Getting payment through Paypal? Okay?

[normr]

I'm not sure if it's okay to ask this here, but has anyone ever accepted payment for renting of points with a Paypal account and then had a problem , I've heard horror stories a couple of years ago.

 

[gppnj]

What kind of horror stories?

 

[Ticket Man]

Paypal will often freeze accounts for six months if you suddenly accept a payment that is much larger than you usually receive. I used to sell items of ebay for $2-5 each and received a payment of $1,200 for a big ticket item, because of this "unusual activity" Paypal froze my account for 6 months (couldn't get the money) and no longer allows me to use the service.

This practice is fairly common on PayPal's part. I am in the ticket broker industry and paypal has begun to terminate access of accounts of people in the industry who presell in the industry. Meaning they sell tickets before they go on sale as they think the tickets will sell for under face value after the onsale. This practice is extremely common, but paypal has shut down tons of accounts over this.

Paypal will also often freeze the accounts of sellers who will sell a used car and accept a very large payment, this type of transaction is considered very risky mostly due to African scammers (Western Union).

In general I would not recommend having any type of transaction over $1,000 with Paypal.

 

[jemiaule]

I'm not sure if it's okay to ask this here, but has anyone ever accepted payment for renting of points with a Paypal account and then had a problem , I've heard horror stories a couple of years ago.

Personally I would not do this; not because I do not trust PayPal but because unscrupulous renters could scam you quite easily after their stay.

I run an online business and get literally thousands of Paypal payments each month. Each week we have people file false PayPal reports. People can claim that the item was not recieved or, worse yet in your case, they can claim that the "item was not as described" and demand Paypal refund them.

When this type of dispute happens PayPal will reverse the transaction until it is resolved.

If a person claims non reciept you have to show proof of delivery in order to get the payment unfrozen. While this can be done it would mean going through a lot of hoops to prove their stay. And eeek, what if they cancel their trip, don't use the DVC ressie and then want a refund for "non receipt!? You could be out money AND your points!

If they claim "item not as described" you have the choice of taking the item back (kinda hard if they already used the points!) or provide them a new item (can you say no way!).

Other things that can happen are credit card chargebacks. If someone pays you via PayPal and uses their credit card they can later file a dispute on the purchase with their credit card company. From experience I can tell you these are very hard to fight. PayPal will work with you and actually does the dispute resolution with the credit card company for you - but again you have to prove the buyer got the "product" and the product was as described.

PayPal has worked wonderful for me and my business and I have never hard a problem with "them". Any transaction issues I have had have been due to unscrupulous buyers.

For a large transaction such as points rental there is just no way at all I would use PayPal. Just too easy for you to get screwed over later - potentially even after the renter has completed their stay! Ack!

 

[Ticket Man]

Yes, that is another very good point. If someone files a complaint agaisnt you, you will have the money taken back by PayPal unless you can provide a tracking number that shows delivery. When it comes to this step your only option is to enter a tracking number for FedEx, UPS, or USPS. This is for any item, even things that can't be delivered.

If you can't show proof of delivery (which you can't for a DVC rental), it will be EXTREMELY difficult to get your money back. This has happened to me several times as a ticket broker. I only use eBay as a method of dumping tickets very close to show time and often (in the past) would sell ticketFast (e-mail tickets) on eBay. Instead of my standard method of using FedEx I would just e-mail them the pdf file with the tickets on it. I had several instances where I sent working and valid tickets and the purchasers filed a PayPal complaint claiming either they didn't receive the item or that it was not as described. Unless I could enter a tracking # the buyer got their money back. Obviously for an emailed item I could not provide a tracking number. The customer got their tickets and went to the show, and got their money back! My only recourse would have been a lawsuit but it would not have been worth the couple of hundred dollars I lost on these transactions.

For reasons like these, I do not rely on PayPal!

 

[3DisneyKids]

When I was a renter, I always paid via PayPal and it seemed that it was the owner's choice, so it was an acceptable method for both of us.

I have used PayPal for years on eBay, etc., as both a seller and purchaser and never had any issues...and I've had "big" transactions, including cars, etc. PayPal also has guarantees in place and the like. If you are worried about your account being "frozen" (I have never heard of that happening before...yikes!), maybe you can contact PayPal prior to the money hitting your account or something.

If you do not feel comfortable with it, however, use another method.

 

[browniemtb]

I've rented and taken paypal payments twice. There has been zero problems and the renters tend to prefer it. Paypal will ask more info from you to be able to withdraw $500+ from the account........basically more verification its you. Also if you do choose to use Paypal as your payment service make sure you add in at least 3.2% to cover the fees. Paypal isn't a problem.........
Brownie

 

[normr]

First, it's not worth getting hit with the 2.6% plus sursurcharge they get and for public accounts (non-business) there is a $500 limit per month that I can receive, so it would take 4 months for me to get my money.

