paypal Personal Option: How Long Will it Last?

[TooSnappy]

If you use a personal paypal payment for a non-ebay item, there's no coverage period - if the item doesn't show up, you're SOL.

 

Good point, and sellers requiring "personal payments" should be scrutinized very closely.

 

well I think(for the most part anyways) the bigger sellers on here would be safe to use the personal payment. I understand them not wanting to give up 3% of thier cash or adding 3% to the buyers amount. though I would never ever use it for an ebay purchase unless it was a boardie that I new selling to me through ebay.

[MCMiles]

Bumping this thread.

 

This morning I got an e-mail from paypal stating that I was receiving personal payments from customers and that my account would be suspended if it continued.

 

Now, I never require or request "personal" payment, but the great boardies around here are generous and try to save each other money. I've also only accepted personal payments from boardies, so I'm not sure how paypal determined that I was accepting payments from customers.

 

I went back and looked at my transactions. I received personal payment from three board members on the same day last week. All three wrote an item description and/or shipping info in the notes.

 

I wonder if that had something to do with the sudden letter.

 

At any rate, I personally think that myself and others really have started to abuse the service, and really paypal doesn't even have to provide the "personal" option. Paypal fees certainly add up, but it's a service provided that does help make transactions convenient and easy to track. So I'm definitely going to back off on using the "personal" option. If it's that big of a deal to sellers then I'll send a check or MO, and I've never expected personal payments anyway.

 

 

[Foolkiller]

I had a similar experience Mike -- only I got a phone call where it was "suggested" that I be more judicious in my use of receiving paypal personal payments.

[VintageComics]

I've never demanded it either but it is nice. I think that it's the description that matters. If it's just a "Thank You" or similar then it's ok.

 

It seems that when Items are listed in the subject that it leads to scrutiny.

 

IIRC Paypal needs to provide the Personal option to stay in business from a legal point of view but I can seem them policing it more and more to stay profitable.

 

 

 

[TupennyConan]

I only use personal option when buying on the Boards, even if sellers don't ask for it.

 

It would be a shame if it is lost to us due to the threats of account suspensions.

[Count]

I use the personal payment option quite often with boardies and I haven't heard anything from paypal and as far as I'm aware neither have the sellers I sent the payments to.

 

I do however not list the item description or an address in the subject or message portion.

[comicwiz]

I'm going to ask the dumb question (and please go easy on me as I haven't opted in using this payment method for selling, but have once or twice for buying) - IIRC, in my buying experiences, there was a check box asking if I would pay the fees (it was already checked off) and I assumed that if I unchecked and didn't opt to pay the fees, the seller would. Am I assuming incorrectly? And if not, what is the big deal with the personal payment option, especially if it's just a matter of giving some leeway on who pays for the fees and PayPal getting their fees regardless?

[comix4fun]

I only use personal option when buying on the Boards, even if sellers don't ask for it.

 

It would be a shame if it is lost to us due to the threats of account suspensions.

 

From what I read, the only way Paypal can get rid of "personal" as an option is if they want to be considered a "Bank" with a capital "B" by the government. By allowing this option they avoid all that oversight, which they prefer to avoid.

 

So I don't think the option is going anywhere soon.

[topofthetotem]

is C-link still requesting "Personal" payment from customers?

[MCMiles]

I only use personal option when buying on the Boards, even if sellers don't ask for it.

 

It would be a shame if it is lost to us due to the threats of account suspensions.

 

From what I read, the only way Paypal can get rid of "personal" as an option is if they want to be considered a "Bank" with a capital "B" by the government. By allowing this option they avoid all that oversight, which they prefer to avoid.

 

So I don't think the option is going anywhere soon.

 

Probably not, but I guess they can still S. can your account at will.

[MCMiles]

I'm going to ask the dumb question (and please go easy on me as I haven't opted in using this payment method for selling, but have once or twice for buying) - IIRC, in my buying experiences, there was a check box asking if I would pay the fees (it was already checked off) and I assumed that if I unchecked and didn't opt to pay the fees, the seller would. Am I assuming incorrectly? And if not, what is the big deal with the personal payment option, especially if it's just a matter of giving some leeway on who pays for the fees and PayPal getting their fees regardless?

 

I'm not sure, but I've never noticed that. It might be a Canadian deal.

[gaz2810i]

That was my understanding too. When I use the option I always make sure I never make referance to purchase, I simply do all that via PM (thumbs u

[DiceX]

I only use personal option when buying on the Boards, even if sellers don't ask for it.

