After registering and becoming verified for a business account with paypal, I realised that they automatically set all accounts up to use a CREDIT CARD (which incurs charges to the seller)rather than using the INSTANT BANK TRANSFER option (FREE & available to people who go through the verify process, which can take a few weeks but is worth it in the long run!)

Unless you take the time as a seller to outline this detail in every listing....(And its not foolproof because many buyers cant be bothered to read the sellers instructions before making a payment)  you will automatically get buyers just clicking the "pay now" button, usually linked to their credit card, costing you a further percentage of your winnings and the "acceptance fee" plus the 3.4% interest on the winning bid etc....after listing fees and sellers fees on Ebay. 

IF YOU ARE A BUYER WITH A CERTIFIED PAYPAL ACCOUNT AND HAVE REGISTERED YOUR CREDIT CARD, PLEASE AMEND YOUR SETTINGS TO "PAY BY INSTANT BANK TRANSFER"  (Aren't we all paying enough out in fees already??!!)

If like me you sell smaller items like beads for example, Paypal is just no good to complete sales with.

If you take the time to get a current bank account verified with paypal, you can help bring the costs down to your seller,(and in turn, down for everyone) 

How it works....

Paypal show that they have put two small sums of cash into your account (ex. 12p & 32p).  Once you see these on your statement, you simply phone the confirmation phone number and enter these as a four digit pin code,followed by hashkey.

So 12p & 32p would be 1232#.

You will hear a pre-recorded confirmation message to say that you are now verified etc.  Then you just log back into your paypal account to change your account settings. (Meanwhile, paypal activate your account their end with the confirmation that you are verified).  Getting verified means that little bit of extra insurance should a sale go horribly wrong.

You can help avoid paying sellers charges by encouraging your bidders to change the way you make a payment with paypal by ............

1. When you click "pay now" and you are taken to the paypal login page....sign in.

2. Then it reads..."Confirm your payment".  Go to the bottom of the page, on the LEFT you will see it reads..."Payment Method" 

3. If this reads "funding source : visa/mastercard"...etc  click underneath where it says "more funding options".  You can then choose to pay via DIRECT BANK TRANSFER

An E-cheque is also free to transact, and works in a similar way, but may take up to 14 days to clear through the banks. Most sellers will happily wait for this transaction as long as you email them first to let them know when to expect it to clear.  They can see the progress of the transaction by logging into their own paypal account, and are notified by email as soon as it clears automatically.

Paypal now say that only Business account holders can accept payments with credit/debit cards.  The fees are as follows...

Personal accounts are not charged any fees for receiving payments that aren't done with a credit/debit card.  You can only take credit/debit payments if you upgrade to a business or premier account, for which each transaction will be charged under the revised performance fee structure.  The standard rate for domestic payments taken by UK based merchants is 3.4% and the merchant rates start at 2.9%.....

Bottom line is, that as a seller you have to upgrade to accept any credit card payments and pay a charge on top. 

If everyone got their personal bank accounts verified, and only paid by using "DIRECT BANK TRANSFERS"... then nobody would have to upgrade to sellers/premium accounts and pay all of those extra charges!

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