PayPal & eBay outside UK

ebay mike

ebay mike

Retired, but still hoarding. (GOF)
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I buy and sell on eBay and have to offer PayPal as a payment option. I've just been surfing eBay.fr and find items offered and no mention of PayPal acceptance. Another example of us in the UK being stitched up?
 
Ebay has different rules in every country, the UK seems to be the country that is most stiched up and ripped off by ebay because we use it so much more than others. There are only a few countries like the UK where PayPal is a requirement.
 
German Ebay sellers are highly unlikely to offer Paypal but I have found that in a couple of cases they will agree to it when pressed even though they don't offer it as a payment option.
 
The "Paypal' only option lasted about 3 weeks in Australia.... I'm told it was challenged and was proven to be against the Fair Trading act... Even when it was compulsory many sellers were stating in the auction details "I do not accept Paypal"... You could always try this.
 
tramcar trev said:
The "Paypal' only option lasted about 3 weeks in Australia.... I'm told it was challenged and was proven to be against the Fair Trading act... Even when it was compulsory many sellers were stating in the auction details "I do not accept Paypal"... You could always try this.
Click to expand...

eBay UK will delete listings which state Paypal is not accepted or that a fee will be imposed for any buyer using it. Buyers love Paypal of course. It gives them security against fraud and (they think) a cheap payment system. Obviously sellers have to recoup the charges somehow which is one reason why there are fewer bargains around on eBay UK these days.
 
When selling on ebay, the listing fees (when not free), the final value fees and paypal fees add to about 14 to 15%. This is a bit of a hit on an item of large value. I have to say that paypal is a very good way for buyers to buy and sellers have to open themselves to the use of paypal (obligatory in UK) to be able to be in the sights of the multitudes ofbuyers.
Shops get charged about 4% (sometimes higher) for the acceptance of credit cards (with hardly any, or no security against bogus cards!) and also have overheads so I suppose selling on ebay gives you a chance to sell items with its own 'card' fees and overheads.

I do not like the fee system and it is definitely more economical for the power sellers and traders as opposed to private sellers, but having used it since for over ten years, it is still the most comprehensive selling platform for the like of us. There are others, and I have tried them, but hard as it is to admit, Fleabay has been the most successful...for me that is.........of course I am not including the great forum that we have here!
 
Germany for one has never liked anything but cash, that is the main reason they made the Euro available in such high value notes! I can remember visiting model shops there not so long ago that didn't take cards and they sold big expensive Marklin G1 stuff! You just had to carry the cash for it. Also they tend to do a lot with bank transfers which is great for them as their bank's think it is normal where as ours want about £20 to either send or recieve money that way!
PayPal has it's uses but the problem is that very much like ebay, they have taken over to such an extent that they almost dominate the market, then they can start to up their fee's, just like ebay did recently!
I have used the "gift" option to send and recieve money via PayPal to avoid fee's but you have to have a lot of trust with that person as you are not covered.
Cheers
Rob
 
i believe3 that US sellers are also required to use paypal
simply ebay , i think, own both, so they get not only the listing fee but the transaction fees on both ends

callled capitalism under the golden rule-
not unlike requiring you to buy your beer at footy from the stadium vendors rather than bringing your own
 
Over the past year PayPal seems to have become much more popular on German ebay I suspect that buyers are starting to twig that bank transfers are not a very safe way to make large purchases although better than cash.

PayPal gives much rates to volumne sellers and cane the private sellers and small businesses.
 
As a buyer I will only use paypal, and I'm not prepared to call it a 'gift' either. The only exception would be if I know and trust the seller, then I might use bank transfer. Otherwise what comeback do I have if the item fails to arrive? I'm a member of a photography forum where sellers routinely ask for payment by bank transfer or paypal 'gift'. One time I paid for a lens by bank transfer and over a week went by with no word from the seller. Eventually the lens arrived but I vowed not to repeat the experience. On another occasion I paid £10 over the asking price for another lens to pay by paypal rather than paypal 'gift' - I'm not prepared to lie for the sake of a few quid.
 
Yep, I agree - it's not worth the risk by fibbing and calling it a "gift". I've also noticed that Paypal is getting more common on ebay.de these days. Fine by me, but not so good for my bank balance!
 
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