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paypal costs

hotrod180

hotrod180

FRIEND
Port Townsend, WA
Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up about what happened to me recently.
I bought something from a guy on here --
we settled on a price of $700, and I paid him with paypal using my credit card.
It was a "sending a friend money" transaction, which I think used to be free,
but Paypal nicked me a $20 service fee & I was OK with that.
However, when I got my credit card statement,
the bank had hit me with a $36 cash advance fee, plus almost $9 interest!!

WTF?? I've sent other people money via paypal not too long ago, but wasn't charged a bank fee.
So I called the credit card outfit up, they said it's paypal's new policy to consider that kind of transaction a cash advance.
It's also the policy of another similar service, Venmo.
I guess they avoid paying a fee themselves that way.
There was a pop-up when I did the paypal thing which referenced possible bank fees,
but like a lot of people I figured it was just a boilerplate disclaimer so I just checked OK and finished paying.

I poked around on the paypal site a bit--
If you are "paying for goods or services" there is a 2.9% fee charged to the seller,
but I think that is considered a purchase not a cash advance so no bank fees later.
BTW the $20 (actually 20.80) service fee I paid to paypal works out to about 2.9%.

So the moral of the story is that if you want to pay someone or get paid online,
you should do a little research to avoid an unpleasant surprise later.
Paypal is so convenient & such a time saver, I hope I don't have to go back to mailing people checks,
but I'm not paying those exorbitant fees again if I can help it.
 
Last edited:
I had a similar experience recently. I think we're headed back to the old way. Checks and M.O.'s. I don't mind a small fee but paypal sits on a little bit of my money and draws interest on it so when it gets unreasonable its move on to the old way.
 
Actually, Venmo and a bunch of others are taking over some of that market. ACH transactions are also pretty darn secure. I hate getting Money Orders, I have to go in the bank and deal with a teller every time I get one - can't use the ATM to deposit, or your phone.

I still do a LOT with paypal, but don't have it hooked up to a credit card, just to a bank account so avoid cash advance fees and the CC company completely.

sj
 
SJ said:
I still do a LOT with paypal, but don't have it hooked up to a credit card, just to a bank account so avoid cash advance fees and the CC company completely.

sj
Click to expand...

That's what I do, too. Very easy to send from a bank account--no cash advance fees. I have a separate savings account with a small balance. When I paypal something, I online transfer from a main account to the small account and then send the money by paypal.

I've done this for years, figuring if my paypal got hacked, the most I'd lose is the $20 or so linked to Paypal.
 
I maintain a small balance in my PayPal "cash" account, and use that account to pay for things. I can transfer from my checking account into my PayPal cash account any time I think I'll exceed that balance.

That said, I am starting to use Zelle more and more these days. Both my primary bank (USAA) and my local bank (Chase) support sending and receiving money via Zelle, and neither charges any transaction fees for any transactions – including paying commercial services. I recently paid a moving company to move my Mom to a new place, and there was no fee.
 
My PayPal is my fun money. If I sell something and get paid with paypal. I forget about it until I see something on ebay I want...
 
Everyone should have a “Square” credit card account. It is a hassle free, low cost program that allows anyone to accept credit cards in person or over the phone.

Check it out if you haven’t tried it. You won’t be disappointed.

www.squareup dot com
 
Square or Stripe ok for taking money, but not for sending. Purchaser can change their mind and cancel the transaction also - something that has more protection with zelle or venmo.
Paul Heinrich said:
Everyone should have a “Square” credit card account. It is a hassle free, low cost program that allows anyone to accept credit cards in person or over the phone.

Check it out if you haven’t tried it. You won’t be disappointed.

www.squareup dot com
Click to expand...

