eBay® PowerSeller Business Practices FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter 37. Working with PayPal to Increase Your Bottom Line

In This Practice

• Knowing PayPal's workings

• Understanding the payment methods

• Deciding on your PayPal account level

If you're in the business of selling a product, you have to take credit cards, plain and simple. When you want to pay for something yourself, don't you often opt to pay with a credit card — even if the price of the item you want is a dollar or so more? Online shoppers loathe sending money orders (or even checks) to strangers these days. The protection a consumer gets from the credit card companies has been emblazoned on our brains by constant advertising. We equate using a credit card with safety. That's where PayPal comes in.

If you want more sales and higher bids, you need to make PayPal your first payment option.

Note

If you've read any of my books, you know I've been a huge fan of PayPal from the beginning. PayPal is one of the safest and least expensive ways for a vendor to accept money over the Internet. For a small retailer, PayPal fees can be much more cost-effective than a credit card merchant account (as I explain in the next section).

Understanding How PayPal Works

Joining PayPal is just the beginning. It doesn't give $10 bonuses for signups any more, but the benefits far outweigh any fees charged to sellers. Also, there's no charge to send money to anyone. But if you plan on selling on eBay in earnest, you should know that as of 2008, all new eBay sellers, and sellers who sell items in high customer complaint ...