First X.COM, now PAYPAL has new rules changes that suck

[jeoff]

This was pulled off of the PAYPAL web site. There is a "policy changes" link on the left side once you log in

Policy Changes
PayPal is a business that serves a new and exciting market. As that market changes, our business evolves. This page is dedicated to informing users in advance of important changes to the PayPal service, its terms of use or other policies.

As our business matures, we expect to get better at aligning the costs of providing our service with the greatest sources of expense (for example, credit card processing). A number of the policy changes below are designed to encourage users either to avoid, or to pay for, these costs. This provides the right incentives for everyone and ensures that PayPal will remain the lowest-cost way to pay on the internet.

International Payments Free for Domestic Users
Entry Date: October 2, 2000
Effective Date: October 31, 2000

PayPal plans to introduce the ability to send money to, and receive money from, international users in 26 countries by Halloween. There will be no additional fees for domestic customers to send or receive international payments.

New Credit Card Payments Received Limit for Personal Accounts Only
Entry Date: October 2, 2000
Effective Date: October 16, 2000

In order to reduce the cost of credit card processing associated with accounts that do not pay fees, on Monday October 16, PayPal will introduce a new limit on Personal Accounts: a $500 limit on receiving credit card payments every six months. Payments funded from the sender's bank account or existing PayPal account balance will not count against the recipient's limit. Recipients exceeding the $500 limit will no longer be able to accept credit card payments unless they choose to upgrade to a Premier or Business Account. Credit card payments sent to a Personal Account in excess of the limit will be held as "pending" until the recipient chooses to accept the payment by upgrading or to return it to the sender by refusing the payment. Personal Accounts exceeding the limit will still be able to receive payments funded from a bank account or existing PayPal account balance.

Referral Bonus Change for Personal Accounts Only
Entry Date: October 2, 2000
Effective Date: October 9, 2000

In order to encourage users to upgrade their accounts, as of Monday, October 9, only Premier and Business Accounts will be eligible to receive $5 bonuses for referring new users to PayPal. Referral Bonuses will continue to be paid as soon as new users Verify their account. The Referral Bonus promotion continues to be a limited-time offer.

Signup Bonus Change
Entry Date: October 2, 2000
Effective Date: October 9, 2000

On Monday, October 9, PayPal will modify its Signup Bonus requirements to encourage new users to reduce credit card spending by pre-loading their PayPal account. New users will receive a $5 bonus when they Verify their PayPal account and transfer $50 from a bank account to their PayPal account. In November, PayPal plans to introduce money market rates of return on PayPal balances. The Signup Bonus promotion continues to be a limited-time offer.

Spending Limit Changes for New Users Only
Entry Date: October 2, 2000
Effective Date: October 9, 2000

In order to encourage new users to Verify their accounts, PayPal is reducing its $500 initial spending limit to $250 for users who register after Monday, October 9. Once users Verify their account, the $250 limit will be lifted. Verified users have no limit on credit card payments to Premier and Business Accounts, or on payments funded with a bank account. However, a $1,000 spending limit will apply on credit card payments sent to Personal Accounts. This change will not impact existing PayPal users, or users of Web Accept or Instant Purchase for Auctions.

 

[cremefilled]

Thanks for the info. I'm not particularly bothered by these new rules; it's more a matter of wistfully remembering the $10 referral days, when the bonus only required a credit card (now requires a bank account _and_ account transfer) to sign up. I always knew this was a firm to be wary of.

Can anyone recommend any other payment services?

 

[da bastard]

Dam.... Anyone know if they will give us a notice before they charge for transactions? I am getting kinda of edgy on having money in there....

*scratches head*
Wait a tic... from these posts the answer will be of course not, it will just happen one day.

 

[Branded]

ignore

 

[Branded]

Sellers (receivers) using paypal will now have a $500 receiving limit, and then will get a notice that they will have to change their account to business to receive any money being sent via credit card over that amount. Then they will have to pay (lose) around 2% for every credit card amount received. I guess one could try to charge that back to a buyer, but that would be confusing to say "use paypal account balance for free, credit card for 2% surcharge". I guess a seller could charge a flat 2% for purchases via paypal, or just eat the cost.

 

[android]

What other services are an alternative to Paypal? I've used Payplace a few times, and they seemed okay.

 

[rebuilder]

Whatever you do, don't charge your e*bay customer the 1.9% surcharge.

They sent me a nasty note and cancelled my remaining auctions because I had put in my terms last week that if the buyer uses Paypal there will be an additional 1.9% surcharge.

They said it's against California law?

Whatever!

 

[DVDoholic]

ExchangePath

 

[Lore]

Wait, what does that mean exactly for us sellers? Does that mean if we can only sell a total of $500 worth of products every 6 months, if the buyers are paying via credit card? That's like, two CPUs. Is that what they mean?

