Do You Expect Online Retailers to Take PayPal?

[Ed Hazel]

I recently added Paypal as an alternate payment option to my website, roughly 20% of the purchases are made with PayPal I see no spike in sales by accepting PP.

I really dislike the fact that they automatically process the payments when the order is placed which makes making changes hard and I do not think payment should be processed until the order actually ships, which is what I do with CC purchases. I do get an approval of course when the order is placed.

I am thinking about eliminating the PayPal option. Would not having a PayPal payment option cause you to not to make a purchase?

[Myk Rian]

Would not having a PayPal payment option cause you to not to make a purchase?
Sometimes, like if I didn't want my CC info going to another retailer.
It's not a deal breaker, but it is convenient.

[Bob Lloyd]

No, most of my online purchases are with a credit card, I use PayPal mainly on email and occasionally here on SMC.

[Bruce Page]

I prefer Paypal for online purchases but it is not a show stopper if I really want the item. I don’t like using a CC online any more than I have to.

I was standing in the check out line at Lowe’s last weekend as a Lowe’s employee was asking everybody for the last 4 digits of their phone number. When she got to me I asked her why. She said it was so Lowe’s can get to know me better. I told her that I didn’t want Lowe’s to know me better.. :rolleyes:

[Jim Rimmer]

Not having PP wouldn't bother me. I generally use a CC even when PP is an option. I only use PP for sites that can't take CC like sellers here on SMC and eBay.

[Tim Morton]

i "love" it when i visit a site that accepts paypal. It is really convenient when i stumble onto a site that sells something i am looking for, especially if i have never been to the site before. For example...i love buying espresso beans online from small roasters. If i am 100% more likely to choose a roaster that accepts paypal for a couple pounds of beans that gets me in and out of the purchase in 2 minutes. As opposed to getting up and trying to find my wallet while deciding if i feel this vendor is secure enough to give my CC info too.. if i can even find it.

[Steve Peterson]

It would tick me off if I was charged for something if there was a large delay before it could get shipped. But since you have a choice between CC and PP, I would just enter my CC info. It would not stop me from placing an order, since it seems like you need a CC to set up PP.

Steve

[Ed Hazel]

thanks for the replies

Kind of what I thinking

[Van Huskey]

The "smaller" the business the more inclined I am to use Paypal. It could be a deal breaker but only based on CC # privacy.

[Gary Redden]

A couple of weeks ago I was at Home Depot and one of the options to pay at the register now is PayPal. That is not something I would have expected or would ever do. I am sure it would be okay but just imagine how long it would take to checkout if you had to wait for everyone to login to their PayPal account at the register...

Gary

[Phil Thien]

I have a PP debit card, so I can use my PP at any business that accepts credit cards.

[Brian Elfert]

There are some people that get Paypal payments and just keep the money in their Paypal account instead of transferring the money to a bank account. That would be the only reason to use Paypal at Home Depot. If one is paying with a credit card no reason to mess with Paypal.

I will sometimes use Paypal at a website because it is faster, but just as often I will still use my credit card. The lack of Paypal will not stop me from buying something from a website. I mostly use Paypal to buy stuff on Ebay since they only take Paypal except in very limited situations.

[Bill Cunningham]

I signed my business up to use paypal invoices, for the cc's I don't accept. I have not used it yet, mostly because with-in 30 minutes of signing up, I got about 8-10 scam emails in a row, telling me my paypal account was on hold and providing links so that I could sign back on and activate it again. The links of course were all phoney and only a fool would click on one, but how did they know I just signed up if they don't have some kind of monitoring hack on the paypal website? This was more than coincidence, I used to get one or two of these phishing emails a month, but right after signing up I got a load all at once, it was like a scammer feeding frenzy..

[Anthony Whitesell]

As Van mentioned, I believe it is more convienent for the smaller businesses to accept PayPal and use them as their credit card clearing house rather than having to deal with a clearing house directly. Generally I avoid PayPal, their fraud protection (especially for cash) is a joke. Credit cards provide much better protection. Most credit cards, if the buyer goes through the trouble, can provide a one time use aliased credit card number. So if PayPal was not an option, it would not deter me. But I can see the advantages for the business to utilize PayPal.

