Rhetorical question I guess and you have to play by the hosts rules but still the email explaining ‘their decision’ rankles. Plus someone obviously objected. 👿

Ebay is getting too expensive for me. This Paypal thing is just another way of them ripping more money out of every sale as far as I can see. And it’s one of the reasons why I’m starting to sell more bits on here – I can sell them cheaper and still make the same money

just offer it for international bidders only in the text of your ad and make the post too high for them to think of bidding, job done

It should be a choice. I dont want a paypal account after a bad experience with Paypal. Why do I want to be rinsed twice on a sale?

just offer it for international bidders only in the text of your ad and make the post too high for them to think of bidding, job done

How do you word it though?

include paypal as amethod of payment as well as PO and bank transfer and in the body of your as state in big font that PP is for int biders only and uk bidders must pay by PO or BT

As much as I hate Paypal for their charges in my experience not accepting paypal vastly reduces the amount of bidders on auctions, I won’t bid on something where the seller won’t take paypal as it’s very easy for me to pay using my credit or current ac via Paypal vs writing a cheque etc.

I recently ‘sold’ my broken washing machine for 99p, I set it to donate to MSF and that worked out to be £1.50 and then ebay charged me £1.50 in fees! I loved it as it saved me a trip to the skip!

I used to buy & sell loads of motorcycle race parts on Ebay & up until about 18 months ago it was good but now the fees & the fact that they are so biased toward the buyer, coupled with the morons that are Paypal mean I’ve sought new ways of selling & only use Ebay for purchasing stuff.

Wait til you try to offload some dvd’s or books- new rule says that all dvd’s have to be offered with free postage and packing for domestic sales, and books are limited to 2.75 except for collectors stuff where it’s 4.50. Honestlly, just about any hardback is going to cost more than that to post. I think this is to move it in line with the likes of play and Amazon’s policies though.

Having said that, for most stuff it’s still the best forum available- think back to what it was like in the pre internet days- the market avaialble to you to sell in is orders of magnitude large now.

I wouldn’t buy from someone who didn’t accept Paypal.

Have to agree, I wouldnt bid on something from someone who didnt accept paypal either – the only times I’ve been caught out is when I’ve taken a chance on people who seemed to have genuine reasons for not using paypal. IMO the costs are worth the little extra peace of mind.

I wouldn’t buy from someone who didn’t accept Paypal. but you must understand people should have a choice if they want to use a certain (extra cost) method? Default on every auction is abit unfair.

PayPal will release the hold after 21 days without a buyer dispute, claim, chargeback or other action. The hold may be released earlier if the buyer leaves positive Feedback.

and THATS fair?!!!!!!!!!!!! You have to wait almost 3 weeks for the person to ride the item a few times, decide whether its working and if they like it? I’m guessing here but I bet a few people would actually change their mind after using an item and want a refund giving some cock and bull story.

Ebay is in a monopoly position. They can effectively do what they like and insisting that auctions use a payment method which they also own sounds like good business sense to me. Yes its a PITA and PayPal should probably be more formally regulated along the lines of the banks (did I really just type that 🙂 ) but it isn’t and whilst Ebay can get away with it they will.

If you don’t like it, don’t use it – it really is that simple.

what geoffj said.

if you think the way to make the most money for what you’re selling is to use ebay and live by their rules then do so.

if you’re prepared to accept a bit less and avoid ebay then ther classifieds on here or your local feree-ads fro non-bike stuff.

Having had both my current account and credit card emptied via paypal and then not recovering the full costs due to changes in exchange rates (transactions made in dollars) I won’t use them again in any way, shape or form.

I would never bid on an item where the seller wouldn’t accept paypal. I also wouldn’t bid if the stated postage cost were noticably more than it will actually cost. Why as a purchaser should I have to send a cheque and keep my fingers crossed that the seller sends me the goods? Paypal offers me, as a purchaser, protection against fraud, and it suggests people who don’t accept paypal have a greater potential to be trying to commit fraud. You know the ebay fee process if you read their information and you know paypal fees also, if you don’t like them and you can find a better place to sell your stuff, safely, and make a profit then I’d suggest not using ebay. The fact people still use ebay suggests they are still making a profit, just a bit less.

Aye to anyone saying they wouldnt use anyone who didnt offer Paypal, when your bitten by Paypal yourself and experienced their attitude and customer service then you’ll change your tune. I sold a watch to another UK buyer, Paypal converted into dollars then back again charging a fee. They refused me to enter into any dialogue beyond follow the T&C’s.

“They refused me to enter into any dialogue beyond follow the T&C’s.”

Which you’d read beforehand? If you hadn’t you have no one to blame but yourself and, frankly, why shoudl they enter into a discussion?

I had this using Amex on Paypal, it’s ‘cos it goes via an acquirer in the States.

