Paypal Online Payments - FAQs
Using Paypal part 2 of 2
Accept & use credit cards at ebay
and other websites - FREE!
See Using PayPal Part 1
How can Paypal offer free accounts?
What are the Business & Premier Account Features?
How do I get money from a Paypal account?
How do I pay someone using Paypal?
Is it really all that fast?
Why use direct deposit with Paypal?
How do I earn the referral bonuses?
What kind of credit cards does PayPal accept?
Can PayPal be used internationally?
Are there any hidden fees?
How safe is Paypal to use?
How do I get started?
How can Paypal do this for FREE?
Whenever people transfer funds via credit card into a Paypal account, interest accrues on that deposit, until the funds are withdrawn. The money can be taken out by you at any time, but they keep the interest- just as a bank would do with a checking account.
Paypal is banking on the fact (literally) that people will leave money in these accounts for a few extra minutes, hours, days, etc. before getting around to transferring it into their own personal bank accounts.
That interest grows fast with millions of Paypal users using the system everyday!
You can sign up for special programs (see Business & Premier accounts below) with Paypal, where you can receive interest from a money market account, or you can receive cash back by using a FREE Paypal MasterCard check card for purchases.
Paypal offers a lot of value added features for their business and premier accounts, so naturally there are small fees associated with them- but these fees are miniscule when you consider what you get, and when you compare them to some merchant accounts!
What are the Business and Premier Account features?
Remember their is no charge for you to SEND money. That's free. They do, however have small fees for Business and Premier accounts- the exact amount varies with each individual user.
Although you can still buy and sell online, or just send a friend or acquaintance a payment with a no fee Personal Account, it's still a much better deal with the added account services, as you generally have higher sending and receiving limits, more bank account & deposit features (like the money market feature for unused funds in your Paypal account), etc.
The Personal accounts do have lower sending and receiving limits, but not as many features. Business accounts can operate under a corporate logo, as well. Plus, with the Developer network, you can tailor PayPal to fit the exclusive look and feel of your own eCommerce website for a total enterprise solution.
This is just a fancy way of saying you can collect payments around the clock and distribute digital orders (or send physical goods later) with Paypal doing the heavy lifting with the shopping cart features... and yet your customers see your own brand and design on your site.
You can get creative with your use of Paypal for your business needs: sell digital product downloads like software, streaming video and MP3s, sell web services and subscriptions, or just use it for your ebay auctions. Its up to you!
For the peace of mind you get from not losing payments in the mail, as well as the speed and convenience with which you can get paid, it's well worth it as a seller using these added services- especially if you are doing a lot of business online!
See Paypal.com for more info on upgraded accounts.
How do I get money from a Paypal account?
When you register and set up your online account with Paypal, you are given two choices on how you want to receive funds from them: They will either send a check to an address that you indicate, or they will deposit money into your personal bank account. Or, you can leave it in your Paypal account to pay for auctions, ebay fees, bill payments online, etc.
Your Paypal account is linked to whatever bank, checking or credit card accounts you prefer. It's pretty flexible and powerful. The moment you receive a payment, you can then opt to send it to a checking account- it usually takes most banks a day or so to approve & accept the funds.
If you prefer, you can pay for goods or get cash immediately from the Paypal MasterCard Check card. This is our favorite method, because as soon as the buyer sends the money and it hits your account, it's available RIGHT THEN.
Of course, you can use the money in the Paypal account for an auction purchase or fee payment at ebay, Amazon, or other auction site, or you can send the money by e-mail to a friend for a movie ticket, or to an out of town colleague for a business meal or other expense- their are endless payment possibilities here.
How do I pay someone using PayPal?
It's easy! After becoming a registered user, you can send funds to anyone with an e-mail address by using your Visa or MasterCard at Paypal. If they are not already registered, all they have to do is register with Paypal to receive their money. The registration is fast and free for everyone!
Of course, if you are bidding on auctions, just look for people who advertise that they accept money through Paypal. You can now pay them instantly after the auction, and receive won items much faster, as they won't have to wait for your payment to arrive in the mail!
