Your thoughts on sellers who ask buyers to pay paypal fees?

[Twistty1]

I won't ask for them up front in one of my sales threads, and if the book sells at my asking I still don't as I've tried to factor them in to my price.

 

However, if I am getting low balled and I want to just move the book then I may ask for it.

 

I don't like it when someone offers to sell you a book and then when you agree on the price they say okay make the payment gifted please...

[Not*Sure*]

I think it sucks.I was looking at some dye lots for some ren faire garb I was doing and the lady was asking for paypal fees,plus she charged for her gas to the post office,the printer ink she used to print invoices,I mean she had a paragraph of things she charged for with an added "I have to spend all this money to list ,ship and then mail these items so no whiny emails asking me to budge on my fees I am firm on that go somewhere else if you don't like it" So I did

 

I don't charge any extra unless it requires some special sort of shipment.

[musicmeta]

If someone tries to dump fees on me after the fact they'll be looking for another buyer immediately.

 

Yes, as long as it's up front then I will way the cost of the book plus the fees.

When I sell I never ask for the PP fees.

[Hamlet]

I'm surprised by the strong feelings on this. I've always thought that a discount for using a check or money order was a reasonable option for a seller to offer.

 

Why shouldn't people be given the option to avoid handing 3% of all of our transactions to Paypal?

 

I like the convenience of Paypal, but I know certain sellers that dislike Paypal. I'm happy to send them a check when I buy from them.

 

Why not keep that 3% in the comic community than feed the monstrosity that is Ebay?

[blazingbob]

Whether you like Paypal or not they are running a business.

 

You may not like the business but they are providing a service to get you your money right away. We have all become very demanding on having our money right away when in the past you waited for the check. You want it fast then there is a charge for it. Banks charge for wire transfers, do you tell the buyer to pay that also?

 

As I said asking for paypal fees is nickel/dime and if it's a big ticket item you look bad.

 

 

[shadroch]

Thanks to everyone who responded.

. My thoughts were that asking for PP fees turned off quite a few people and from the responses, it certainly seems to the the case.

[the blob]

Does the fact that the 3% surcharge is illegal in California (Ebay), Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas factor in here at all?

 

they seem to have made an exception in new york for gas stations.

 

and i'm seeing more and more stores charge $1 if you don't hit a minimum $5 or $10 on the CC.

 

one bakery near me has a $1 charge if you don't hit $20 or $25, absolutely ridiculous. it's hard to spend that much there unless you're buying a birthday cake or brunch stuff for 20 people. folks come in for a coffee, a bagel with CC and maybe a pastry or something to spend $5. basically, they're saying "cash only" for 95% of their sales in any given day.

[Bomfy]

What gets me is that the sale price isn't the sale price when they ask for the extra 3%. Go ahead and offer a discount for other forms or payment, hell if you want to give 50% off to someone that pays you in Sacajawea dollars in a Crown Royal bag, that's cool. Just make the price that would be the max a person would pay without discounts.

[Doohickamabob]

When sellers charge a surcharge and then give the woe-is-me excuse that "I have to pay for fees, and the gas to get to the post office, and the printer ink, and..." what they are failing to factor in is that by charging the surcharge, they are losing far more money in the long run because they are cutting off a significant portion of future repeat customers. What they will pay in lost future revenue will far outweigh whatever they make up in the present day via the surcharge.

[shadroch]

Does the fact that the 3% surcharge is illegal in California (Ebay), Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas factor in here at all?

 

they seem to have made an exception in new york for gas stations.

 

and i'm seeing more and more stores charge $1 if you don't hit a minimum $5 or $10 on the CC.

 

one bakery near me has a $1 charge if you don't hit $20 or $25, absolutely ridiculous. it's hard to spend that much there unless you're buying a birthday cake or brunch stuff for 20 people. folks come in for a coffee, a bagel with CC and maybe a pastry or something to spend $5. basically, they're saying "cash only" for 95% of their sales in any given day.

 

Cash sales at gas stations are discounted. Thats how they get away with it.

Paypal is not a credit card so i'm not sure if the surcharges are illegal or not, but they are certainly against paypals own rules.

I heard on a talk show a year or so ago that the 7-11 franchises paid more in bank fees than they made in net profits that year.

Think about it. You go to a 7-11 and buy a pack of butts and a newspaper.

Put it on a card and the store pays a transaction fee of 40 to 50 cents plus 3% of the sale. On a $10 sale, thats about 80 cents or 8% of the sale. That kills most of the profit from that sale. I see people putting a 99 cent can of soda on a card. The store loses money on that sale.

[Calamerica]

When sellers charge a surcharge and then give the woe-is-me excuse that "I have to pay for fees, and the gas to get to the post office, and the printer ink, and..." what they are failing to factor in is that by charging the surcharge, they are losing far more money in the long run because they are cutting off a significant portion of future repeat customers. What they will pay in lost future revenue will far outweigh whatever they make up in the present day via the surcharge.

 

[david20009]

After flying for nearly an entire day, I walked into a Hong Kong hotel and reached for the bottle of evian on the desk only to warned by my Wife to check the price first.

 

$13 for a bottle of evian! I call it naive water now.