Sent from my Pixel using SuperCub.Org mobile app
 
I don't do enough private party transactions that I want to mess with another, separate bank account just for paypal use.
Ditto with having a vendor-type account that I can use to accept CC payment from others.
 
hotrod180 said:
Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up about what happened to me recently.
I bought something from a guy on here --
we settled on a price of $700, and I paid him with paypal using my credit card.
It was a "sending a friend money" transaction, which I think used to be free,
but Paypal nicked me a $20 service fee & I was OK with that.
However, when I got my credit card statement,
the bank had hit me with a $36 cash advance fee, plus almost $9 interest!!

WTF?? I've sent other people money via paypal not too long ago, but wasn't charged a bank fee.
So I called the credit card outfit up, they said it's paypal's new policy to consider that kind of transaction a cash advance.
It's also the policy of another similar service, Venmo.
I guess they avoid paying a fee themselves that way.
There was a pop-up when I did the paypal thing which referenced possible bank fees,
but like a lot of people I figured it was just a boilerplate disclaimer so I just checked OK and finished paying.

I poked around on the paypal site a bit--
If you are "paying for goods or services" there is a 2.9% fee charged to the seller,
but I think that is considered a purchase not a cash advance so no bank fees later.
BTW the $20 (actually 20.80) service fee I paid to paypal works out to about 2.9%.

So the moral of the story is that if you want to pay someone or get paid online,
you should do a little research to avoid an unpleasant surprise later.
Paypal is so convenient & such a time saver, I hope I don't have to go back to mailing people checks,
but I'm not paying those exorbitant fees again if I can help it.
Click to expand...


i wonder if it’s because he chose credit card instead of bank account for funding source…. i do bank account as main funding source, CC as backup....
 
The one time when I was forced to use paypal, my account was hacked, twice. The CC company caught it, notified me and changed my card number. I will only do business through the internet with someone who lists a phone number or mail address which will accept a check. This one time was a sole source supplier with no phone number. I prefer talking to a person.
 
skywagon8a said:
The one time when I was forced to use paypal, my account was hacked, twice. The CC company caught it, notified me and changed my card number. I will only do business through the internet with someone who lists a phone number or mail address which will accept a check. This one time was a sole source supplier with no phone number. I prefer talking to a person.
Click to expand...

You were otherwise hacked. PayPal is very safe.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org mobile app
 
I got a bogus PayPal that I didn't authorize. PayPal gave me my money back in two days. I use them whenever possible.
 
mike mcs repair said:
i wonder if it’s because he chose credit card instead of bank account for funding source…. i do bank account as main funding source, CC as backup....
Click to expand...

I don't do enough online buying from private parties to where I wanna hassle with having another bank account.
And I'm not gonna give Paypal or any other vendor access to my primary account.
 
I just wired money from the bank for the new airplane purchase. A small amount to get the deal going and then a major amount when the plane and seller delivered. Each wire job was $10.
 
It’s better to pay with a credit card rather than PayPal. At least if there is a problem, the credit card company will stand up for you. Once PayPal has their cut of the pie, they don’t care if you just got ripped off by a fraudulent vendor.
 
windy said:
It’s better to pay with a credit card rather than PayPal. At least if there is a problem, the credit card company will stand up for you. Once PayPal has their cut of the pie, they don’t care if you just got ripped off by a fraudulent vendor.
Click to expand...
Of course, if you use your credit card via PayPal for those "questionable" transactions, then your CC company SHOULD stand up for you against PayPal, as well. To me, it's six one way, and a half-dozen the other...
 
Dealing with PP is like kicking at Jello. I made the mistake of checking PP while on vacation and PP didn't like my changed location. They froze the account. When I got back I called PP from my home phone and asked to be turned on. The offshore voice said well , you know , the system makes these decisions. Yeah, but now I'm calling you.....no joy.
So I pp from a tiny little checking acct. Don't trust anyone but the CC co's. You get something for what they take. Once Visa called me and listed 3 things they thought were legit and 1 thing they thought was bogus. I agreed and new cards were in the mail. I don't think it took 30 seconds.
 
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