Paypal works smoothly with ebay and other auction sites and either a buyer or a seller can initiate the payment process.
Is it really all that fast?
To put it in perspective, when your ebay or other auction closes, bidders can now send a payment immediately after they have won.
What this means is, since buyers know they just need an e-mail address to send a payment, some bidders may even send the money to you via Paypal before you can even send them a notice that they've won! Amazing!
What used to take weeks, now takes hours or even minutes!
Of course, you may also pick up some $5 referral bonuses when a new user signs up, in addition to the actual auction payments... Very cool!
Why use Direct Deposit with PayPal?
The biggest advantage using Paypal is the time you will save! No more waiting for checks to arrive or clear... no more excuses or "the check is in the mail," no last-minute, frantic drives to the bank, no hassles filling out deposit slips or endorsing checks.
Get your money quickly, with just a few clicks of the mouse! Setup Direct Deposit as a FREE option, and your online payments will be automatically swept into your bank account, so you can focus on auction listings instead of your checkbook.
Many customers will also appreciate the ease of making payments this way, and they'll appreciate the time and money they save by not hassling with paperwork, envelopes, stamps and trips out of the house. And easier payments means more bids and more customers for you!
How do I earn the referral bonuses?
After registering with Paypal, you can earn extra money by visiting the site and using one of their banner buttons and links to use in your auction descriptions and e-mails.
They show you how to do it- It's fast and easy. You can just cut and paste, with no knowledge of HTML necessary.
When someone clicks the link in your auction and signs up for either a business or premier account, you will be paid a commission of .05% of their fees. You can earn a total of up to $1000 per merchant you refer.
Referral bonuses are deposited to your Paypal account- these can really add up if you do a lot of auctions or have a large customer base that you e-mail to.
To see an example of the various Paypal logos, visit the site.
What kind of credit cards does PayPal accept?
At this time, Paypal allows payments to be made between registered users with a Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. They also except e-check, Switch and Solo.
Can PayPal be used internationally?
Yes! Paypal can be used internationally. Check their site to determine availability. Paypal can be used to send money in the following currencies:
• Canadian Dollar
• Euro
• Pound Sterling
• U.S. Dollar
• Yen
• Australian Dollar
Are there any hidden fees?
There are NO fees to use the Paypal system when you sign up for a personal account!
Remember, Paypal does offer premium business services to companies or organizations, which do have some small fees involved. These services are well worth the money for auction sellers who do several auction sales a month. Visit Paypal for more details.
Some of these services, such as the Automatic Buyer Notification and the cash back ATM bonus may be beneficial to some users:
Winning Buyer Notification (WBN)
WBN is an incredibly useful and time saving feature for auction sellers- If you select this option, Paypal will automatically contact your winning bidders for you at the end of your ebay auctions with a preformatted invoice of your own design.
This e-mail has your instructions for completing the deal, along with a "Pay Now" link making payments convenient for your customers- they can also use the "Pay Now" feature with a button right out of your auction descriptions on ebay. This saves you a lot of time e-mailing your customers requesting payments!
Cash Back ATM Bonus
This is another cool little bonus that can add up quickly with Paypal!
Here's how it works: First, you sign up on PayPal to become "PayPal preferred.
This means you agree to place a logo on your ebay auction descriptions (an automated checkbox ebay feature) telling your buyers you prefer Paypal for auction payment. Of course, they can still use several methods to pay you- you are just advertising that you prefer Paypal.
Then, whenever you use your Paypal check card to buy goods or services, you will receive a 1% cash back bonus for all purchases that you make... Money in the bank!
How safe is PayPal to use?
Paypal uses secure servers with 128 bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protection to help make your transactions secure.
If you don't know what this means, the next time you shop online or login to a secure website, look for that little, yellow padlock symbol at the bottom right hand corner of your browser- This is the same kind of secure connection that Paypal uses.
How do I get started?
Just register for free at the Paypal site, and you are on your way!
See Using PayPal (part 1) or Visit Paypal now
Read the basics: Using Online Payments
