Methods of payment, paypal etc

Yorkielass

I'd like to take the plunge and sell on ebay, just a few odds and ends and I'm a bit confused about payment options - hope someone can give me some advice.

I understand about cheques, with postal orders do I get people to write my name on them so only I can cash them?

I'm happy to offer bank transfer - do I just write that in my advert and then offer my bank details to a buyer if they want to pay that way.

I realise that to get more buyers I need to offer paypal, I only have a buyers/personal account though, when OH converted his (used for internet sales but not ebay) he did it when a message came up and said he had to so he could accept someones payment.

So my question is - if I want to say I accept paypal can I put that in my adverts and then will I get a chance to upgrade my account if necessary if/when someone wants to pay.

Thanks in advance - sure it's obvious

soolin

Yorkielass wrote:

I'm happy to offer bank transfer - do I just write that in my advert and then offer my bank details to a buyer if they want to pay that way.

I usually put in my end of auction emails that I accept bank transfers and will supply my details on request. For one of my id's I actually just send an automated email that already contains my bank details, but i rarely get paid by any other means than paypal.

Yorkielass wrote:

So my question is - if I want to say I accept paypal can I put that in my adverts and then will I get a chance to upgrade my account if necessary if/when someone wants to pay.

Thanks in advance - sure it's obvious

Firstly, nothing is ever obvious where ebay or paypal are involved..even simple things are hidden away in the small print!

You are correct in that to accept payment via paypal funded by a debit or credit card you will need a premier account, however, as long as you are prepared to upgrade as soon as the first customer pays that way then it is fine to keep the basic account just in case the first buyer uses a paypal balance to pay you. However, I've done this on all my id's and in every single case the first buyer has paid by a card so I've had to upgrade immediately <sigh>.

Good luck with your sales, I hope you are taking advantage of the 5p day today to get some practice in.

Soo

nightswimmer

Yorkielass wrote:

I understand about cheques, with postal orders do I get people to write my name on them so only I can cash them?

Yes (but make sure they write your name correctly and not your eBay ID), or they can be left blank, and you can fill the name in yourself. You then sign them and cash them at the Post Office, or deposit them straight into your bank, as you would a cheque.

Editted to say: Just saw your sig. Congrats and good luck!

Yorkielass

Thanks for the clarification Soolin - I thought I knew what I needed to do but wanted some reassurance I guess - certainly isn't obvious online! Yes will be listed about 4 lots this evening and will give it a go.

Nightswimmer that's great, can't imagine many people do use postal orders but wanted to check. Thanks for the congratulations - thought saving for rings would be a good encouragement to sell a few bits and pieces, done well on amazon and through small ads where I work but thought ebay might help a bit.

Just need to pop out but I'll do my listings as soon as I get back :money:

student100

If you want to become a verified PayPal user, it takes a few days for you to get the "expanded use number" on your CC statement. I would imagine most buyers would be happier paying in to a PayPal account that was listed as "verified".

I just went through the whole process of upgrading to Premier account and doing expanded use for my first auction only to find the buyer decided to pay by Postal Order... still at least that means I have no PayPal fees to pay.

darktrader

I am a regular Ebay seller.

Personally I only accept PayPal - worldwide. And cheques UK only.

In percentage terms my sales are about 80:20 Uk:ROTW

I sell 96% of everything I offer for auction.

Of the UK less than 1% want to pay by cheque. I have had one unsigned and another dated for the wrong year. When sellers bemoan the cost of PayPal I just recall the hassle of incorrectly filled out cheques.

With Ebay - before you sell anything - add some items to your watch list like the stuff you're going to sell and monitor what happens. Read their community boards. As with all new enterprises, do the research. I did. Saves time in the long run.

soolin

I agree with darktrader and my figures are about the same. I don't even routinely look at whether my buyers are verified and/or confirmed and have had no problems.

My only problems have been with cheques, and so I am obviously less enthusiastic about cheques overall. I no longer even accept postal orders due to problems on virtually half the occasions someone has tried to pay with them.

If I can't make a profit selling something after taking into account the paypal fees, I don't bother listing it.

EDIT: I just realised that I have had a problem with a paypal payment, luckily for a total of less than £5 just before Christmas. I had a verified buyer who did not receive their item. I refunded and put a claim in to the royal mail which was refused as the address was not in their data bank. This is almost identical to a problem I had previously on a lost package (not paypal) where the item went Recorded delivery and was never delivered but the RM refused compensation as the address was not in their database on that occasion either.

Soo

Yorkielass

thanks all - I've listed 2 auctions just to see what happens really - these things take time to get to grips with. I've offered paypal took OH quite a while to get his verified when we moved as we live in a flat and it obviously wasn't recognised by paypal so had to be sent something in the mail - but I'll see what happens with that - if anyone bids!

darktrader I did plenty of research before I started selling - so many people must of been excited as I was watching lots of items, checking completed listings for good and bad ones etc etc. so hopefully I've done ok - just need to practice my HTML a bit more now.

Starting to get together other things I want to try selling now

student100

soolin, maybe a good idea to check the address in the postcode/address finder at www.royalmail.com before sending things!

nightswimmer

Yorkielass wrote:

thanks all - I've listed 2 auctions just to see what happens really - these things take time to get to grips with.

It's always best to start off slow. It can be overwhelming at first to deal with everything, especially if you have several auctions on the go all at the same time. But don't worry, after a few sales, you will find it becomes second nature.

apples1

Just to say that I accept paypal and receive nearly all my payments that way, usually almost as soon as auction ends. I do think its worth blocking bids from people that you don't want - e.g those with a negative feedback rating etc. I learnt the hard way when someone with 1 postitive feedback and 4 negatives bid right at the end of my auction and then of course didn't pay. I have also had probs with zero rated bidders but don't think you can block them as after all everyone has to start somewhere! Another thing I found useful if you are a busy bee is to time your auctions to finish when you have time to wrap parcels and take them to post the next day! Good Luck.