Need Help with Paypal

[Loveless3173]

Hi,
>o< eh, sorry if I posted this in the wrong section first of all... >o> I hope I put it in the right place....

Ok... well, I probably sound dumb and all but I really have NEVER used Paypal and don't find what they have on the official website useful so I hope someone can help me here.

Most importantly, HOW do you use it?
I mean... do yo have to add your credit card to it and such? It says sign up is free but... once you start using it and such, are there fees?? IS it like a credit or debit card? Do you GET a card for it or only use it for onlilne and ONLY online?

Yes I'm probably just really stupid and need a hand to mouth tutorial, But I will be so deeply grateful to anyone that can explain it in the most simplest terms.

I'm asking now because my sister and I really need to sell something on another site outside of Ebay and well... I don't know how to do it. Although I do admit that I have been curious about it for some time.... anyways, Please can anyone please tell me in lamest terms what paypal is, How you use it or sign up for it and if there are any high fees and such afterwards.

... seriously. V.V;; I feel so dumb but... oh well. Any explanation is deeply appreciated.

Thank You!!!

[Munemasa Katagiri]

Hello!
As far as I know, sellers must register a valid credit card. If you are only a buyer you can use it w/o a credit card.

[cabbit_girl]

I have been using paypal for years and have never paid a fee.

however you are pretty much required to give them your bank account number.
You do not need to provide a credit card.

If you are buying something you can have the money sent from your bank account or a credit card, or your paypal balance.

If you are selling something, there are no fees to receive money if the buyer pays from their bank account or their paypal balance. There IS a fee if they pay you with their credit card though, but its pretty low.

Paypal can issue a credit card if you have a balance and want to use it IRL, however from what I've seen the credit card expires quickly if you do not use it. You do not lose your money, but it takes time for them to re-issue you a new card. and its only per your request.

You can also have your money you receive sent to your bank account, and that usually takes a few days, usually at no charge.

Just note there are 3 types of paypal accounts you can have, the personal account has no fees but you usually cannot accept credit card payments and there are limits on how much money you can send or receive. the other two accounts allow you to accept credit card payments but you pay a fee for all money you receive, even if it not a credit card payment.

[kinsugi]

No fees if you are PAYING for something; there are fees for selling but nothing like the gouging eBay does now.

Once you have a PayPal account you can send money to an email address and the recipient doesn't see any bank/credit card info. I use PayPal whenever an online merchant will accept it!

Oh, I see cabbit_girl did a great job of explaining! One warning... READ your buyer's payment info when it's sent and don't accept a credit card payment or PayPal will automatically convert you to a fee-based merchant account. As cabbit said... for EVERYTHING.

[KarumA]

What happens if you get a paypal account;

I use it a lot so I can explain a thing or two for you. This because getting one for me seemed a big hassle though it is very simple.

Once you fill out the form, use your bank account number for the paypal etc. then paypal will need you to activate and confirm your account it will send you like 1 cent to your bank account with an added message to the sending that contains a code you have to copy pasta in order to activate it.

From then on it is pretty simple; I have my account set that if I buy things the money will go through paypal and automatically off my bank account; so no it is not necessarily needed to first add money to your paypal and then be able to pay for your items.

There are no extra fees for having a paypal account, I have heard people having to pay a small fee of 1 dollar or so but in the many years I have used it I have never had to pay anything extra.

Also if you use paypal as a payment method keep recon with this; because I was in utter panic the first time I used it so I will save you from that; if you use paypal to pay for something and have it take the money off automatically then it will take at least a day before it gets taken off your bank account. After you paid for it with paypal you will receive several emails from them; evidence of the payment and that sort of thing and then it is confirmed that you paid, it just takes a little longer on their side to take it from your bank account.

Using it is easy, if for example you buy something on ebay and you get to the payment page most of the times you get automatically transfered to a paypal log in screen with all payment details, how much it is in your own currency and with a few click the payment is done. No need to fill in a while list of numbers just you having to log in and confirm.

[daniyagami]

An important note: all of these explanations that everybody is giving depends of your country. Some countries doesn't work with international bank deposits/payments so in this case your paypal account will work with an international credit card and not with a bank account. It's how it works in my country. So you need to check how it works for your country in the main paypal site.

[Loveless3173]

Thank You SO, SO much!!
This was LOTS of help!!
Thank You so much for responding, everyone!

An important note: all of these explanations that everybody is giving depends of your country. Some countries doesn't work with international bank deposits/payments so in this case your paypal account will work with an international credit card and not with a bank account. It's how it works in my country. So you need to check how it works for your country in the main paypal site.

Alright cool! I'll be sure to look at that.
I'm in the U.S. so I hope that there won't be huge blocks or problems with international banks. Please feel free to post any other comments you think I might need to know.

Thank You so much again! ♥

[sawwie-chan]

Just a note: the paypal account structure that cabbit_girl mentioned no longer makes any difference in terms of whether you pay fees or not (as of one or two years ago).

When you accept payment as a seller, you will be paying fees regardless of the type of payment (credit card/bank account etc) or paypal account that you have.

Whether you pay/not pay fees will depend on the form of payment (different from the above 'type of payment') that the buyer sends. There are two forms: 'Online Purchases' and 'Personal Payment'.

'Online purchases' are payments that you send/receive when you sell/buy things.
These are covered by paypal's seller/buyer policy (can't remember which), but basically they encourage people to send money via this method in case of disputes later on. That and it's in their user agreement that you should send/receive payment this way when selling/buying things online. You can send an invoice to the buyer using this method.
The fees for sending/receiving this type of payment is charged to the seller (i.e. the person receiving this payment).
3.9% + 0.30c for cross-border (international) transactions.
2.9% + 0.30c for receiving money within the same country.
As long as you charge people using your own currency, you will not be affected by the paypal exchange rate (this will be charged to the buyer and you don't have to worry about it).

'Personal Payment' is when people send money to people they trust. This does not have/have much lower fees than the above but is not for selling/buying things (supposedly, but people still use it to avoid fees). You cannot send an invoice to the buyer using this method.
Fees:
No fees If
- you are sending/receiving money that comes from bank account funds or paypal funds
AND
- you are sending/receiving money in the same country.

1% Fee If (this is for the US only, other countries have different percentage)
- you are sending/receiving money that comes from bank account funds or paypal funds
And
- you are receiving money from another country.
This fee can be paid for by the buyer (they have the option to choose to pay it) or the fee can be deducted from the money you receive (paid by you).

2.9% to 3.9% + 0.30c Fee If
- you are sending/receiving money that comes from credit/debit cards.
This is essentially the same as 'online payment' fee above, except that the buyer holds the power as to who pays the fee.


The site below helps you calculate the fees etc:
PayPal Fee Calculator by Ryan Olbe


The above is fees for receiving payment. There's also fees for withdrawing payment from your paypal account to your bank. But luckily, it's free for USA.