17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

You may be losing sales with PayPal. You should consider alternative payment means.

by Johnathan
14 replies
Aside from the fact to set up a PayPal account is ridiculous, it seems they "force" regular purchasers to create a PayPal account, "force" them to agree to their terms and conditions (basically "we" as paypal can do whatever we feel like with your private information), before you can actually complete your order.

This is the message you get BEFORE you are "allowed" to make a purchase through paypal.

" By clicking "Continue", I acknowledge that I have read and agree to PayPal's User Agreement. I also agree to PayPal's processing and storing my information in the United States of America under the Privacy Policy.Click Continue only once. It will take an average of 60 seconds for your information to be submitted."

And you "must" create a paypal account with a paypal password in order for it to allow you to proceed.

This is ridiculous. Unfortunately because PayPal is so large, they feel they can abuse their power, and they get away with it.

This is the attitude paypal seems to have towards ANY customer or vendor:

"We are so big, we'll send you non stop automated e-mails because we are more important than you, you are nothing, and you would be a waste of our time to talk with personally, including any guys that we would pay in outsourced countries $1/hour for. So go find someone else. Oh haha, that's right, you can't. Because you need to use PayPal to get this. Well, too bad!!! Bye bye!"
#alternative #losing #means #payment #paypal #sales
  • Profile picture of the author shmerns
    I agree Jonathan, Alert Pay is pretty similar to Paypal. I think we need a few more options.

    All My Best,
    Lori P.
    Signature
    This May Just Be The Last Tool You EVER Use For Leads…
    www.LoriPetrosino.com
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733573].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
    I agree, PayPal is a joke except for ebay auctions where everyone uses it. If you have an online store or product you should really get a merchant account and do it up right imho.
    Signature
    Luxury Brand Marketing Firm

    Luxury Brand Marketing Blog
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733580].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jjpmarketing
    Maybe so... but at least PayPal is free. Try setting up a merchant account to accept all major credit cards. You will likely be paying at least $50 per month for the service in addition to fees which are high to process payments. In addition you will have to meet certain standards on your website for processing those payments.

    So really if someone isn't willing to setup a PayPal account to pay for services then they can do without.

    Of course there is a solution to that dilemma. Upgrade your PayPal account to a paid account and you can accept payments without users having to login to pay... if I am not mistaken... but I am not certain about that part.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733586].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Johnathan
      Actually, there are a lot of other payment processors out there. PayPal just happens to be the most well known.

      And the thing is -- I am simply trying to make a purchase. I am not selling through paypal (partly because of the really poor attitude towards they have towards vendors AND customers)

      This is the attitude paypal seems to have towards ANY customer or vendor:

      a) "We are so big, we'll send you non stop automated e-mails because we are more important than you, and you would be a waste of our time to talk with personally", and --

      b) "Oh yes, because we are so big, if we feel like seizing any part of your funds for whatever reason, we'll do that, and you can play with our automated e-mail system to see if you can figure out the e-mail address to our one techsupport guy who is on vacation sipping mai thais"

      .......


      Originally Posted by jjpmarketing View Post

      Maybe so... but at least PayPal is free. Try setting up a merchant account to accept all major credit cards. You will likely be paying at least $50 per month for the service in addition to fees which are high to process payments. In addition you will have to meet certain standards on your website for processing those payments.

      So really if someone isn't willing to setup a PayPal account to pay for services then they can do without.

      Of course there is a solution to that dilemma. Upgrade your PayPal account to a paid account and you can accept payments without users having to login to pay... if I am not mistaken... but I am not certain about that part.
      Signature
      Make money from writing, find out how now.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733608].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
      Originally Posted by jjpmarketing View Post

      Maybe so... but at least PayPal is free. Try setting up a merchant account to accept all major credit cards. You will likely be paying at least $50 per month for the service in addition to fees which are high to process payments. In addition you will have to meet certain standards on your website for processing those payments.

      So really if someone isn't willing to setup a PayPal account to pay for services then they can do without.

      Of course there is a solution to that dilemma. Upgrade your PayPal account to a paid account and you can accept payments without users having to login to pay... if I am not mistaken... but I am not certain about that part.
      Paypal charges you a significant 3% of your sale, plus a .30 cent transaction fee. Depending on the merchant account and the amount of sales you get you're loosing much more using paypal just based on lost conversions with using a 3rd part processor.
      Signature
      Luxury Brand Marketing Firm

      Luxury Brand Marketing Blog
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733611].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by jjpmarketing View Post

      Maybe so... but at least PayPal is free. Try setting up a merchant account to accept all major credit cards. You will likely be paying at least $50 per month for the service in addition to fees which are high to process payments. In addition you will have to meet certain standards on your website for processing those payments.
      Most merchant accounts will cost less than paypal.