Paypal offers me, as a purchaser, protection against fraud,

It does but it makes the seller pay for your protection hence why many think it is unfair.
I am happy to pay for things via Paypal from Ebay but I would not sell on Ebay. It charges the seller to allow buyers to rip them off. Have a dispute over something you have sold and see what happens.
PS they change their terms and conditions without having to inform you [unlike banks/credit cards which are regulated]of the changes …. it is one of their terms and conditions!!!!
I dont think you can open an Ebay account as a seller without Paypal either these days so not quite free choice is it?

Who said anything about free choice? It’s a business!

Junkyard – my dad has had a dispute with someone over something paid for with paypal, they refunded with very little hassle. Maybe he’s an odd one out. Paypal is a service, you (as a seller) are making money using their service and so it’s not unreasonable to assume you might pay something towards the protection of people who are buying things off you. That seems fair to me. Charging the buyer for protection against dodgy sellers is a bit backwards IMO.

whats the percentage cost of selling via ebay & papyal now? as I haven’t sold anything for a while but last time it did it worked out around 10-11%.

Which you’d read beforehand? If you hadn’t you have no one to blame but yourself and, frankly, why should they enter into a discussion?
It said there decision would be final. The T&C’s said nothing about converting any UK-to-UK sale into different currencies. Beleive me I reread them. Hence I was banging my head against a wall trying to communicate with someone there. I kept on getting auto emails back. Then a human on the other end couldnt understand what the problem was. Then I was simply given ‘refer back to our terms and conditions’. As their final answer.

Now, imagine this- person working there can’t see the common sense of what would you convert £ to $ (apply fee) then $ to £ at their own rate as being mad……or has the paypal employee being told to stick to a company-line?
I banged my head against a wall. Utterly. Hence I realised that if you ever have a quibble with Paypal, it would be better to investigate another (better) method of payment like traditional means that are FREE.
Lets not forget Paypal can also find in a buyers favour on a dispute and the buyer might still never see their money again… its happened to someone here recently?

Charging the buyer for protection against dodgy sellers is a bit backwards IMO

Surely the person who recieves the service[insurance] pays?

I think paypal is ok for selling stuff you’re posting, as long as you get proof of delivery your (sort of) covered.

I recently sold a couple of big items as collection only, stated cash on collection only and had the auctions cancelled for not offering paypal. The problem is that even if you get a signed receipt or photos of the buyer collecting the items if they make a claim unless you’ve used one of their recognised delivery methods they will find in the buyers favour. There is no way on earth that that is fair.

MikeG thats mad. I know its ‘revenue protection’ for ebay but if the goods are handed over in person then theres no need for paypal.

Is there an alternative to ebay?

Paypal gives a perceived protection to the buyer, this will push your auction price up.

As a seller ime you have little to fear if you describe your stuff accurately. Yes I’ve had chargebacks, but I’ve either got the money back from insurance from the courier, or received the item back. All part of doing business.

As for fees, ebay + paypal are still cheaper than going to a reputable high street auction house. Plus unless you’re talking specialist areas like fine art etc. you’ll get less than you would on ebay.

i used to sell quite a lot on ebay, then had some auctions cancelled when I didn’t accept paypal. Since it is now a condition, i don’t use ebay anymore. I don’t trust Paypal to have access to my bank account. M

The shift to paypal seems to have coincided with ebay becoming mostly professional shops, as well no real bargains to tbe found, so why not go to amazon market place or real shops like wiggle, parker international..

Also much easier and simpler to sell on the classifieds here, so what if you don’t get the last penny at least you don’t have to deal with lots of stupid questions…………………er..mmmmm

Love the payment options wording at the bottom of the auction:

Paypal – Accepted – Free protection Pay with PayPal and you’re fully protected. Learn more.

Other – Accepted – This item is not protected. Learn more about free buyer protection when you pay with PayPal.

The underlined-parts adds emphasis to create paranoia.
I always thought ‘feedback’ was supposed to give a prospective buyer peace of mind, or an idea of track record. Funnily though they gave everyone 100% feedback ratings when they made Paypal compulsory on auctions. Mine was 97% but suddenly jumped to 100% when paypal was added automatically to auctions….a kind of sweetener…

all my adds say , “my preferd payment method is cheque or postal order, if you do not agree then please do not bid” i hate pay pal , i am 100 % honest and have 100% feedback ,also the only time you can ask for cash is when you state pick up only ,had one of my adds pulled for this, something to do with demanding cash , leagal jobby i think.
i also provide my add and a mobile tel number for the buyer,

So, you fancy a free laptop, iPod or decks? Here’s how you do it.

1) Bid for the item of your choosing on eBay.
2) Win the auction.
3) Pay via Paypal.
4) Await delivery of goods.
5) Take delivery of goods.
6) Claim you didn’t receive goods and use Paypal’s Chargeback facility.
7) If you had to sign something as proof of delivery, claim that the package contained an old brick.

Why this works?
1) Paypal usually sides with the purchaser.
2) Royal Mail’s delivery system doesn’t check the contents but merely the delivery of the package.
3) It is a “civil matter” so the police don’t care.
4) You can’t leave negative feedback any more.