Jenny in GA Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 After yet another e-mail of someone saying, "Sorry, I don't want to buy your books after all. I only use PayPal," I guess I'd better take the leap if at possible. But I don't get it. Here's the thing ... I already have an account. That's the easy part. And then I see a section asking you to enter your bank account number. I showed it to my husband and he said, "Hell, no!" (and I agree) So ... is there a way to use PayPal without giving that info? I have looked and looked at the site and don't see anything else, or any other information. And how do you USE PayPal, exactly? Let's say someone buys a book from me and uses PayPal ... where IS the money? How do I access it? And if I make a purchase with PayPal ... where does the money COME from, if I ask to PayPal to send that person money? I guess you have to enter your bank info in order to use it ...? I guess I must be really dense, because EVERYBODY here seems to use Paypal and I've never seen anybody ask how it works. I really love the idea of selling and buying books and hate that this PayPal situation is holding me back. Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I think Paypal now requires that you either supply a bank account OR get a PayPal credit card. They used to allow accounts with any credit card, but stopped that awhile back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springmama Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I don't think you can get around it without linking it to another bank, but honestly Paypal is nothing to be afraid of. I love it. It is a real bank, just like the one you use locally. I just dump my paypal money into my checking account once a week or so, but I also have a paypal debit card so I can spend the money immediately if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 The money comes directly from my bank account to pay for Paypal items. Personally, I love it, and prefer shopping with it. When I shop online, it's so much more reassuring to me to not have to put in credit card info, and instead click the Paypal button. When I sell something and take a Paypal payment, I have a choice to either leave the money in my paypal account for other purchases, or I transfer it to my bank account. I've been using Paypal for over ten years and have never had issues. I feel very secure using Paypal. I shop online a lot, and it's so much better for my peace of mind to not have my CC numbers "out there" over and over and over. The merchants I shop from never get any kind of financial information by using Paypal- no credit card #, no bank account#, etc. It's all handled by Paypal and is very secure. If I ever have an issue, (which I haven't) my purchase would be protected by Paypal as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuzu822 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 If you don't want PayPal linked to your primary bank account, you could open a separate one just for buying and selling online. That's what my mom did, but I agree with PP that I feel very secure using PayPal. Convenient, safe, and easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I don't use paypal either - I've heard too many stories of them taking funds back out of your paypal account or charging unexpected charges to your bank account. Plus I really don't agree with some of the organizations they support. I've found that a lot of people are willing to send an Amazon gift card as payment instead - maybe that would work for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 If you don't want PayPal linked to your primary bank account, you could open a separate one just for buying and selling online. That's what my mom did, but I agree with PP that I feel very secure using PayPal. Convenient, safe, and easy! This is what I do - I have my own account that's not tied to dh and my joint account - that I use for Paypal. I've had it for at least 10 years now and haven't had any issues with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I think ours is just linked to our credit card, not our b/acct. I sold something recently and they did deduct a fee because the buyer used credit-card paypal. I'm not thrilled with the extra fee, but it seems the way most people want to purchase now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 If you don't want PayPal linked to your primary bank account, you could open a separate one just for buying and selling online. That's what my mom did, but I agree with PP that I feel very secure using PayPal. Convenient, safe, and easy! :iagree: This is what I did, too. I opened a separate bank account that I use for online stuff only. PayPal is linked to that account only. It takes a few days or so to get the PayPal account set up. I recall that PayPal deposited a few cents (literally) into my account on two different occasions that I had to verify - thus verifying all of the information. Once it's verified, you're good to go! To get your money out, you click the appropriate link for transferring funds to your bank account. It takes three-to-five business days for the transfer to go through. Unless it's a busy time of year, my transfers have generally been done in three business days. Once it's in your online-only bank account, you use it just like any other bank account. You can write checks on it, take the cash out, or have it transferred to your primary bank account. I recommend removing enough of it from your bank account so that you do not maintain a high balance on either PayPal or the bank account attached to PayPal. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but I need to be careful as every penny matters in this household as we are overwhelmed right now. I keep just enough in the bank account in case I need to transfer money to PayPal and also to keep the bank account open. I keep enough money in PayPal to cover online expenses. In other words, my account isn't worth hacking into. I was VERY hesitant to open a PayPal account! After a friend of mine explained it to me (over and over :001_smile:) - and was so very gracious to order a book for me on her account - I decided to take the plunge. That was at least five years ago (maybe more) and I've been very pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I think ours is just linked to our credit card, not our b/acct. I sold something recently and they did deduct a fee because the buyer used credit-card paypal. I'm not thrilled with the extra fee, but it seems the way most people want to purchase now. IF my understanding is correct, there is always a fee, whether the buyer uses a credit card or not. When I first joined PayPal, there was only a fee for credit card purchases, but I think that changed to any kind of payment. The fee is 2.9% of the total PLUS 0.30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Hut Mom Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Thanks for the details on the fee and to everyone who explained what Paypal is, how it works, and the safety that it grants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 IF my understanding is correct, there is always a fee, whether the buyer uses a credit card or not. When I first joined PayPal, there was only a fee for credit card purchases, but I think that changed to any kind of payment. The fee is 2.9% of the total PLUS 0.30. Yes, there is a fee. And you can NOT ask for personal (fee free) paypal for payments-it's against their user agreement. It's really nothing to be worried about, OP. I ahve dealt with fraud twice and both times paypal was extremely good about dealing with it. They are on your side! If you are still worried, get the key card so that it really drops any chance of fraud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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