 

I was thirsty that day my friends.

 

Wow. I am sitting at the Yacht Club in Hong Kong reading the boards and drinking water while waiting for my chicken masala to arrive. Cost of the water - free.

 

That was some pricy water your hotel was trying to foist on you. In 7-11 a bottle of water starts at about 60 cents

[Ogami]

After flying for nearly an entire day, I walked into a Hong Kong hotel and reached for the bottle of evian on the desk only to warned by my Wife to check the price first.

 

$13 for a bottle of evian! I call it naive water now.

 

I was thirsty that day my friends.

 

Wow. I am sitting at the Yacht Club in Hong Kong reading the boards and drinking water while waiting for my chicken masala to arrive. Cost of the water - free.

 

That was some pricy water your hotel was trying to foist on you. In 7-11 a bottle of water starts at about 60 cents

 

 

I know right? I'm on Mars, in the Executive Pod, watching the rov.er zoom all over the place (adorable) while I drink melted Martian ice, and a glass is only 3.99.

 

I thought it was a tad high, but paid it anyway. Didn't want to appear gauche.

[Ogami]

Why is the word outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed spooned?

 

why is the word r.over spooned?

 

interesting.

[david20009]

I guess I am a cheap skate but when I sold off my Marvel 1961-1965 CGC 8.0+ run I did so mostly on these boards. I brought in over 325,000 on the sale and I stated in the treads if you pay by Paypal you paid the feels. I was not giving my books away with the prices I charged and I had no problem with the sales or with people paying the fees. Also I sold all my books so even if people skipped my thread for this I still sold my project off. There are people in this thread speaking out against this practice who bought from me.

 

For example one guy bought 3 keys for almost 100k. PayPal would have been 3k on that transaction. Why should I eat it? If I wanted 97k for the books that is what I would have asked for. Of course the guy wired me the funds and I threw in FedEx 24 hour delivery for free.

 

I view it as why should those who pay by cash or money order be penalized and subsidize those who want to pay via Paypal.

[vader2001]

Charging the buyer with the 3% is nothing new for me. I buy on other sites and they state that on their FS threads. I was not sure how it worked here when I first bought from people here. So I have always paid as gift to avoid those fees. The only problem with paying as a gift is that if the seller stiffs you your out the $$$.

 

I do not just avoid the sellers who are charging that. If I want the comic I buy it.

[AnkurJ]

PayPal is a convenience that allows transactions to be completed faster and safely. For purchases under a certain amount I have no problem paying the fees for the protection and getting an item quicker.

 

Otherwise I pay by check. Just don't expect to have an item in a matter of days.

 

 

[Speedy-D]

Yeesh, people act like this is some new concept that we as a society are still working out.

 

If you don't like Paypal for whatever reason, if you don't want to pay "the juice," then don't use Paypal. Don't offer it as a payment option in your sales threads, and don't use it when paying for comics you buy.

 

If you do offer Paypal, it's a good idea to mask the fees. This is about human nature, not math. Yes, everyone understands that $100 plus 3% is $103 whether the math and fees are spelled out for you or cleverly hidden. And everyone understands that mathematically, offering a discount for alternatives to Paypal adds up to the same amount of money as charging a fee for Paypal. The point is, appearances matter. Human's react in certain ways to the actions of other humans. :shrug: We're all seeing here in this thread that not everyone reacts adversely to a seller baldly asking their customers to pay their fees for them, but many do. Some wonder whether the seller will cut corners and skimp in other areas, i.e. packing and shipping. Others feel like it's just plain tacky. Some are saying they won't write a sales thread off completely, but they'll keep the cheesiness in mind. Others, like myself, and saying straight up that they pass the sales threads by, without even checking what comics are available. The point is, as a seller you should keep this in mind. If you don't mind alienating potential customers then keep it up. If you do mind, then change your presentation.

 

I can tell you with 100% certitude that there are comics that have been offered for sale that did not sell, solely because of the 3%. I know this because I would have bought them myself.

 

To address david20009 specicificaly, no one's suggesting that you're not a Comic God with your $325,000 in sales, but to answer your question "Why should I eat it?" You should "eat it" because the fee was yours, and it's breaking Paypal's Terms Of Service when you don't.

[Speedy-D]

Charging the buyer with the 3% is nothing new for me. I buy on other sites and they state that on their FS threads. I was not sure how it worked here when I first bought from people here. So I have always paid as gift to avoid those fees. The only problem with paying as a gift is that if the seller stiffs you your out the $$$.

 

I do not just avoid the sellers who are charging that. If I want the comic I buy it.

It is:

 

1. against the rules of the Boards to ask for Paypal Personal payments. This of course does not address a buyer's offering to use Paypal Personal.

 

2. against Paypal TOS to use Paypal Personal to buy stuff, which I believe makes doing so is illegal.

[Jeffro.]

Thanks to everyone who responded.

. My thoughts were that asking for PP fees turned off quite a few people and from the responses, it certainly seems to the the case.

 

Yes, it turns some people off when sellers overtly say that the buyer must pay the fees.

 

However, when the seller factors the 3% into the sale price, no one cares.

 

Either way, the buyer is still paying the 3%.