Paypal Fees

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Funsize

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Dec 27, 2012
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Hi folks, I'm a new member here and would like to start collecting a few of the great knives I see here. I hope this is the correct forum for this question. Sellers mostly ask for a PP "gift" or for the buyer to add 3.5% and pay for shipping. I have no problem with the shipping but isn't the PP fee part of "doing business"? Additionally why would anyone negate any PP recourse if the sale goes bad by using the gift option?

Thanx,
Sue
 
Sue:

The seller will always pay any Paypal fees, and will always pay for shipping. You can't ship a package without paying to have it shipped, right? Some sellers recoup these costs by openly asking the buyer to pay them, and others - like me - factor these costs into the asking price and then say that there are no Paypal fees and shipping is "free". No matter how you do it, its all the same, though. Only the way its presented is different.

Some buyers will pay with the gift option. I almost never do that, but will do it on rare occasions when the seller is someone I "know" and has tons of good feedback, in order to save them that 3.5%. But its leaves you without any recourse, too.
 
Well, I guess people can ask whatever they want;)

That said, I will never accept such terms.
Period.
I find it peculiar why a seller don't just say what they want, and add in the cost of selling it thru a service like Paypal.

These tactics are but one of the reasons I do as much business with proper retailers as I possibly can..
 
Transactions done on the exchange are based on the parties goodwill and integrity. Using PP gift fraudulently makes a statement.
 
I think it should just be included in the asking price, but I'll still buy from someone asking 3.5% extra if I want the item. What really grinds my gears is the people who ask for 4, 5 or even 6% for PayPal fees... That is just insulting to me and I refuse to buy from those types.
 
I have bought & sold a few knives with the stipulation of 3.5% or paypal gift. I can understand trying to recoup some of the fee which is in addition to shipping/packing. Say you sell a nib knife that costs $485 new. Seller offers it for $385 which is already a $100 hit, then add the pp fee & insured delivery & you end up taking another $15+ loss. I have no problem with gift option with a trusted member on the forum, but with the gift option you must have the funds in your pp balance or direct from bank account, otherwise still incurs fee with credit cards.
 
Thanx, noodle. I guess that makes sense. If you know the person with whom you are dealing then the "gift" option is okay. I just think it is better practice to factor in all costs.
 
Funsize said:
Thanx, noodle. I guess that makes sense. If you know the person with whom you are dealing then the "gift" option is okay. I just think it is better practice to factor in all costs.
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People have been asked to do this in the past, to no avail. Currently, there is no rule against asking for fees in addition to the cost of an item. It just makes the seller look like they can't do simple math in the end though. Add your fees, include your shipping and list one price. Don't make your potential buyers have to do math for you.
 
most of the time they want it to be a gift is when they are selling a switchblade or some other item that is against paypal rules. lets say you bought a switchblade with paypal and they find out about it. they can reverse the money and the Seller is out of the money and the switchblade knife too but if you use the gift Option you are not protected by paypal.
 
I flat out refuse to buy anything from anyone who asks for ME to pay THEIR pay-pal fees, if you want to ball it into you asking price thats another story..
 
bolocheung said:
I have bought & sold a few knives with the stipulation of 3.5% or paypal gift. I can understand trying to recoup some of the fee which is in addition to shipping/packing. Say you sell a nib knife that costs $485 new. Seller offers it for $385 which is already a $100 hit, then add the pp fee & insured delivery & you end up taking another $15+ loss. I have no problem with gift option with a trusted member on the forum, but with the gift option you must have the funds in your pp balance or direct from bank account, otherwise still incurs fee with credit cards.
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Just asking, why would you sell $485 knife for $385?
 
arizcowboy said:
Because people won't usually pay full retail for a knife from a private party as it's considered used. Of course there exceptions like the limited sprint runs of the Spydercos.
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There are many knives where makers have closed their books, even used, command 3x, 4x, even 5x their value. Cough "Burchtree" Cough "Rexford" Cough etc
 
Funsize said:
Hi folks, I'm a new member here and would like to start collecting a few of the great knives I see here. I hope this is the correct forum for this question. Sellers mostly ask for a PP "gift" or for the buyer to add 3.5% and pay for shipping. I have no problem with the shipping but isn't the PP fee part of "doing business"? Additionally why would anyone negate any PP recourse if the sale goes bad by using the gift option?

Thanx,
Sue
Click to expand...

Like some here have said, you only want to use the gift option if you trust the seller. I'll often price a knife "net to me". That gives my buyer the choice of how they want to pay me. Because I have a little feedback built up, I sometimes get paid by money orders or gift, even though I don't require it.
 
If I sell a knife, I usually ask for $10 towards shipping, though shipping usually runs me a few bucks more than that. I don't ask for paypal fees, I don't ask for the gift option, and I don't ask for insurance from the buyer. Insurance covers the seller, not the buyer.
 
ISKski said:
I flat out refuse to buy anything from anyone who asks for ME to pay THEIR pay-pal fees, if you want to ball it into you asking price thats another story..
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I'm scratching my head on that one. $100 + 3.5% is bad, but $103.50 is good?
 
Using the paypal gift option is fraudulent. You accepted the terms of service, you should abide by them. BTW using that option makes honest people pay the price to keep paypal available. To put a finer point on it, if you are unethical enough to defraud paypal then how could I trust you not to reverse the payment when I'm not protected?
 
powernoodle said:
I'm scratching my head on that one. $100 + 3.5% is bad, but $103.50 is good?
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Yes, because they are not asking me to pay THEIR fees directly, they are giving me a price for an item.

(Its really bothersome when someone is asking for full retail price PLUS 3.5% because they don't want to lose money in the transaction.

If you don't want to pay the fees associated with using pay-pal then don't use pay-pal. Its not my job to pay 'your' fees.)

That being said, I have added 3.5% to some of my transactions as an act of generosity

As quoted from RevDev above

"Add your fees, include your shipping and list one price."
 
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ISKski said:
Yes, because they are not asking me to pay THEIR fees directly, they are giving me a price for an item.
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I get myself in trouble a fair amount around here because I have a character flaw that doesn't allow me to accept nonsense. And forgive me but its just nonsense to pretend that the asking price does not encompass everything including shipping and Paypal fees. Whether the seller acknowledges this fact by saying "$100 + 3.5%", or does not acknowledge it by say "$103.50 and I'll eat the fees", the buyer is still paying the fees and shipping costs either way, and the price is still $103.50 either way. The only difference is the emotion that the buyer experiences or does not experience based on the seller's marketing technique.

I agree with you, Archbishop RevDev and others who contend that "$103.50 and no fees" is the easier and more straightforward of the two ways, and that's the only way I've ever done it. I always say "free shipping and no fees", and I'm not advocating using the words "plus 3.5%". What I am advocating is that there is no objective difference between the two ways, because either way you are putting $103.50 into the seller's Paypal account, and either way you are paying the fee.

I've ridden this donkey too far, and will zip it now. :) I get that you don't like being asked to pay the fee. :thumbup:
 
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