Is Paypal cracking down on Internet Marketers?

Sure, it's nice to have multiple payment processors, but so many people (especially buyers here) are used to paying quickly and easily by Paypal. Plus, of course, Paypal make it easy to dispute a payment which makes buyers feel more confident about placing the order.

Maybe Clickbank is the better option after all? Or maybe it is about time JVZoo took on their own payment processing via Paypal in the same way?

How about it?

So you would think. But that's not the way it seems to work. Why else would they suddenly close an account which has been a major "source of income for them" overnight without any explanation, any comeback, any form of redress? (Dan has said that they told him that he would have to subpoena them to take it further)!

I think it is clear that they are not comfortable with the digital download community. Anyone overstepping the mark by even a fraction seems to be penalized.

Business operating honestly and succesfully for 15 years without any problem.

Step 1. 2-3 malicious refund requests made by competitors.

Result: All income blocked and frozen for 6 months (180 days)
because Paypal is getting a lot of interest on all those billions that they hold
in frozen funds, from millions of frozen paypal accounts

How long ago was it that PP shut down your account, JPaston? I edited my reply above at the same time you were also replying, that the change recently with PayPal and Ebay may have something to do with it, and yeah it could be a crack down - can't rule that out.

If you're referring to the internet marketers you typically see here in this forum, oh, yes - PayPal is just fine without them. These are just a drop of water in the ocean to PayPal. The vast majority of those you see in this small sub-section of internet marketing are making very little overall.

This has nothing to do with paypal's system and everything to do with fees. Most large established businesses can get merchant accounts with their own banks for a much less fee percentage per transaction.

But, you will also note that almost all will accept paypal as a form of payment.

al

Mainly because vendors don't like getting scammed by some people who file disputes for almost everything they purchase via paypal.

Paypal does eventually catch up with these people, but until then the vendor is stuck dealing with BS disputes from scammers.

Of course, legitimate disputes do exist, but there are some that use it as a means of getting "free" product. Which ruins the whole thing for everyone.

Which really has nothing to do with the OP.

Granted it's early yet, but FWIW, I personally have seen no change in the level of disputes, nor refund requests made directly to my help desk since the changes for digital purchases went into effect.

Hey guys anyone of you also happen to encounter recently paypal ask for proof of you ID and address?


I log in and discover must produce proof of my id and address to them.

whereas long time ago I think already proof..even my pay pal is a verify account link to my local bank

If it's scary, use multiple providers. We all have to deal with powerful entities - I bank with Wells Fargo, they are big and powerful, and I have to follow their rules. But I am okay with that.

I've used Paypal for many years, and never had a problem. They are trying to make money just like all of us, and have to protect themselves.

And, WE are trying to make money, and have to protect ourselves. So don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Running for 15 years without problems, and then getting two quick disputes likely landed you on their radar. No need for there to be skeletons in the closet, just a disruption in the established pattern.

It's the same for sudden influxes of sales. In addition to worries about getting stuck with refunds, you also have official worries about money laundering and other nefarious purposes.

As for the disrespect this Brock guy got, all I can guess is that for Paypal to get that brusque ("get a subpoena"), he likely gave them plenty of disrespect to react to. In the handful of times I've spoken to anyone at PP, they haven't always given me the answers I wanted, but they have always been polite about it.

And to the poster who claimed IMers were a major source of income, think about it. Suppose you do a million dollar launch in one day. At ~3%, that's $30K for PP. For a company processing a third of a trillion (with a 'T') per year, that isn't enough to get out of bed for.

This is a key point, and we as sellers tend to ignore it...


Most of you are way too young to remember when credit cards first came on the scene (no Virginia, they haven't been around forever).

Merchants accepted cash or checks ONLY - and often would NOT accept personal checks.

Consumers, of course, loved the idea of "credit on demand", but it took a little while for merchants to realize that if they accepted credit cards, and their competitors did not... they had a selling advantage. So much so, that they even agreed to accept some of the risk for some of the inevitable loss from those who defaulted when it came time to pay up. (They accepted the concept of merchant fees)

It was a real balancing act to find the right level of merchant fees and credit rates to make both merchant and consumer happy - and still be able to turn a profit.

One of the concessions that merchants (besides paying a fee for each dollar of credit extended) accepted was to agree on the credit card company as final arbiter in any credit dispute on the buyer's behalf.

By turning that concession into basically an across the board, satisfaction guarantee for the consumer, the credit card has been able to become ubiquitous and began replacing cash as the preferred method of payment for goods.

ANYONE who intends to sell in almost any market (especially an online one), in any appreciable volume must inevitably accept credit.

Many large retailers have issued their own credit card (store cards) to mitigate the amount of merchant fees required by the major credit card companies, but because they are only good in that store... those retailers still find it necessary to accept major credit cards - and the terms that those credit cards impose for a merchant account.

Because of the need to mitigate risk associated with any non-cash financial transaction, ALL other payment processors (including Paypal) are forced to offer similar terms, or simply pack their bags and go home.

We have to remember that Paypal IS NOT your own personal piggy bank. Neither are we (as sellers) their customer... they are our agent.