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New insight on an old topic: Sellers charging the 3% for paypal use.

Started by Darthdiesel,

45 posts in this topic

FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

Posted
Posted

When I go to a restaurant that only accepts cash or American Express, do I call the owner a scumbag because he won't take my Visa card and rant and rave about how he's only hurting his business? As long as I was not deceived into thinking that they accepted Visa when they didn't, that is their prerogative. It may hurt their sales, but that is their choice. As Blazing Bob is wont to say, buyers have no right to tell sellers how to run their businesses (and my apologies in advance if I'm ranting and raving like the Blazing One here!)

 

Ahhhhhh, young grasshopper. I'll bet you would call the owner a scumbag if when you got your Amex bill, there was a 4% fee on top of your bill to cover the fee the restaurant owner has to pay to American Express for the privilege of taking Amex. That's what this person is doing. That's what I called, slimy, not the option.

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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I'll bet you would call the owner a scumbag if when you got your Amex bill

 

A hidden charge versus a clearly stated in advance charge are not even close to being the same thing! If there was a sign in the restaurant's front window saying there was a surcharge for Amex, I would simply make sure I had enough cash in advance if I wanted to eat there. I could always choose not to eat there if I didn't want the hassle of bringing cash.

 

Similarly, buyers can choose not to bid on an auction if they don't want to hassle with getting a money order and are unwilling to pay a PayPal surcharge (leaving aside PayPal's self-serving rules for the moment). Sure, that will likely turn away many potential bidders. But if the seller wants to do that to himself, who are we to call him slimy? A poor businessman, maybe, but not a morally deficient human being, IMO.

 

Gene

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Joanna

Joanna

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What if he didn't call it an AMEX surcharge. What if he called it a seating fee? You go in, you eat your meal and when you take out your AMEX card, he tells you there's a seating fee. No fee for cash, of course. But you don't have enough cash, so you have to pay with AMEX and pay the fee.

 

That's what this guy is doing. One rule for money orders, another for paypal, but it's not a surcharge (because he said so).

 

In the letter he says that it's not a surcharge because all items have the same fee. Does that mean that he charges an extra 3% for money order customers even though they also have to buy the money order? Who would pay that? "Thank you for paying $3000 for this item. Please add an extra $270.00 service fee to your money order because I have to drive to the bank with it. Gas ain't cheap."

 

What we're arguing with isn't whether someone has the right to bid, or whether he has the right to not offer Paypal, etc. What we're saying is that passing on the surchage -- whatever he labels it -- to the customer is illegal.

 

To put it another way: don't offer a service you're not willing to pay for. It would be same if he offered express shipping through FedEx, took your $21 (or whatever it is) then sent your book media mail. They're both shipped, they'll both get to you, but he's unwilling to pay the price for a service he is offering.

 

-- Joanna

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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What if he didn't call it an AMEX surcharge. What if he called it a seating fee? You go in, you eat your meal and when you take out your AMEX card, he tells you there's a seating fee.

 

I understand the point you, Donut and the others are trying to make. However, you can't compare apples to oranges to prove your point. There is a world of difference between telling someone upfront about fees and slapping on fees with no warning at the end of an auction (or end of a meal, to continue the restaurant analogy). The seller is not charging hidden fees, as evidenced by Darth noticing that they are not hidden.

 

To use your "seating fee" analogy. Seating fee/reservation fee not specified in advance = wrong, slimy and unethical. Seating fee/reservation fee specified in advance = maybe not good business practice, but not morally or ethically wrong (though we have determined that it does violate certain rules).

 

Gene

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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He "accepts" paypal since he knows many people wont bid on auctions that dont.

 

Yes. I see this well made point.

 

Paypal has strict rules against the charges being charged to the buyer, and I believe they will pull an account if they find the person is doing it.

 

And the seller quoted the rules to me and is doing it anyway??? Are they justifying it as handling or some other transactional charge...that happens to be .1% more than the Paypal fee??? tongue.gif

 

I would never buy from a seller that does that, just on principle.

 

I wish it were that simple. This seller has unfortunately very rare items. (Not as rare as my Modern high grades mind you...let's not get carried away tongue.gif)

 

If you dont want to pay the fees, then dont accept paypal, easy enough. I have bought from many people that only accept "funds" paypal and not paypal from credit cards, to me, that fine as long as it is in the auction discription.

 

Thanks to bugaboo, earlier this year I became one of these sellers who have 2 accts: one that accepts paypal from CCs with all fees for doing business that way; and a personal acct for people I normally deal with often that know how to send me payments without getting me jacked for fees

 

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Slime. Pure slime, wrapped in semantics.

 

WOW! This is the most I've seen you "heated up"...YEAH BABY! I think we've rubbed off a bit on you... tongue.gif

 

But good point there, usually sellers that do this can be relegated into theSLIME category, but something tells me that the person is just not informed of the issues with what they are doing. They seem to be nice enough people for not flying down my throat...may be we can bring them over into the light...

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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You can choose to not bid on their auctions, bid less on their auctions or pay using another method.

 

Good point "MELLOW YELLOW" Gene...I did say I would pay by check. No rush for me.

 

Obviously, an auction where a surcharge is imposed is less attractive to potential buyers, but if the seller wants to do that, who are we to tell them how to run their business?

 

Far be it from me to lecture them, I'm just trying to convert them into paypal accepters that don't charge the surcharge.

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Isn't it free if the buyer transfers cash directly from their account?

 

FF: if you have a merchant acct ALL payments get "taxed" regardless of source.

If you have a personal acct, there are no "taxes" BUT you can't receive payments from CCs.

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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When I go to a restaurant that only accepts cash or American Express, do I call the owner a scumbag because he won't take my Visa card and rant and rave about how he's only hurting his business

 

Only if they in the bouilliabaise... mad.gif

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uclapeterg

uclapeterg

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I have to defend Paypal for a second as a seller.. they DID protect me in one situation.... and I would NEVER buy a comic on-line if the seller didn't accept credit cards to give me that extra layer of "protection" if I need it

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Joanna

Joanna

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The seller is not charging hidden fees, as evidenced by Darth noticing that they are not hidden.

 

Okay, perhaps I'm totally misunderstanding the situation, since we don't have the auction description in front of us.

 

I thought he told Darth after the auction. If he put it in his auctions as "pay an extra 3% for paypal", then it's obviously illegal and this guy said he was getting around that by charging a "service fee" or something. But if he's charging on all payment methods, I don't understand why anyone would go for it (Heritage gets away with a buyer's premium, but most ebay sellers don't). So I assumed it was not mentioned and he told Darth after he'd won.

 

1. In the auction as 3% extra for Paypal: illegal

2. In the auction as 3% extra for everything: insane

3. Not in the auction, but told to the buyer later: slimey.

 

Hence, my slime comment.

 

-- Joanna

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