-- Well, just popped in for a coffee and hey guess what - I wrote a review! Its been a while, but I...
-- Well, just popped in for a coffee and hey guess what - I wrote a review! Its been a while, but I think I've still got the hang of it....
Member since:06.07.2000
Reviews:379
Members who trust:272
Right this is for all of you who buy and sell in Internet auctions - or take part in any of the Web rewards programs - Pay to Surf, read email etc etc. Paypal is a MUST !
You must have seen the logo while you have been browsing an Auction site. You’ve probably also seen it as a payment option, if ever you discover a ‘rewards program’ that actually pays. Well, Paypal is a long established and highly reputable system whereby people can pay you securely and easily, just by responding to an email ‘payment request’. Additionally, you can, of course pay for goods and services yourself by this method or send a cash gift to a friend across the other side of the world.
• NOW AVAILABLE TO US ‘JOHNNY FOREIGNERS’ Initially Paypal was set up for and to be used by US and Canada residents. The principle is simple. You have an ‘account’ – not the same as, but also not unlike, a Bank account. You can fund that account by registering
your credit card or if in the US, your regular checking account. Since November 1st 2000, Paypal has opened itself up to many of us ‘internationals’. Despite a few teething troubles, Paypal members in the UK and Europe now have the facility to link their Cheque account to their Paypal account. This has the effect that although PP balances are only held and shown in US Dollars, you can withdraw your funds – by a simple click of the correct button on the website – and receive them into either your Mastercard or Visa credit card or direct into your Bank account. It also works the other way too, of course. So let’s say you are interesting in bidding for an item on EBAY or any other auction site for that matter. You have several alternatives. You could pay for your goods direct from your Credit Card. You could get your Bank to raise a US $ Money order or simply withdraw from your Paypal account. If there is not enough in there – you can instruct Paypal to top up your account from whichever source is registered with them – your C/C or your Bank balance.
• PERFECT FOR AUCTIONS For those of you, like me, that buy and sell over the internet, using the various auction sites, it’s definitely a timesaver. For instance, if I have sold an item to a US Bidder, I can send them a Paypal ‘payment request’ by email now. They receive it, act on it, debit their own Paypal account – mine is credited and Paypal advise me immediately by email. I can despatch the bidder’s good today! No waiting for the post and more importantly, no paying bank fees for converting a $20 US Cheque (and leaving you with nothing).
• EASY TO OPEN ACCOUNT You can open an account easily. You do need to register a bank account or credit card with them at first as they send through a couple of small credits to your account, just to verify a) that you exist and b) that the account itself exists. It takes no more than a week for your Paypal account to be set up. You do not need to fund it straightaway, so if you are an auction trader or using a rewards program like Delta Click, Coins2Cash or any other of a number who are increasingly switching to Paypal as a quicker and more cost effective way to pay members – you could wait until you have something in your account.
Well over 4 million people use Paypal worldwide and it has become one of the major and trusted forms of settlement in the Internet Auction world.
• SHOP ONLINE WITH PAYPAL But it has more facilities coming on stream. More and more Internet ‘shops’ are accepting Paypal as a payment option – at latest count over 8000 websites use Paypal’s services. So you can use your account to it to shop online too and maybe pick up a bargain in US $?
And there lies the one drawback or for some people big advantage. Paypal ONLY Operates in US $. The advantage is for people like me who receive payments in Dollars, but would rather not receive a bank cheque to pay into my UK Bank account, because I will get charged commission – invariably almost as much as the cheque itself!. UK Banks charge around £7 to convert a US $ Cheque to sterling – that’s around $10. So you can see I would have very little to benefit from selling an item on EBAY for $15 . With Paypal I can sell for $15, get that amount paid into my PP account and let it mount up along with other payments, until, I wish to withdraw, say $200 – transfer it easily and quickly onto my credit card or into my UK Bank account.
• BUT WHY NOT JUST OPEN A US DOLLAR BANK ACCOUNT?? Because US Banks will only open accounts – even online ones – for US residents or US Ex-pats. Another alternative is to open a US $ account with a UK Bank – BUT They usually require a minimum deposit of at least $1000 or worse still, a minimum balance at all times of that figure.
• PROBLEM SOLVED So Paypal solves a problem for many small online ‘traders’ or rewards program users. Currently established programs like DELTA CLICK, REFREWARDS, CASHSURFERS etc will pay direct to your Paypal account (YES there still are some programs that actually pay!). Add to that a number of new companies that are offering it as a main option, you can see that your Paypal account could become increasingly useful.
• WANT MORE DETAILS? I do not intend in going through the whole ‘;bricks and mortar’ of how Paypal works. Suffice to say – IT WORKS. Visit the website at www.paypal.com and take a look around. The site is easy to navigate – although one fault that Paypal can be accused of is it’s ‘back up’.. They do sometimes – I’m told – take a while to answer email queries. But certainly in my own experience, I’ve had nothing but top-notch service and not a problem. But I thought I’d just mention that point for any of you sceptics (aren’t we all, at times ?).
As I said this is a widely used, reputable and trustworthy program that could prove invaluable to many of you with interests like me. Got to be worth your while checking out.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I didn't sign up with PayPal, but I heard that some people have had very bad experiences. See also: http://paypalsucks.com and http://www.worldaheadpublishing.com/titles/ppw.php (The PayPal Wars: Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth).
May 1st, 2001
(May 6th, 2001)
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (3%):
