Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
- MondayMonkey
- Platinum Angler
- Posts: 1205
- Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:14 am
- Location: Oregon
Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
I've been selling a lot of gear in lately and refreshing my lineup. During the process I've learned a lot of things about using Paypal to buy and sell to private parties that I wanted to share.
The first is about fees. Paypal charges 2.9% + $.30 don't be fooled by people charging 4 and 5% to your order for Paypal fees. If you're sending or receiving money internationally the fee is now 3.9% + $.30. Also if you have a linked bank account and use that to send money there is no extra surcharge as there is with debit or credit card. This link has a handy calculator that will help you determine the prices you want to pay or sell at when it comes to Paypal.
http://salecalc.com/paypal
You can avoid fees to the seller altogether by using the gift option. This is a DANGEROUS thing. You have ZERO assistance or coverage in case the seller wants to screw you. Your money is essentially gone and you aren't guaranteed anything in return. Always send the money as a service or purchase. Yes there is a fee but it's better for you both. Paypal sends the seller your verified delivery address with your payment if you use this option. The seller can also print shipping labels and link tracking info to the transaction directly from within Paypal which is very handy. This is great for dispute resolution when it comes to deliveries.
A great feature almost no one utilizes is the invoice option. A seller can fill out an invoice with descriptions, web links, communication, terms of sale, prices, fees, etc. This option is available under their Request Money section. The invoice gets sent to the buyer's Paypal account. The buyer receives a notice of the invoice and a request for payment. If they agree they can pay the invoice. This is the safest way to protect yourself from fraud and charge backs as a seller. This great for the buyer as well if descriptions of the items and terms of sale are filled out on the invoice. Generally though Paypal will almost always side with the buyer in a dispute unless the seller documents everything. Always document everything including all conversations and correspondence with the buyer. I had a buyer fraudulently charge back on a $450 sale earlier this year and having all my documents and records saved me the loss (it wasn't a TT sale). I like to use the Invoice option when the buyer isn't a well established member on the forums or doesn't have any feedback or purchase history.
Finally never ever send or accept money from an unverified paypal account. Just don't do it. To check if the other party is verified follow these steps:
1) First you need their email address...
( Let's use john@internet.com as an example. )
2) Go to PayPal, and log in
3) Copy and paste this url: https://www.paypal.com/verified/pal=use ... ilhost.com
4) Replace "username@emailhost.com" with the person's email address
( In the example, it'd be https://www.paypal.com/verified/pal=john@internet.com )
5) The resulting page will show whether or not that email is linked to a verified PayPal account.
( It will show john@internet.com is NOT Verified in bold, red letters. )
Always check the validity of the Paypal account. Send an email to the address they have linked to their Paypal. Mention the sale and that you're verifying their ownership of the email account as well as the Paypal account. This is not 100% fool proof but if someone hacks a Paypal account but doesn't also hack the associated email address they won't be able to confirm with you and you won't have to deal with a charge back due to unauthorized payment later on. This is great for your paper trail in case of disputes.
For the record I've never had any issues buying or selling to anyone on these forums but that's not to say it doesn't happen protect yourselves out there.
The first is about fees. Paypal charges 2.9% + $.30 don't be fooled by people charging 4 and 5% to your order for Paypal fees. If you're sending or receiving money internationally the fee is now 3.9% + $.30. Also if you have a linked bank account and use that to send money there is no extra surcharge as there is with debit or credit card. This link has a handy calculator that will help you determine the prices you want to pay or sell at when it comes to Paypal.
http://salecalc.com/paypal
You can avoid fees to the seller altogether by using the gift option. This is a DANGEROUS thing. You have ZERO assistance or coverage in case the seller wants to screw you. Your money is essentially gone and you aren't guaranteed anything in return. Always send the money as a service or purchase. Yes there is a fee but it's better for you both. Paypal sends the seller your verified delivery address with your payment if you use this option. The seller can also print shipping labels and link tracking info to the transaction directly from within Paypal which is very handy. This is great for dispute resolution when it comes to deliveries.