      200 $37 transactions a month at paypal will cost approximately $275

      200 $37 transaction a month through my merchant account provider will cost: approximately $267

      So in other words PayPal is more expensive at the standard rates.

      However, if you are doing a certain amount of volume through paypal each month you can apply to have your rates lowered in which case their rates would be lower than most merchant accounts.

      I would never run an online business, or even market one for that matter with paypal as the only CC processing. If you're not serious enough about your business to have your own processing, what does that say to your customers?
      PayPal is also a trusted and familiar brand depending on what niche you are marketing to. It can sometimes increase conversion rates.

      I only use it for one time transactions though and will never use it for recurring.

      I also offer both cc and paypal as options for one time transactions. In my niche many people prefer paypal.

      In fact on one time transactions it is used 3:1 over cc when both are offered and even when cc is the default option.
      Signature
      Nanacast Review
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733838].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    you may be losing sales? No if you are using paypal you are losing sales and that is 100% guaranteed!
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733626].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jjpmarketing
    I never said PayPal was all innocent and nice.

    Really you need to have multiple payment methods to keep from losing sales. You will have customers who will only use PayPal. While others may prefer Google Checkout or Alert Pay.

    With CC merchants it is a monthly fee plus the similar or higher fees that PayPal charges.

    But in the end there is no perfect merchant service and you can't be everything for everyone. PayPal is just simpler because you don't have to worry about setting up secure payments on your website.

    There are a number of others that provide the same service. There are way too many to list in this thread.

    And when I said PayPal is free... I was referring to them not charging a monthly fee for the service.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733742].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Re-cycle
    I Love Paypal, they increased my conversion ever since I started using them. PLUS, scammers cant get their money back after they purchase any of my products (I have it all figured out now). Paypal is the best thing that ever happened to sellers online.

    JJPMarketing is right, paypal fees are way lower than setting up your own merchant account.

    Cheers,

    John
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733762].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jstover77
      Banned
      Unfortunately for many of us Paypal is a necessary evil.

      A lot of people don't realize that they don't have to create a Paypal account when making an order. Simply push on "pay with credit card", and you bypass the account set up.

      Also, I have found that if you invoice people to an email address previously associated to a Paypal account, it will always default to the sign in page. I simply tell them to make up a junk email if they don't want to pay with their old account.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733781].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
    I would never run an online business, or even market one for that matter with paypal as the only CC processing. If you're not serious enough about your business to have your own processing, what does that say to your customers?
    Signature
    Luxury Brand Marketing Firm

    Luxury Brand Marketing Blog
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733809].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DerrickMarkotter
      Do customers really care what payment processor you use? When I buy stuff online it doesn't particularly worry me, unless there's a problem.

      In fact, I would generally prefer to buy through Paypal or Clickbank, because entering my CC details on Joe Soap's website doesn't really appeal.

      As a South African, I can't use Paypal to receive payments. I've tried AlertPay, but they're having some difficulty with credit cards at the moment, and they keep asking me to verify my account, until I go to the verification page, which tells me my account has been verified.

      MoneyBookers, anyone?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733858].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
        Originally Posted by DerrickMarkotter View Post

        Do customers really care what payment processor you use? When I buy stuff online it doesn't particularly worry me, unless there's a problem.

        In fact, I would generally prefer to buy through Paypal or Clickbank, because entering my CC details on Joe Soap's website doesn't really appeal.

        As a South African, I can't use Paypal to receive payments. I've tried AlertPay, but they're having some difficulty with credit cards at the moment, and they keep asking me to verify my account, until I go to the verification page, which tells me my account has been verified.

        MoneyBookers, anyone?
        Do US consumers care? Absolutely! When they're on some site that they like and then they're prompted to go to another site (especially ALERT Pay which really kills their consumer confidence because of the word ALERT) to finalize their purchase it often kills the sale right there. You've got to figure most Internet users are not experts and have never heard of Paypal, when things start changing they bail.
        Signature
        Luxury Brand Marketing Firm

        Luxury Brand Marketing Blog
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733873].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Lambert Klein
    I give them a choice, credit card or paypal.

    If they already have a PayPal account it's pretty easy, and many people do.
    Signature

    WordPress Domination: from Beginner to Ninja in 7 Days http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007LS0TLE

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[733855].message }}

Trending Topics