Anyone here having Paypal impose fees on outgoing personal payments?

[Apec]

Picture says it all.

Now I've heard a while ago of some folks who got "taxed" by paypal because they were receiving too many gift/personal payments. However, this doesn't make sense to me in the reverse, seeing as I've consistently used my paypal to buy various other things via goods/services, while I've rarely received personal payments, especially since I rarely sell things.

Is this standard for everyone using paypal at the moment? Or is this a change that arbitrarily targets users?

(This is not a thread about debating buyer/seller protection and fee evasion. Let's keep that to another topic)

 

[bld522]

Hmmmm. That's a new one on me. Did PayPal change their TOS recently? If so, that may explain it.

 

[jball1125]

Its about time I think. Paypal provides a good service, if you try to get around their system they stop making money, therefore they start charging for "gift". I have sent gift before but I really try not to, its really a minimal fee for the service they are providing.

 

[bld522]

It is a nominal fee, all right. Problem is, it's easier to increase a fee than it is to establish it in the first place. My guess is that it won't stay nominal forever.

 

[Apec]

Its about time I think. Paypal provides a good service, if you try to get around their system they stop making money, therefore they start charging for "gift". I have sent gift before but I really try not to, its really a minimal fee for the service they are providing.

Perhaps. The problem with this however, is that it affects legitimate users who are not selling discreetly and evading paypal's fees. Granted there don't seem to be any alternatives to their umbrella approach.

Now of course I have sent "personal/gift" payments to sellers before, but the vast majority of payments I've made have gone through Paypal's usual fees.

Furthermore, there's the question at where paypal will draw the line. Will they start enforcing policies against sellers who request 3%-3.5% extra for fees?

 

[jball1125]

It is a nominal fee, all right. Problem is, it's easier to increase a fee than it is to establish it in the first place. My guess is that it won't stay nominal forever.

Well thats like everything else, use it till its no longer convenient.

Perhaps. The problem with this however, is that it affects legitimate users who are not selling discreetly and evading paypal's fees. Granted there don't seem to be any alternatives to their umbrella approach.

Now of course I have sent "personal/gift" payments to sellers before, but the vast majority of payments I've made have gone through Paypal's usual fees.

Furthermore, there's the question at where paypal will draw the line. Will they start enforcing policies against sellers who request 3%-3.5% extra for fees?

I think that is the responsibility of the buyer not paypal, it doesnt affect them at all and it would be difficult to monitor. If you think that having to add 3.5% for fees sucks then either tell the seller or dont buy from them, JMO.

 

[Apec]

Well thats like everything else, use it till its no longer convenient.



I think that is the responsibility of the buyer not paypal, it doesnt affect them at all and it would be difficult to monitor. If you think that having to add 3.5% for fees sucks then either tell the seller or dont buy from them, JMO.

Well, given the era we live in, they can data mine websites where people do private party sales online. All they need to do is have an automated system flag postings with keywords, then calculate the final fees and match that to any incoming payments.

How effective would it be? Can't say, but folks that it successfully catches will either deter sellers from the practice or force them to use other methods to mask their trail.

I've had no problems eating the paypal fee when I sold stuff, especially on other forums that ban personal payments. Most of the time the stuff I see offered at 3-3.5% isn't that great of a deal, but when they were, that's when I went with gift/personal.

 

[Raining]

I just typed in $500 in PP to send as a gift and there was no fee. I wonder how they are deciding who to charge?

 

[jball1125]

Well, given the era we live in, they can data mine websites where people do private party sales online. All they need to do is have an automated system flag postings with keywords, then calculate the final fees and match that to any incoming payments.

How effective would it be? Can't say, but folks that it successfully catches will either deter sellers from the practice or force them to use other methods to mask their trail.

I've had no problems eating the paypal fee when I sold stuff, especially on other forums that ban personal payments. Most of the time the stuff I see offered at 3-3.5% isn't that great of a deal, but when they were, that's when I went with gift/personal.

I too usually request for a buyer to add fees, Its just a norm I guess, I guess I could just include it into the price. However I dont see that as the problem, same as adding shipping or including it in the price. The problem I see and I really try to avoid doing it is the sending money for goods as gift. Eventually paypal notices that there is no way a person has had 200 birthdays in one year so they start to eliminate accounts. When that doesnt work because they have to dedicate an entire department just to monitor "gift" payments they decide to charge a minimal fee to send a gift. Mind you at this point they are not charging a fee to deter people from using gifit but rather to actually make money from the service they provide. I dont know about you but I hate having to go out and get a MO, so I try to be nice to paypal so it doesnt get so bad that I have to start making 30 min lines at the PO. (Yes Miami is over populated and the PO always look like they are giving away free stuff)

 

[jball1125]

I just typed in $500 in PP to send as a gift and there was no fee. I wonder how they are deciding who to charge?

