Question about Paypal

[lindajames]

Hello,

everyone says that PayPal is a very cost effective solution. And that the only disadvantage with Paypal is that you cannot take creditcard payments over the phone. Well, I seem to find PayPal very annoying because of the fact that every new customer that wants to buy my product has to create a PayPal account first. And as you know, to create a PayPal account is a mission. You have to look at your account statment for a 4digit verification number and then activate your paypal account, and then pay.

Does anyone know if there is anyway to accept credit cards via paypal without the need to create a paypal account?

any comments would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Linda

[Birdman]

Linda,

It is not difficult to make purchase, it's just a bit of a chore to set up a verified sellers account. See this page [paypal.com] and click the "See Demo" button for rundown of the buyers experience.

Birdman

[lindajames]

Hey Birdman, Are you saying that after the customers complete their credit card details and address etc. they are authorised straight away instead o paypal charging the credit card with a verification number to activate the account?

[sun818]

Hi Linda, if you want to accept credit cards then you'll have to get a merchant account or a third party credit card processor.

When you first sign up with Paypal, you can send payment right away (assuming you sign up with a credit card). But there are sending limits [paypal.com] until you "verify" your account. Unless you're selling high-ticket items, the initial send limit is enough to handle most transactions.

Personally, I'm using the Paypal credit card too for all my purchases. They provide your full history details online which makes accounting and preparing tax statements less of a chore.

[Birdman]

It's been a long time since I opened my account, but I remember it was very easy. I haven't personally watched anyone open a new account as of late but the link above makes it very clear how the process works.

I believe you are confusing the seller account process with the standard buyer account process.

PayPal has a few downsides, but compared to the costs of merchant accounts, payment gateways and SSL certificates it's a no-brainer for me. Larger volume sites may not feel the same way.

[Birdman]

sun818, I like the real time transaction feature too. I have the PayPal debit card and any purchases made with it, whether on or off line, recieve a small % cash back. Not much, but it still chops the already low fee even more.

[lindajames]

So, are you lot saying that when i create a paypal shopping cart link, the customer can just fill in there credit card number and pay without needing to create a verified paypal account (by entering the 4 digit paypal code etc..)?

[Birdman]

[paypal.com...]

Please follow the link above for a clear cut description of what happens when a buyer clicks a cart link.

[gramski]

Yes paypal is usually simple for the buyer - most of the time they can buy without going through a verification process. Sometimes, however paypal won't accept the payment and makes the buyer go through a verification process which takes time and does upset some buyers. I've found that some get annoyed by this process and don't end up buying.

Its good to have an alternative to offer buyers who have difficulty with paypal - I use paymate express which is much simpler for the buyers as they don't have to register. Paymate is only for sellers in Australia but its rapidly gaining acceptance here - much lower fees than paypal too.

[Ankheg]

I only use PayPal on my site (though some people do send cheques/money orders), as the vast majority of purchases are only $5 US. PayPal takes $0.50 (0.30 + a percentage) of this, which is quite acceptable to me. I've had a few customers have problems making payment, but none have complained about it; all just accepted it and eventually worked it out.

It's a godsend, though, for taking payments from overseas; As much of a hassle as PayPal might be to sign up with, it's usually far easier (and cheaper!) than going to a bank and getting a cashier's cheque or money order in a foreign currency.

For the very-low-cost transactions that I have, and the low volume of sales, no other payment processor comes close to having as low of overall fees.

It's great for subscriptions and recurring billing, too.

[pbreit]

Only a very small percentage of buyers, mostly non-US, need to go through the 4 digit code process before they can make a payment. The vast, vast majority will be able to make a credit card payment straight away.

Patrick Breitenbach

[EliteWeb]

I've only found it a pain when doing huge sums of money where verification is needed in the US. Other than that they just fill out the information (a order form) and it signs them up and they think theyre filling out your form in the meanwhile they become a member of paypal too! Simple and easy as 1, 2, 3...

[fastcart]

How does everyone feel about the PayPal shopping cart? I think it sucks that you have to open a new window when things get added to cart, and then to checkout. Is there any other features people don't like?

the reason I ask is because we offer a very slick shopping cart that can easily integrate with any website and have the choice of checkout/payment vie PayPal or Merchant Account of the merchants choice. The reason to do this is a much more professional website instead of a hack/paypal add on.

pete

[sun818]

Hi Pete, many shopping carts offer Paypal integration -- its not that difficult.

[elgumbo]

I just recently tried to open a paypal account so I can pay my US affiliates (I'm in the UK) and I can't make a payment until I get my next credit card statement and can verify my account.

Last week I got an email from them to say that the payment $1.95 was not completed and they will try again! Hopefully, it'll still make it onto this months account!

It's a real pain in the arse but luckily my affiliates are understanding enough to wait for the payment.

Peter

[mifi601]

I run a website in Puerto Rico and almost ALL the credit cards, with which people want to make payments have to go through the 4 digit process. Does anyone know whether PR is not considered part of the US - in paypal's eyes?!