"Gift" option, etc. etc. sucks Vol. VII

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Unless it is being used for transferring money to a family member or friend for a casual, non-sale reason, I don't even consider touching the Paypal Gift option. The safety and guidelines of the Goods & Services option exist for a reason - to protect both the buyer and the seller. I always cover fees myself in a sale, making any price listed or discussed the total price for the buyer. I had been used to years of selling on eBay, where one automatically loses 10% to eBay fees plus the 3% to Paypal. Losing only the 3% now for the protection it provides is something I appreciate and barely notice.
 
I won't buy from anyone asking for fees or gift, and don't ask for 'em myself, but if someone pays by gift unasked I don't complain.;)
 
Using the gift option for anything other than actually giving money as a gift is fraud. And I won't participate on it.

Pure and simple.
 
Agreed. It's not difficult to factor the percentage into your price. Other forums I belong to don't allow gift option to be mentioned in a sales thread.
 
A little off topic but perhaps apropos based on some of the comments about Paypal's Buyer's Protection.

Paypal's policy on knives reads:

Knives – PayPal generally prohibits transactions for switchblade knives and disguised knives. A switchblade is any knife resembling a pocketknife with a blade that can be released automatically or by use of a trigger. Other names for switchblades include spring-blade knives, snap-blade knives, gravity knives, and butterfly knives.

So my guess is that they would not honor their protection policy on autos and possibly AO knives.
 
I would never use gift myself, it's just not worth it as mentioned many times in this thread and others like it.

PayPal is a good service, and they, like any other service need to make money. Also, I would never leave myself exposed to fraud by using the gift option. It just makes no sense.

I think a lot if this 'net' or 'X' amount for shipping and then PP fee's might come from perception, in terms of how the price of something looks. Stores use this method all the time. You see a price that makes sense, and your in, then you get hit with shipping, and Sometimes other fee's, but at this point, you have committed to the item and just want it.

I think maybe the perception is that if you list a knife at $200 NET, it looks better to potential buyers than $225 to your door.
I spend a lot of time on the 'makers' exchange, and often shipping and PP charges are listed separately. Perhaps this is again perception in that the knife costs $500.00 and we commit because we separate the price of the item from what it costs to get it to our door....it almost becomes a charge we don't associate with the item at all, it gets separated and we feel
feel that we paid a total of $500, and not $550 or whatever the final amount turns out to be.
It can be a good selling tactic to the right audience.

I think that if it's within the rules, sellers have a right to list as they please, just as buyers have a right to buy from those that have terms they are comfortable with.
 
bld522 said:
That's all right. I don't understand people who don't understand @Net to me. :rolleyes:
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There is something about "Net to me" that looks absurd, asking price+ PP fees+shipping (If you choose to factor in) already = net to the seller....real simple.:rolleyes:
 
akula83 said:
There is something about "Net to me" that looks absurd, asking price+ PP fees+shipping (If you choose to factor in) already = net to the seller....real simple.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks. Problem solved. i haven't bought anything in the exchange in a long while and wasn't up on the new terminologies.
 
The PP fees are actually the sellers probelm and the buyer should not be asked to pay them. The gift option is daft and is the reason for a majority of the threads we see in the G,B&U, but people just never listen untill it's them. :rolleyes: I don't even bother trying to buy stuff here anymore as every seller expects to be treated like gold while the buyer is told to pull their socks up. I'm good for that thanks. :)
 
I have never used the gift option to purchase anything.

I would never do so.

If a seller asks for fees, I decide if I want the knife for that much extra, and just consider it part of the price. Usually, I just move on. But, I'm not going to pretend if I saw a knife I wanted, at a great price, even with the added fees, I would not purchase it from a seller who had good feed back.


It is off putting, and I feel that many lose sales for asking for it.



When I sell, I ask for the total price I feel I need to sell the knife.
 
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Yep. That's your opinion all right. But then, some folks don't like having to charge others for things they don't use. And they don't think it's right to raise their prices to cover costs they don't incur. Call me silly, but I happen to be one of those folks. Those who prefer simplicity and higher costs over common sense and fairness really aren't the kind of people I want to do business with anyway.

Think about it. Is there anybody here who doesn't see the hypocrisy of refusing to use the gift option because it cheats PayPal on one hand and then turning right around and cheating their customers on the other hand by raising their prices to cover PayPal fees even when their customers don't use PayPal? To my way of thinking, "net to me" is the only fair way of doing business because it puts the ability to negotiate the terms and conditions of sale in the hands of the buyer. I don't know about you, but that's the way I want to be treated when I'm on the buying end of a transaction.
 
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Usually the guys asking "net" or "add 3.5%" are priced too high anyway so I just move on.

Also when I buy a knife and feel I got a good deal I add extra for the fees without being asked.
 
I'm curious, would someone mind elaborating on the use of net? I've used it before on other forums and here, but under the understanding it means all inclusive prices (fees+shipping, which is always priority). Regardless, I try to price knives at a fair price point, I'm usually well aware of the knife/knives market value when I list them, and I list them accordingly. On a side note, I always take pictures of the receipts and forward them to the buyer as well.

Regarding the fees...The fees exist for paypal to continue offering their services. I only see it to be fair that I pay my share in fees. I don't like paypals rules and whatnot, but until I find a better alternative which is just as large as paypal and isn't hostile towards my hobbies, this is the price I have to pay.

As for insurance, I consider insurance to be important to cover my behind if the knife gets lost in transit and I need to reimburse the buyer, I don't want to be stuck holding the short end of the stick. On a side note, I almost always avoid individuals who want me to pay the fee or hold the knife while they get funds together. I usually put them on my do not buy list. Been burned before, not interested in it again.
 
bld522 said:
Yep. That's your opinion all right. But then, some folks don't like having to charge others for things they don't use. And they don't think it's right to raise their prices to cover costs they don't incur. Call me silly, but I happen to be one of those folks. Those who prefer simplicity and higher costs over common sense and fairness really aren't the kind of people I want to do business with anyway.

Think about it. Is there anybody here who doesn't see the hypocrisy of refusing to use the gift option because it cheats PayPal on one hand and then turning right around and cheating their customers on the other hand by raising their prices to cover PayPal fees even when their customers don't use PayPal? To my way of thinking, "net to me" is the only fair way of doing business because it puts the ability to negotiate the terms and conditions of sale in the hands of the buyer. I don't know about you, but that's the way I want to be treated when I'm on the buying end of a transaction.
Click to expand...

Could you please explain how a seller has to "raise their prices to cover Paypal fees even when their customers don't use Paypal..."?

If the buyer doesn't use Paypal then there won't be any fees to pay.
 
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