 

It would be a shame if it is lost to us due to the threats of account suspensions.

 

From what I read, the only way Paypal can get rid of "personal" as an option is if they want to be considered a "Bank" with a capital "B" by the government. By allowing this option they avoid all that oversight, which they prefer to avoid.

 

So I don't think the option is going anywhere soon.

 

So you're saying Paypal is trying to circumvent the government fees associated with being a bank?

There's a big ol' dose of irony for you.

 

 

[VintageComics]

I'm going to ask the dumb question (and please go easy on me as I haven't opted in using this payment method for selling, but have once or twice for buying) - IIRC, in my buying experiences, there was a check box asking if I would pay the fees (it was already checked off) and I assumed that if I unchecked and didn't opt to pay the fees, the seller would. Am I assuming incorrectly? And if not, what is the big deal with the personal payment option, especially if it's just a matter of giving some leeway on who pays for the fees and PayPal getting their fees regardless?

 

I'm not sure, but I've never noticed that. It might be a Canadian deal.

 

I think that the amount of money you move through your account as well as the frequency that the personal option is used is what triggers that 1% fee. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it isn't.

 

 

[comix4fun]

I only use personal option when buying on the Boards, even if sellers don't ask for it.

 

It would be a shame if it is lost to us due to the threats of account suspensions.

 

From what I read, the only way Paypal can get rid of "personal" as an option is if they want to be considered a "Bank" with a capital "B" by the government. By allowing this option they avoid all that oversight, which they prefer to avoid.

 

So I don't think the option is going anywhere soon.

 

Probably not, but I guess they can still S. can your account at will.

 

 

That's mostly true, although when a bunch of us looked over their terms of service the only thing that was a violation of those terms was to "request" payment be made by personal payments. Simply receiving personal payments, when not requested, was not a violation.

 

Now I don't know how they even planned on enforcing such a term of service absent payers ratting out sellers who demanded payment in that fashion.

 

The email you received is an overreach of their own terms (unless they changed those terms in the last 60 days).

 

 

[comicwiz]

I only use personal option when buying on the Boards, even if sellers don't ask for it.

 

It would be a shame if it is lost to us due to the threats of account suspensions.

 

From what I read, the only way Paypal can get rid of "personal" as an option is if they want to be considered a "Bank" with a capital "B" by the government. By allowing this option they avoid all that oversight, which they prefer to avoid.

 

So I don't think the option is going anywhere soon.

 

So you're saying Paypal is trying to circumvent the government fees associated with being a bank?

There's a big ol' dose of irony for you.

 

 

I think PayPal would be quite content if it were simply a matter of circumventing govt fees - the regulation is what scares them. Personally, if PayPal figured out a way to have the deposits secured comparable to the deposit amounts protected through federally chartered banks (in the US its FDIC and in Canada its CDIC), without govt regulation/oversight, they would see quite a bump in account holders.

[G.A.tor]

I had never really thought to request personal payment via paypal, but many friends sent me payments that way... while it was much appreciated to save that 3%, I got dinged last month with a "fee circumvention" notice from paypal that they were restricting the personal option on my paypal account (I have a business/merchant premium account)...and that if I requested or received or sent a personal payment, I would be billed the 3% (or whatever the fee % is)...

 

so, I have had to make it a point to tell folks to only send money to me as a purchase, etc... pita, but don't want to irk the money gods

 

 

[scottish]

I use the personal payment option quite often with boardies and I haven't heard anything from paypal and as far as I'm aware neither have the sellers I sent the payments to.

 

I do however not list the item description or an address in the subject or message portion.

(thumbs u

 

[asteroid-comix]

I'm going to ask the dumb question (and please go easy on me as I haven't opted in using this payment method for selling, but have once or twice for buying) - IIRC, in my buying experiences, there was a check box asking if I would pay the fees (it was already checked off) and I assumed that if I unchecked and didn't opt to pay the fees, the seller would. Am I assuming incorrectly? And if not, what is the big deal with the personal payment option, especially if it's just a matter of giving some leeway on who pays for the fees and PayPal getting their fees regardless?

 

I'm not sure, but I've never noticed that. It might be a Canadian deal.

 

I think that the amount of money you move through your account as well as the frequency that the personal option is used is what triggers that 1% fee. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it isn't.

 

I've found that when this shows up, I can sometimes try later and the fee isn't there.

[comicwiz]

is it possible to receive money through the personal option with the PayPal business/premium account? I'm starting to think that this is why I haven't seen the difference.