass the cost on. Yes, it sucks, but is there an alternative?

--Rob

I also have a Premier Paypal account. I had no choice but it was my own fault. I neglected to have Paypal send me notices when they changed their policies. One day a buyer paid me with a c.c. and low and behold, Paypal sent me a notice saying I couldn't accept it unless I upgraded to a Premier account. That's when I did some research found they'd changed their policy on Personal accounts so they could no longer accept c.c. payments. I upgraded only because I didn't want to tell my buyer that I couldn't accept his payment and risk bad feedback. It has worked out for me. My auctions are small and I don't get charged much in fees. I make sure to incorporate my estimated fees in my starting bid so I don't lose money on my auction.

As far as Orr's original question, my guess is the seller wants Paypal paid with either existing funds or with a transfer from the buyer's checking account. That can be done as an echeck (which I've never done) or an instant transfer (which is my personal preference when paying). Echecks take up to 4 days to clear but I've never had a waiting period with an instant transfer. It also means I'm not limited in what auctions I can bid on because I can pay with any method the seller prefers (c.c., instant transfer, money order, personal check and occasionally I do have existing funds when I actually sell something! ).