Any buyer advantage using to PayPal on EBay?

fiscoking

Hi,

As the title, is there any advantage for a buyer when paying for an Ebay item with PayPal, as opposed to a credit card?

Does PayPal offer any more protection against items not received, or received damaged?

Ebay offer the above protections so I can't see why anyone would use PayPal, unless they're using a PayPal balance from previous transactions, or unless they're using PayPal credit.

Back when Ebay demanded people use PayPal for selling (no longer the case) you could just open a case with PayPal if something went wrong and they'd refund you, but I'm failing to see how PayPal is relevant any more.

Thanks.

soolin

Nowadays there is no advantage in using PayPal as you no longer pay a seller for goods, you make a payment to eBay. 

However there is no reason not to use it either .

Spoonie_Turtle

When they used to cover change-of-mind returns I made sure to always use them.  I didn't return items often, but one or two a year, I appreciated the money it saved me and it gave me confidence to buy items I wasn't completely sure about.

That was stopped a few years ago now so I no longer bother using PayPal on eBay, and only use it outside of eBay if I need to.  I can't think of any reason for or against using it, it's just another payment method.  Except maybe PayPal credit, for those who want to use that, but I haven't noticed whether it's available on eBay or not.

tbriggs166

Yes as you mentioned ebay now do the above protection so there is no really advantage to use paypal. Some sellers have now stopped offering paypal as an option due to the fees incured eating into there margin. 

soolin

tbriggs166 said:

Yes as you mentioned ebay now do the above protection so there is no really advantage to use paypal. Some sellers have now stopped offering paypal as an option due to the fees incured eating into their margin. 

Sellers on eBay can’t refuse PayPal, they can’t even see how a buyer has paid anyway. It also makes no difference to a sellers profit as every seller should now be on managed payments where eBay handle all the payments and take a set fee. 

Spikeygran

As above there are no fees for sellers who accept paypal.  Theres no choice all payments now go to ebay, regardless of how the buyer pays.  I think the ability for the seller  to apparently select payment methods is just a hang over from when payment went to the seller, cash on collection is no longer allowed either.  I dont actually think it matters what the seller says he accepts now, as a buyer I've not noticed any payment methods being absent when checking out.

The buyer protection doesn't fully cover for change of mind, like the old paypal scheme which was brilliant.   Private sellers can decline a return for change of mind, and though business sellers should take returns under any circumstances I've seen buyers complaining on the forum that their change of mind was declined.  For a change of mind you have to pay for the return tracked postage (through ebay  - so marked up) so for cheap items its often not worth it.  The new buyers premium was supposed to provide extra facilities but thus far people are making the same old complaints.

Paypal used to be an extra layer for buyers.  If you lost a case (item not arrived or not as described) on ebay, you could go back to paypal and open a case there.   They were linked in some way as opening a paypal case before the conclusion of the ebay case, would close the ebay case.  Now as the payments are going to ebay (surely counts as third party???) I'm not even sure if theres any payment cover for ebay purchases.

soolin

Spikeygran said:

As above there are no fees for sellers who accept paypal.  Theres no choice all payments now go to ebay, regardless of how the buyer pays.  I think the ability for the seller  to apparently select payment methods is just a hang over from when payment went to the seller, cash on collection is no longer allowed either.  I dont actually think it matters what the seller says he accepts now, as a buyer I've not noticed any payment methods being absent when checking out.

The buyer protection doesn't fully cover for change of mind, like the old paypal scheme which was brilliant.   Private sellers can decline a return for change of mind, and though business sellers should take returns under any circumstances I've seen buyers complaining on the forum that their change of mind was declined.  For a change of mind you have to pay for the return tracked postage (through ebay  - so marked up) so for cheap items its often not worth it.  The new buyers premium was supposed to provide extra facilities but thus far people are making the same old complaints.

Paypal used to be an extra layer for buyers.  If you lost a case (item not arrived or not as described) on ebay, you could go back to paypal and open a case there.   They were linked in some way as opening a paypal case before the conclusion of the ebay case, would close the ebay case.  Now as the payments are going to ebay (surely counts as third party???) I'm not even sure if theres any payment cover for ebay purchases.

Just a point, a business seller cannot refuse a change of mind return under any circumstances, but can insist buyer pays for the return if that's what their return policy says. If people are being refused change of mind returns then they must be buying from improperly registered business sellers masquerading as private sellers who have no returns enabled. 

Paypal payments now go to ebay not to a seller , so the link between what is being bought has been lost. There is nothing to identify what the payment is for as it just shows as a payment to ebay.

tbriggs166

ah thanks soolin i stand corrected

mikrt

One benefit of PayPal, is using the 3 months interest free option, if & when it suits. 

soolin

mikrt said:

One benefit of PayPal, is using the 3 months interest free option, if & when it suits. 

That's true, I'd forgotten about that.

QrizB

mikrt said:

One benefit of PayPal, is using the 3 months interest free option, if & when it suits. 

Also, although eBay don't accept AmEx any more, you can still pay eBay using AmEx via PayPal.