Paypal

[Seahorse]

Ok, Im showing my complete stupidity here.


When I think of paypal it makes sense to set up an account and pay, from what Ive been told, by communicating via emails to/from the seller.

But what if I wanted to get money out of the paypal account?Is it real money?Cyber money?Are they just figures in a computer?
I dont get it!!Is the paypal account attatched to the registered person already existing bank account?

Feel free to laugh and point but I just dont understand how it works.

[swirlyarts]

You set up a paypal account to either pay for things or receive money from people. You can set up a credit card against it for the initial purchases you wish to make - obviously when you start making money people pay into your paypal account and as it builds up then you can use that money to pay for your own things. You pay comission (can't remember how much it is) when you receive money but not when you pay for things. You can take your money out but I think (and I'm not sure about this) it has to be at £50 before you can do so. What I love about paypal is that it does all the money transfers into other currency's for you so you don't even have to think about it! Also it means that people from abroad are more likely to buy from you as paypal changes the currency for them and they don't have to faff around for a cheque etc. Good point to note too is not to accept cheques from overseas unless they are in sterling as many banks (if not all) charge you to pay it into your account and it's normally about £20.
Hope this helps and isn't too waffly!!

[Seahorse]

So if you want to use it to buy things there has to be money in there to begin with?
So when you set it up does it ask for an amount of money and the card details of how to get it?

[swirlyarts]

Basically you put your credit card details on there for when you want to pay for things - I would imagine that you can put your bank details on there too but I would always stick a credit card on there. You have to set it up using a credit card even if you are a seller because they will need to collect the fees and if you don't have any money in your account cos you've spent it all then they need a credit card to fall back on. Their website is very good if you go and have a look.

[Seahorse]

Sorry, yep, I get my credit and bank talk mixed up.
Credit card is what I meant.Thanks, Ive only seen the first couple of pages.

Sometimes when i pay for things via the internet I get a confirmation email and it says Ive paid by paypal!How si that possible without an account?!

[swirlyarts]

Oooh - don't know about that! Does the money come off your card anyway? I'm assuming that you are buying things and the confirmation emails aren't just flying around out of nowhere??

[nattynetty]

Sometimes when i pay for things via the internet I get a confirmation email and it says Ive paid by paypal!How si that possible without an account?!

Yep absolutely possible. When a customer of mine selects the Paypal option as their payment method they have a choice of either using their Paypal account (if they have one) or paying with their credit card. I think it's only been a year or so that you've been able to make payments with Paypal direct thru credit card without having to open an account.

Hope that explains it a bit now I'm off to bury my head in paperwork and spreadsheets for the rest of the day

[Lianne86]

You can use your credit card to pay via paypal if that makes sense? You know how sometimes when you order from a website and it might direct you to "World Pay" or a similar site like that?

So you use your credit card and paypal takes the money off of it and puts it into the sellers account. They can then transfer it to their bank account if they want to, or just use the money in the paypal account to directly pay somebody else.

In order to recieve the money you need to authorise your bank account, this is done by them putting two small sums of money into the account and then you have to say how much it is. Obviously so that they can confirm that its yours and no-one elses.

Does that make sense...?

[The Sewing Forum]

I have been using PayPal for years, first when it was US focused and now with its UK based services and I am pleased to see increasing number of sites making use of it.

It is great for small businesses (and sole traders making craft items for sale) as it is much more practical to setup and use than most credit card processing facilities. Since it is now owner outright by ebay (which is a huge company) it is pretty solid finacially.

My wife has her own account and several forums I run have accounts.

I have no problem keeping my bank account and credit/debit card details registered to PayPal. When I pay for things, it takes it from by card automatically.

I have never had any problems with PayPal in all the years I have used them.

For people paying you, they can pay using PayPal with a credit card without even joining paypal now. If they have a paypal account it means they can pay just by signing in. One of the reasons I like it is that when I am buying things online, if they take PayPal it means I do not have to fetch my wallet and read my credit card in bad light, I can just sign into my paypal account at the right moment and all is taken care of automatically.

My wife used it for her couture dressmaking business for years. She even used it with customer present to process credit card transactions live online rather than investing in an overpriced terminal.

Anytime you want money out, it is a simple matter to withdraw money to your registered bank account. Many banks could learn a thing or two about useability from PayPal.

You can even pay for things from your mobile now.

TSF