A great feature almost no one utilizes is the invoice option. A seller can fill out an invoice with descriptions, web links, communication, terms of sale, prices, fees, etc. This option is available under their Request Money section. The invoice gets sent to the buyer's Paypal account. The buyer receives a notice of the invoice and a request for payment. If they agree they can pay the invoice. This is the safest way to protect yourself from fraud and charge backs as a seller. This great for the buyer as well if descriptions of the items and terms of sale are filled out on the invoice. Generally though Paypal will almost always side with the buyer in a dispute unless the seller documents everything. Always document everything including all conversations and correspondence with the buyer. I had a buyer fraudulently charge back on a $450 sale earlier this year and having all my documents and records saved me the loss (it wasn't a TT sale). I like to use the Invoice option when the buyer isn't a well established member on the forums or doesn't have any feedback or purchase history.
Finally never ever send or accept money from an unverified paypal account. Just don't do it. To check if the other party is verified follow these steps:
1) First you need their email address...
( Let's use john@internet.com as an example. )
2) Go to PayPal, and log in
3) Copy and paste this url: https://www.paypal.com/verified/pal=use ... ilhost.com
4) Replace "username@emailhost.com" with the person's email address
( In the example, it'd be https://www.paypal.com/verified/pal=john@internet.com )
5) The resulting page will show whether or not that email is linked to a verified PayPal account.
( It will show john@internet.com is NOT Verified in bold, red letters. )
Always check the validity of the Paypal account. Send an email to the address they have linked to their Paypal. Mention the sale and that you're verifying their ownership of the email account as well as the Paypal account. This is not 100% fool proof but if someone hacks a Paypal account but doesn't also hack the associated email address they won't be able to confirm with you and you won't have to deal with a charge back due to unauthorized payment later on. This is great for your paper trail in case of disputes.
For the record I've never had any issues buying or selling to anyone on these forums but that's not to say it doesn't happen protect yourselves out there.
Last edited by MondayMonkey on Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
That's some useful information. Thanks.
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
Great info, I don't know why more buyers don't request the invoice option.
- Phantasy_Fishing
- Senior Angler
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:52 pm
- Location: Minnesota
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
Thanks for sharing. I found it it very helpful.
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- Elite Angler
- Posts: 370
- Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:13 am
- Location: Lake Lanier - Flowery Branch, GA
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
Thank you, I was unaware of the downside to the "gift" option. Guess I'll take/ pay for that small fee from now on.
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
I always choose my credit card as the funding source too. I was burned once because I didn't and learned the hard way that when PayPal can't get your money back, your credit card company often will.
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- Senior Angler
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2014 12:44 pm
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
Thanks good tips. I always ask for an invoice and don't pay paypal fees. It protects both ways and gets the seller his or her money faster. It's better to do tyd deals. I have seen a lot of 4-5% added for PayPal fees too. I move on to the next item.
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
Good info and another good thing about the invoice option is that it keeps you from sending your payment to the wrong address. . If you misspelled a paypal address or the seller misspells their address you have just sent your money to some one else. I have had this happen twice and it is very annoying to get correct.
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
awesome post- Thanks for doing this.
Only other point I would make - is use the TT seller review forum. It seems on par with my selling and buying experience
Only other point I would make - is use the TT seller review forum. It seems on par with my selling and buying experience
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- Angler
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2014 10:17 pm
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
I have been using Paypal since pre-ebay ownership and you have touched every point I can think of. Its a great tool to send and receive payments safely. The gift option helps the seller and the seller needs to have the fee priced in on here.
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- Platinum Angler
- Posts: 1464
- Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 12:24 pm
- Location: Donkin, Nova Scotia
Re: Tips buying and selling with Paypal and their fees
Great info, thanks for taking the time to post it!