Yes I was afraid of the risk of a reversal of transaction that people can easily do, so I'll just stick with people sending a check or moneyorder more and give myself plenty of buffer time if I need to cancel for non payment in order to get the points back properly.


Here is the info right off their site:


Receipt of Payments; Risk of Reversal of Transactions; Collection of Funds you owe PayPal. When you receive a payment through the Service, unless you follow the steps necessary to qualify for our Seller Protection Policy, you are not protected against a subsequent reversal of the transaction. In the event that the sender's transaction is reversed for any reason and you do not qualify for the Seller Protection Policy for that transaction, you will owe PayPal for the amount of the reversed transaction plus any fees imposed on PayPal as a result of the reversal. Examples of such a reversal include, but are not limited to, a credit card reversal by the sender of the payment, and a reversal of the transaction because the sender of the payment was using a stolen credit card or unauthorized bank account. PayPal will seek to recover the funds from you by debiting your PayPal balance and, if there are not sufficient funds in your PayPal balance, PayPal reserves the right to collect your debt to PayPal by any other legal means.

 

[prez65]

I sell a lot on Ebay....I accept Paypal and acually prefer payments by paypal....But in a case of renting points....I think I would rather have a money order...To many things can happen with a renter especially if you are booking ressies for them way in advance...selling products and accepting paypal is fine...but something like DVC points I think I rather have a Money Order.

 

[diznyfanatic]

I've rented and taken paypal payments twice. There has been zero problems and the renters tend to prefer it. Paypal will ask more info from you to be able to withdraw $500+ from the account........basically more verification its you. Also if you do choose to use Paypal as your payment service make sure you add in at least 3.2% to cover the fees. Paypal isn't a problem.........
Brownie

Before requiring the buyer/renter to pay any PayPal transaction fees, especially being openly deemed as such in addition to the actual purchase price, it would be wise to check PayPal's current Terms Of Service and User Agreements.

While I haven't looked at them recently, doing this used to be very much against their policies as well as against many Credit Card policies and consumer laws and could very easily get your account suspended or frozen if still forbidden.

Using PayPal to accept rental payments made via credit card, in theory, doesn't pose any greater risk of chargeback than accepting credit card payments via a regular merchant processing account such as that used in retail stores.

Buyers have always had the ability to dispute credit card charges and file a chargeback, no matter who processed the charge. Merchants who could provide a legitimate signed receipt, however, would generally win the dispute.

The problem arises because PayPal often jumps the gun, using the "shoot first and ask questions later" method and rules in favor of the buyer even when the seller has overwhelming proof to support the charge. Or drags their feet in the event of actual fraud and allows scammers too much time to cause damage.

PayPal has a smaller chance of winning a dispute against a major credit card company who will generally automatically side with their customer. In fact, this is exactly WHY Paypal has a policy which requires buyers to file the dispute with PayPal first, rather than file directly with their credit card company.

Most people don't know that credit card companies have a 60 day deadline to file a dispute so if PayPal drags their feet in the dispute investigation, the buyer could be out of luck on the off chance that PayPal rules against them in the dispute because by that time, the deadline with their credit card company has passed.

Bypassing PayPal in the dispute process and filing directly with their credit card company could get a PayPal users account terminated, but it probably increases the chance of receiving restitution on the rarer occasions of actual fraud (as opposed to a genuine misunderstanding of what is being purchased or human error). I've used PayPal as a buyer and seller for over 6 years and have never had a problem myself, but I don't purchase anything in high risk or big ticket categories either, such as electronics or computers, etc.

In addition, buyers/renters face a decreased chance of recovering their funds from PayPal in the event of fraud because those scammers usually have had plenty of time to clean out their accounts even if PayPal rules that a refund is in order.

In general, both buyers and sellers are at a greater risk purchasing/selling anything via the internet rather than in more traditional ways. It only makes sense, since you aren't dealing with anyone face to face. However, even handing the salesperson at the local Saks your credit card, you are exposing yourself to fraud. It's unfortunately the times we live in.

Sorry to ramble, but just wanted to provide some additional information.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I have sent and received money thru PayPal, and never had a problem with them, ever, and I have used them for 4 years when renting points out. Now, I must admit that I receive money in smaller increments, usually a few hundred at a time, and payment is received months in advance. I save all emails, and make a copy of the DVC reservation slip. Since I think most people are basically honest, and the money comes a bit at a time, I think most renters would be hard pressed to convince PayPal that they continued to send money when they never got the service they paid for. It could happen, but I think someone that gutsy would be really unusual, at least I hope so. I use PayPal usually for foreign renters, because the exchange rate works out so I get the money that I am expecting to get.