[Ron Natalie]

As a customer, I don't really care for Paypal. I'd rather pay with my credit cards (using my preferred rewards card first). If the site accepts only paypal (even if it is set up as the Credit Card option), I'll log in so I get all my info automatically transferred, etc... if given a true choice (i.e., the CREDIT CARD option isn't just paypal again), I'll use the credit card.

PayPal isn't the only game in town, but I understand it may be more convenient for small commerce sites. Having a small business I keep getting offers for credit card processing from several newer guys (like the ones that have to thing that goes into the iPhone), but I'm not that kind of business.

[Harry Hagan]

No. I prefer NOT to use Paypal. I always use my Visa's Shop Safe feature when shopping online. If Paypal is the only payment option I look for other sources.

[David Weaver]

I signed my business up to use paypal invoices, for the cc's I don't accept. I have not used it yet, mostly because with-in 30 minutes of signing up, I got about 8-10 scam emails in a row, telling me my paypal account was on hold and providing links so that I could sign back on and activate it again. The links of course were all phoney and only a fool would click on one, but how did they know I just signed up if they don't have some kind of monitoring hack on the paypal website? This was more than coincidence, I used to get one or two of these phishing emails a month, but right after signing up I got a load all at once, it was like a scammer feeding frenzy..


I get one every time I use paypal to print a shipping label. I don't sell stuff often, but I always wonder exactly how secure the whole thing is when i get emails saying "my label has been deactivated" or some such thing.

[Bill Cunningham]

I get one every time I use paypal to print a shipping label. I don't sell stuff often, but I always wonder exactly how secure the whole thing is when i get emails saying "my label has been deactivated" or some such thing.

Exactly!! Scammers are watching paypal. Buying things on line is pretty safe, if you see something on your statement that ain't yours, you can get it removed pretty easy. But as a 'merchant' you have no safeguards at all. In online transactions, the merchant takes ALL the risk. I find that bank to bank e-transfers work better for us, it's the same as cash, and I even give a 2.5% discount if the customer uses it, because that's less than I pay in merchant charges.

[Gerry Kaslowski]

No. I prefer NOT to use Paypal. I always use my Visa's Shop Safe feature when shopping online. If Paypal is the only payment option I look for other sources.

+1 I WILL NOT use PayPal. You have absolutely no recourse through them or at them.

[Brian Elfert]

+1 I WILL NOT use PayPal. You have absolutely no recourse through them or at them.

If you use a credit card through Paypal you should have the same dispute options as using a credit card anywhere else. If you use Paypal to pay for a purchase through Ebay there is a very strong buyer protection program.

[Kevin Gregoire]

i like seeing more and more businesses taking paypal
its more convenient to click on a paypal link then it is to fill in all my
credit card info plus i feel more secure not having to type in all of
my personal info.

[Brian Elfert]

The only information Paypal does not give to the merchant is your actual account number. The merchant still gets address and other information or they couldn't ship your product. Most of your personal information is still given out.

[Joel Goodman]

I am not a PayPal fan -- would much rather use a CC. Better protection. I avoid PayPal.

[Brian Elfert]

I am not a PayPal fan -- would much rather use a CC. Better protection. I avoid PayPal.

Is the protection any different if one chooses to use a credit card through Paypal? I would NEVER use my bank account to pay through Paypal. Paypal is pretty much required for Ebay so I either use Paypal or avoid Ebay.

[Matt Meiser]

I would say for someone I've never done business with, its potentially a deciding factor because using it gives me the protection of using my credit card without giving them the number. If I was choosing between two similar companies I'd choose the one with Paypal over the one without.

For bigger companies, I like the convenience.

[Steven Cox]

I can't believe so many people are against PayPal, When I buy anything on-line I always use the PayPal option because it is more secure. On the few occassions that I've had a problem with the merchant not supplying the goods, PayPal's resolution service has worked for me in getting a full refund. On one occassion when I used my CC to purchase some goods direct and the merchant didn't come through it took nearly 2 years to get the credit back through my bank because my bank kept asking me stupid questions. I think the only thing they didn't ask me was my blood type. But with PayPal the most I've waited for refunds from PayPal was 6 weeks.

Waiting for any refund is frustrating but I'll take 6 weeks over 2 Years anytime!. Additionally I use PP on my websites but if someone wants to pay me direct I also give that option, but I don't send goods until I've got payment and with PP it's pretty much instant.