I tried too and didnt get a fee either. Maybe there is a threshold to the amount of gifts you can send per (unit of time) before they start charging fees?

 

[Apec]

I too usually request for a buyer to add fees, Its just a norm I guess, I guess I could just include it into the price. However I dont see that as the problem, same as adding shipping or including it in the price. The problem I see and I really try to avoid doing it is the sending money for goods as gift. Eventually paypal notices that there is no way a person has had 200 birthdays in one year so they start to eliminate accounts. When that doesnt work because they have to dedicate an entire department just to monitor "gift" payments they decide to charge a minimal fee to send a gift. Mind you at this point they are not charging a fee to deter people from using gifit but rather to actually make money from the service they provide. I dont know about you but I hate having to go out and get a MO, so I try to be nice to paypal so it doesnt get so bad that I have to start making 30 min lines at the PO. (Yes Miami is over populated and the PO always look like they are giving away free stuff)

That's true, I hate money orders. They're not instant, and once I got one that was slightly misprinted and the PO refused to cash it - though I bypassed them and deposited in my bank without a hitch.

As for shipping, I've always done it free, though in the case of international orders, I'd probably ask for extra.

I tried too and didnt get a fee either. Maybe there is a threshold to the amount of gifts you can send per (unit of time) before they start charging fees?

Possibly, but since I've made relatively few gift/personal payments out of all the things I bought via PP, it's difficult to gauge how they do this.

---
Well, there's other services out there like Chase Quickpay. Only a matter of time and marketing until they catch on and whisk away some of Paypal's market share.

Edit to the OP, including fees for 100 and 1000.

 

[Planterz]

Are you doing a bank transfer or sending money in your PP account, or are you using a credit/debit card? IIRC, sending a "gift" payment via credit/debit card does have a fee attatched, since the credit card companies charge merchants a small fee for every credit card transaction (1-4%, depends on the amount).

EDIT: OK, I didn't actually look closely at the pictures. Looks like a whopping .5% fee they charge for a bank transfer or existing PP funds. That's trivial. Try Western Union and see what they charge (I honestly don't know, but I guarantee it's way more than .5%). The "hefty" credit card fee is reasonable as well, when you consider what PP gets out of it. If they allow you to use a CC to transfer and don't charge you, they lose money. So it looks like they're covering their costs, plus a little something for the service.

I have ZERO issue with the minimal fee they charge for a "gift" payment. Even if you're sending $1000, all it costs is $5. Going to the store or PO, paying for a money order (or 2, since there might be a limit), and considering time and gas, the stamp, registered mail, etc, the PP option saves you time and money and works instantly. Of course they're entitled to their cut.

Besides, if we're talking about buying/selling goods or services, the "gift" option should NOT be requested by the seller, nor sent by the buyer.

 

[Raining]

According to the PP website, they do charge for international transfers (0.5% to 2% when funded by bank or PP balance).

Are you trying to send money outside the U.S.?

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees

 

[Knifenutty]

Last month I sent a payment within Canada to a friend as a gift.
Paypal sent it as an echeck which took several business days to clear..
When paying outside the country for goods I add extra or else the seller gets charged the fee which shorts them on the payment we agreed on...

 

[richard thurman]

and you wonder why I refuse to take paypal for anything I sell on the net and I refuse to use it when buying anything on the net.

 

[RevDevil]

and you wonder why I refuse to take paypal for anything I sell on the net and I refuse to use it when buying anything on the net.

What's to wonder? You remind us every chance you get.

I just typed in $500 in PP to send as a gift and there was no fee. I wonder how they are deciding who to charge?

It might be based on activity level. If Paypal notices an excessive use of "gift" option payments, they wise up. They may even request you upgrade to a "Premier" level. If happened to a lot of people over the years.

 

[NCCNC]

I use paypal frequently, but RARELY use the gift option. However, yesterday i sent a gift of 30.00 and was charged 1.31 as a fee. I feel that it is fair because of the convinience of paypal.

 

[spyderchop]

never seen that lil red box come up

 

[cj65]

If you don't like it don't use it, it is a free country. If you prefer to drive to the post office, wait in line, buy a Postal Money Order, mail the postal money order, wait an extra 3 to 5 days to recieve your merchandise to save less than a dollar, (maybe more if you are 20 miles from the PO) go right ahead.

 

[wolf-man-12]

I will take the Post Office over PrayPals Gifter any day.! If a few Pennies are going to break me then I better not buy the item anyway.!* So it takes longer to get there and for you to get your product ~~ what is your hurry ~~ keep up at the speed of light and you won't be around to enjoy much of anything at that rate.!*** Everybody is in a hurry to get to Heaven I guess.***