What's the deal with paypal?

[coriolis]

I'm won an item on ebay. The seller is in Tiawan. His auction said that he takes money orders, which I usually use. He asked if I could pay another way because it would be over a month before it would clear. I've been looking for an excuse to open a paypal account.

I have a basic understanding about how it works. Would it be best to open a separate checking account dedicated to paypal, to keep it seperate from other funds?

Is it best to keep only a minimum amount in the account?

Have there been cases of unauthorized withdrawls via paypal?

I may not be able to make all this happen in time, I'm looking into Western Union as an alternative.

I don't use a credit card, but my ATM cards have the visa logo as a debit card. Would I be able to use the debit card as a visa purchase in this case?

Your input appreciated......

[Stormsfury]

I'm won an item on ebay. The seller is in Tiawan. His auction said that he takes money orders, which I usually use. He asked if I could pay another way because it would be over a month before it would clear. I've been looking for an excuse to open a paypal account.

This could be an ok idea ... but I really shy away from paypal accounts b/c of many horror stories in dealing w/my postal customers on a regular basis ... no less than 5 of my customers that are E-Bay clients have had their identity stolen and you guessed it ... accounts cleared out ....

I have a basic understanding about how it works. Would it be best to open a separate checking account dedicated to paypal, to keep it seperate from other funds?

Absolutely YES ...

Is it best to keep only a minimum amount in the account?

Absolutely YES ...

Have there been cases of unauthorized withdrawls via paypal?

Absolutely YES ...

I may not be able to make all this happen in time, I'm looking into Western Union as an alternative.

I can't offer any advice on Western Union, but it SHOULD be a dependable means to exchange/wire money ....

I don't use a credit card, but my ATM cards have the visa logo as a debit card. Would I be able to use the debit card as a visa purchase in this case?

Yes ... all debit cards that have a MasterCard or a Visa logo can be used for purchases (as credit cards) ... I don't have any credit cards, but they will work for purchases requiring a credit card (from reputable businesses)...

Hope this helps out ...

SF

[southerngale]

Wow SF, that's scary. I've used Paypal for years and I've had excellent service with Paypal and no problems at all. Also, I don't know of anyone else who has had any problems like you mentioned. But I don't work in a post office either.

[Guest]

I've been using paypal for at least 2 years now and haven't had problems. You don't have to link a checking account to paypal. You can use just a credit card instead. I find security in using the credit card in case there is unauthorized use of your account, you can just dispute the charges with the credit card company. It only take a few minutes to open the account so you should be able to open the account and pay your seller tonight if you so choose.
...Jennifer...

[Stormsfury]

I do have to clarify and with a lot of people that I've come in contact with, MOST don't have problems... but some do, and the area that I work in is relative to some of the higher # of incidents. There are a good portion of residents in the area that are in the "high-income" tax-bracket, so-to-speak, and also are/have businesses as well ... and believe me, with several of my regular customers confiding in me about some problems, it's downright disturbing ... and part of the reason why I will likely never get a paypal account ...

Earlier this year, the area had a rash of identity thefts via stolen mail locally, including an identity stolen just a mere walking distance away from moi ...

Internet transactions are generally pretty safe, but w/anything, there will always be risks ...

SF

[Amanzi]

I have used paypal for years, and never had any problems. The only thing that did happen was, we kept getting emails to please update our account info. Something did not make sense with me, so I sent an email to paypals customer services, they said it was not a verified paypal request, and that we should never respond to any email requesting for verification of information once we have been validated from our initial opening of the account. After that incident Paypal did send out an email stating that some paypal customers were receiving these fictious emails to get peoples bank info. It is so easy to cut and paste logos into an email... Im sure loads of people innocently did reply to the request... My rule of thumb is never answer those kinds of emails without questioning EVERYthing in it!

Other than that I have never had a moments trouble with them. I do also use my debit card and not a credit card.

I have never used western union, but I have done wire transfers through the bank before and the transfer and exchange rate fees were astronomical!

[Stephanie]

I've used Paypal for the past two years and haven't had a problem either. I don't use it often and it is linked to my checking account. I wonder if the problems that Mike had been describing have to do with mostly EBay.

[southerngale]

Bron...I've gotten those emails as well and others pretending to be Ebay titled "Account Verification Required" - saying I must click their link and update my information or my account will be suspended. I guess some people may fall for that and that's where trouble starts. Ebay has a specific place where you can send these fake emails to and they say that they will never send an email asking for that kind of information. Paypal is the same way. Anything you ever need to change or update can and should be done by you going to their site on your own, not clicking on some link in an email. I reported one of the Ebay ones just this morning and they replied saying they are sending it to the proper authorities, etc.

Here's a fake Ebay email. It's easy to see why some may think it's real.

Dear eBay member,

We are unable to verify you identity using the information we already have on file. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring you are required to confirm your registration information. To speed up this process, you must follow the link below, sign in and fill in the required fields.

https://signin.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?SignIn
(To complete the verification process you must fill in all the required fields)

Please Note: If your account information is not updated within the next 48 hours, then we will assume this account is fraudulent and will be suspended. We apologize for this inconvenience, but the purpose of this verification is to ensure that your eBay account has not been fraudulently used and to combat fraud.

We appreciate your support and understanding, as we work together to keep eBay a safe place to trade.

Thank you for your attention on this serious matter. We apologize for any delay in resolving this situation.

Regards,

SafeHarbor Department
eBay Inc.



Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
eBay treats your personal information with the utmost care, and our Privacy Policy is designed to protect you and your information.

Copyright © 2004 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc. eBay is located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125.

[alicia-w]

Never any problems with Paypal. Western Union is SO expensive. We bought a chess set from a guy in China and what a cluster that turned out to be.