Since 2003, I have had many experiences dealing with PayPal both as an independent online retailer and as an eBay seller. This article will contain all of those experiences and my overall opinion of PayPal’s services.
I opened my first PayPal account in 2003 in an attempt do get in on the excitement of eBay, although it was at a time when people were flooding eBay with millions of products. I literally spent about 2 weeks searching for a supplier of laptops that would guarantee that I could make some money even on a price-competitive site like eBay. I had arranged a drop-shipping technique where I would call the company, they would charge my credit card, and then they would send the laptop to my buyer. I didn’t even need to lift a box or ship anything…it was perfect. I listed 5 high-end laptops that no one else was listing, and I waited.
After the 7 days of bidding, I was amazed at how much interest people were taking in my auctions, and the bid amounts were reflective of that. I was making a bunch of money…almost $300 per laptop! So now it was time to collect the payments from the buyers, and the “preferred” method of payment of eBay is PayPal. (PayPal was bought by eBay in 1999, so there’s no wonder why they “prefer” it.) The buyers paid me fairly quickly, and within 24 hours after the end of my auctions, I had nearly $8000 in my PayPal account. Almost $2000 of that was profit for me. I was ecstatic!
I had already prepared my PayPal account for receiving payments by:
- Opening a business account
- Verifying my email address
- Verifying my phone number and mailing address
- Adding a credit card to my account
- Adding my bank account and verifying that account via small deposit amounts
- Entering my social security number (to lift withdrawal limits)
In that list, there is a myriad of personal information requested for a website, but I understood that since PayPal is a financially secure site and deals with loads of money. I thought I was in the money and had found a very nice money-making niche on eBay. I had even spent some of that money, as I didn’t foresee any complications with a “reputed” site like PayPal and thought that money was as good as in my account. Man, was I wrong!
I initiated a withdrawal of those funds in the amount of the whole balance of my PayPal account. It was around $7900…almost $1600 per laptop. From my supplier, I was paying nearly $1200 for each laptop. The faster I had the money in my bank account, the faster I could have the laptops shipped to my buyers. I could then receive positive feedback through eBay and that would help me establish a good reputation as a seller.
PayPal initiated the deposit into my bank account and said it would take about 3 business days depending on the policies of my bank. I waited. I was constantly logging into my bank account to see if the money had been deposited. The day following, I received an email from PayPal saying that my account had been suspended due to unusual activity. I remember feeling like my heart was beating in my throat about 300 times per minute as I slowly read that email. What the hell had happened?!
When I logged into my PayPal account, the header said that my account was restricted and that I had to verify MORE information to be able to withdraw or receive funds or basically to do anything. I was told that all I had to do is supply PayPal with a few more things, then my account would be reinstated and could be used again. I looked at the list of things they wanted and I saw, “Provide an invoice of the items you are selling to verify that you actually own them.” This was a problem since I was drop-shipping the laptops. Hitch! I called PayPal directly on the phone, and they were the biggest jerks to me, acting like I was the one in error and that I had done something wrong. I explained my situation about drop-shipping and they basically told me that I had to give them an invoice. I described that I couldn’t do that until after I shipped the laptops, as my credit card would not be charged until I had the money to do so. I called many times hoping to get a person who would treat me like a customer and not a criminal. All of the PayPal employees acted the same…like assholes.
This situation perpetuated for 3 days, at which time my buyers were contacting me regarding the shipping status of the laptops. I had to explain what PayPal was doing and that I was highly disappointed with their service in every aspect. This was little consolation for people who forked over $1600 for a computer.
In the end, there was no flex from PayPal. They demanded that I have an invoice. I didn’t have one. I was screwed by eBay’s greater-than-a-bank subsidiary PayPal. You see, PayPal is not a bank and is not regulated by any government agency. They are not watched by anyone to make sure that they act a certain way. I saw a huge flaw in this. They could keep all of your money and you wouldn’t have any say in the matter. They would keep telling you to read the “Terms & Conditions” like they did to me. Basically, those terms say that you don’t have any rights on their website, and that they can freeze your cash with any reason and demand more information from you, not short of a blood sample. I was so pissed!
I let a year go by and I figured I would try the process again. I found a new drop-ship supplier for laptops. The whole thing was the same, except the laptops and specs had changed. But this time, I decided to sell only 3 laptops at a time to reduce the amount being sent to my PayPal account. After the last experience, I did a lot of research annd found that PayPal freezes accounts due to the amount of money being sent to it in a specific amount of time. so I was reducing the number and trying to keep it under $3000. It did not matter what I did. PayPal froze the account again, and I found myself in the same shitty verification process as before. At that time, I was so angry and irritated by PayPal that I started a website dedicated to complaints and resolutions about PayPal. (I removed it not long after due to a resolution of my erratic emotions.) Ha.
My experiences with PayPal and eBay have been very disappointing in all ways. Not only was I treated like trash, I lost very much money and an opportunity to build a small business online. I have since found alternate ways of transacting business online without PayPal’s money-mongering drama. I found another reputable online payment solution called AlertPay. Not only are they friendly to deal with on the telephone, but they actually try to help resolve any issues that may arise from online transactions. Their fees are similar to PayPal’s but when you factor in the difference in customer service, they blow PayPal out fo the water. Their service is ultra secure and their reputation is very well established.
To find out more about AlertPay, visit http://alertpay.pclove.us.
Tags: alertpay, paypal, web payments
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