Paypal for rental question?

[UConnJack]

I have rented points from other owners before on several occassions to complete reservations, but I am now looking to rent some out for the first time. The "contract" thread had been a great resource, but I have a question about using Paypal as a payment option.

On my personal account, it says I can accept PayPal Balance, PayPal Instant Transfer or PayPal eCheck (I assume these mean cash transfers) for free, and up to 5 credit card payments per year for a 4.9% (+.30) charge.

However, on serveral posts on theis board, I have read people say that Paypal always carries a fee for transactations, including cash transfers, and that personal accounts can't accept credit card transactions at all?

What is the truth here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mackey_931]

If that's what Paypal says on their website, maybe it has changed?

 

[UConnJack]

Yes, and I hope so, but I was wondering if anyone has first hand knowledge of Paypal personal account restrictions?

 

[Saratoga_Dan]

We could post here all day, but it would be more prudent to go to the PayPal website and get the skinny first hand. That said, even though I did not really care for PayPal initially, I recently set-up an account to accomodate a very nice person. The change to personal accounts was to allow the 5 credit card transactions. However, I think the premier account is more flexible for both Member and Renter.

 

[Dean]

Unless paypal has changed lately, there is no fee for a basic personal account. But anyone who accepts a business account so they can take CC, will have to pay a fee on each and every transaction. I think there's now a $500 limit per month on the basic account as well.

 

[UConnJack]

We could post here all day, but it would be more prudent to go to the PayPal website and get the skinny first hand.

True, and I did, but the terms I saw were so different that those I read people reporting on this board, I was wondering if I was missing something. About my other question, do you know is Paypal charges some fee on personal account cash transactions that some have posted about (again, am I missing something on Paypal's website?)

Thanks for the info!

 

[Saratoga_Dan]

"Receive payments funded by PayPal Balance, PayPal Instant Transfer or PayPal eCheck... Free"

There is no section that says If a person sends cash then... What I read in this is that paying from the accounts listed above, which would require a renter to be a PayPal member, are free. Those accounts may contain "cash" (actually it's credit in their account that they have available to use, or, as one of my co-workers has done, linked their bank account via debit card directly to their PayPal account so they can "one click" on e-bay) The only way for a non-PayPal person to send you money through PayPal, would be by Credit Card or Debit card. The site lists payment by Debit Card to be "for a fee" under the Personal Account. I had a long conversation with the woman at PayPal about the personal vs premier accounts, and I saw no reason to consider the personal accounts since there are no fees to establish or maintain either of the two accounts. Furthermore, the transaction fees associated with the premier account are less than those with the personal account. This is only my opinion and not to be considered advice, nor a recommendation to participate in PayPal.

 

[Dean]

I reviewed the info on Paypal and they have made some changes. You can send money for free, but to accept money there often are fees. A personal account can accept money for free from a paypal balance or echeck, there is a hefty fee around 5% for CC/Debit Cards with a limit of $500 per month total transactions and a limit of 5 CC type transactions per year. If one has a business account which until recently was required to accept CC at all, there is a fee on every transaction in.

 

[salmoneous]

Personally, I'm not sure I'd want to use PayPal to accept a rental payment. PayPal gives some protections to the person making the payment - which often work against the person accepting the payment. The only advantage I see in accepting PayPal is the quick and easy nature of the transaction. But, assuming you require the money 60+ days in advance, is there much harm in just waiting for a personal check to clear.

Are there any advantages to taking money via PayPal that I'm missing?

 

[Saratoga_Dan]

"PayPal gives some protections to the person making the payment"

That pretty much sums it up. The renter needs to have some assurances that their transaction is protected. The members can cancel a reservation up-to 31 days in advance and still have some hope of saving the points. It's like most things, if you show that you are concerned with the situation as a whole, (i.e. your interests AND the renters interests) it makes the transaction less stressful for them. In turn, they will be more likely to make their payments on time. Like I said in another post, I did not want to use PayPal in the beginning. However, the woman that I was working with wanted to use PayPal for the convenience of charging. She was willing to send a certified check if that was what I preferred, but because I wanted her to feel comfortable with the situation, I signed up. I'm glad that I did now. Not because I think PayPal is good bad or otherwise, but because it makes me available to more renters. In reality, I will rarely be renting points, so it won't affect me that much. This year just happened to work out that way.