 

[Floyd]

Well, I was getting concerned X.com would ruin Paypal before long, seeing what members have reported here the last couple of days. It looks like I'll be closing my Paypal account now. If I can't receive more than $500 in payments in a 6 month period without incurring fees, then it's of no use to me. Five hundred bucks in six months is nothing, anyone who eb@ys even a handful of items (particularly computer equip) will easily surpass this limit. These new policies certainly run counter to the attractive company credo they have been proudly advertising.

Thanks, Paypal, for changing horses mid-stream. Lets hope they sink.

Best regards,
Floyd

 

[SuperRob]

Just closed my account. By the way, you can do that after you login by clicking this link.

Choose "Close my account" from the Subject dropdown.

Here's what I told them ...

"I want to close my account. I will not abide by the new facist policies put into place in order to FORCE users to upgrade accounts to a fee-based system. The only upside to PayPal was that it was free, and you've effectively eliminated that entirely.

"Please remove ALL account information pertaining to me from your database."

 

[rebuilder]

I actually don't mind the 1.9% on small ticket items, I will just specify that over a certain dollar amount will need alternate funds (cashier's,m.o's, etc)

I love paypal because it's just good clean selling.

 

[SuperRob]

Here's how to close if you don't want to bother sending them a notice on why.

1. Log into your account. You can do this by visiting PayPal and entering your email address and password in the Member Login box.

2. Click the "Profile" subtab.

3. Click the "Close account" link on the left of the screen.

4. Click the "Continue" button.

5. Click the "Cancel Account" button.

 

[MikeyTsi]

For those that are interested, here's how you close your account (from the PayPal e-mail I got, I decided to leave out all of the "Why you should reconsider" crap):

If you've decided you want to close down your PayPal account,
please follow these instructions:

1. Log into your account. You can do this by visiting
http://www.paypal.com and entering your email address and
password in the Member Login box.

2. Click the "Profile" subtab.

3. Click the "Close account" link on the left of the screen.

4. Click the "Continue" button.

5. Click the "Cancel Account" button.

 

[biennerienno]

if i use paypal to send people money using my debit/credit card, am i gonna have to pay money

 

[darrenford]

Guys, I think you are being a little extreme here.

I am not a seller, so maybe this is easy for me to say, but 1.9% isn't that bad. Look at what you pay for credit card transactions. Somebody has to pay it, and up until now, its been paypal. I'll bet its still cheaper through paypal because they get a better rate. Even WalMart tries to nag you to using a debit card by asking you several times when you swipe your credit card. (The cashier told us their rate is a flat $1.50 per transaction).

Either paypal makes money or they go out of business.

 

[Soybomb]

<< The cashier told us their rate is a flat $1.50 per transaction) >>


I'm pretty sure it depends on the card in question but I always have heard it was between 1-2% of the total transaction...

How i wish i was a credit card company!

 

[Dantzig]

The gas station I worked for paid 3-5% depend on the card type.

 

[sleepwalker]

Anyone ever try to use Yahoo Pay Direct

 

[kc]

You guys are way over reacted.

To me, paypal is nice enough to offer such a superb service from the beginning. Even if they charge 1.9%, it is still cheaper than billpoint, iescrow, or payplace on small ticket items. They have done a superb job on marketing their name and it is time for them to change their model to make some money out of it. If you think it is right for you to SBAYING the cheap items you found here, then NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THAT! kc

 

[burnedout]

While the new 1.9 percent charges are ate up, it's still cheaper than a merchant's account which is 3 percent when you start out.

Personally, I'm not looking forward to the new charges either. But, I won't close my account. Maybe find an alternative to go right along with it.

Thanks for the heads up and the links to some of the other services.

 

[SuperRob]

Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. I'm just not going to use it anymore. It's no longer a &quot;hot deal&quot; to me, like it used to be. I'm not going to allow them to take money out of my pocket, so to speak, just so my best friend and I can settle the occasional debt. That's ridiculous, and I refuse to use the &quot;service&quot; anymore.

 

[AMD4SPEED]

Yahoo Pay Direct is another alternative. It's free right now to send and receive money, but in the &quot;How It Works&quot;, it states under fees:

Fees
There is no fee for creating and using your Yahoo! PayDirect account. In the future, transaction fees may apply, but you will be notified before they are put into effect.

Please note that Yahoo! PayDirect does not control fees or charges that may be imposed by financial institutions for debits or credits to credit cards, ATM/check cards, or deposit accounts held with those institutions.

It works the same way PayPal does.

Yahoo is GREAT!

 

[Josh]

Is this a hot deal?

 

[namlook]

Watch out joshpokeball. I posted the same question in the X.com bitch session thread and had to put on my flame-retardant fire suit.

There's still a way to charge the buyer on E*bay the 2%. Just say in the ad you will accept money orders and cashiers checks. Then in the description you can state &quot;payment by credit card via paypal is accepted under certain conditions - please inquire.&quot; No need to say what the conditions are in the ad. When the buyer asks about it tell them you will accept payment by CC but they need to add 1.9% to cover your costs. If they don't want to do this that's fine - they can pay by money order.