The Wholesale Forums

[Saajan]

Hi,
I know there's a similar guide to this but I just wanted to cut down a few bits and make it easier for the newcomers and yes all of this is written by me and nothing has been copied from the other guide which is located in this forum

PayPal

PayPal has become a compulsory payment method for buyers and sellers from around the world. Many people respect PayPal as its fast, easy and efficient. eBay buyers and sellers make transactions with PayPal everyday. This organisation has over 100 million accounts and is constantly growing.
Most people get along with PayPal and make no fuss, but there are others who get their accounts blocked or frozen.
My article will discuss PayPal as a whole and ways you can prevent from getting your account blocked/limited and even hacked into.

PayPal – What’s so good about it?

First of all many people appreciate that PayPal is a way of receiving and sending money securely online. PayPal offer lots of services such as:

• Making payments via your mobile phone
• Accepting credit cards on your website
• Building subscriptions
• The ability to make selling on eBay easier

What most people would find is that PayPal is easy to handle and there are over 100 FAQs to help you if run into trouble. Phone and email support is also available.

The fee’s for using their service are amazing. If you sign up to a merchant account I guarantee you that your going to be blind sighted by the fee’s.

PayPal – There must be some downsides right?

PayPal have a small habit of freezing accounts. Normally when they do “freeze” accounts they would give you a reasonable explanation and instructions which you should follow to unfreeze your account. This is only happened to me two or three times and I have to say, I was not even worried as I knew if I followed their instructions it would be ok. And guess what? I was right. The very next day, my account was restored back to normal. It’s simple really, just do what they say.

Another small problem is customer support. When you submit a query by email it often gets delayed or never answered. I accept that they have over 100 million accounts and might not have the time to answer everyone's questions but others may not.

PayPal's Customer Service Centre opening hours are:

• 06:00 to 22:00 Monday to Friday
• 08:00 to 22:00 Saturday
• 09:00 to 22:00 Sunday

I also recommend you contact them by phone rather than email.

So how did you do it? It’s taken so long for them to unfreeze my account..but it took them 1 day to unfreeze yours!

Well I didn’t really do anything. The reason why they froze my account was that their records showed that my account was accessed by a third party. Now I know it could have just been me, from my laptop, and I know that I don’t have any spyware or adware running round my computer but I accepted that explanation.
The key thing I did was I followed their instructions and didn’t delay in faxing documents in which they required. If you work with PayPal they will work with you to. If you mess around and leave it for a week or so then it would take PayPal longer to respond. In the case you don't have a fax machine, buy one now or at least get it faxed through a friends machine. PayPal will send back information through the number you supply (which should be connected to a fax machine)
Fax machines come cheap these days. Take a look at the links below if you require any:

HP Photosmart C4180 - £49.98 including delivery
Canon Pixma MP210 - £41.00 including delivery

Both of these are multifunctional printers which do come in handy at times. Plus you wont be spending more than £50+.

If your looking something for a bit cheaper than here is a cheaper option:
BT Paperjet 30 - £24.99 refurbished

I think my account may have got hacked but I still have access. How could this have happened? What shall I do?
First thing you should do is change ALL of your passwords to anything which is linked to your PayPal account. That includes your email address and eBay account. Secondly phone up PayPal, their number can be found here:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/we..._contact-phone

Contact PayPal by phone and not by email!

Thirdly check all of your computers in your house for any spyware/adware/viruses. Below are links to free programmes which you can use:

AVG – Virus and Trojan remover:

http://free.grisoft.com/

Lavasoft Ad-Aware – Removes Spyware/Adware:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Are there any other ways I can prevent my account from getting frozen or limited?

One thing PayPal are very keen on is security and identity theft. Make sure you verify your account in full! Meaning that your address is verified, your credit card details are verified and your bank account is verified. I also advise you upgrade your account to either a Premiere Account or Business Account. This may be a huge step for you but it will definitely prevent a lot of things happening to your account.

I’m simply sick and tired of PayPal, are there any other options available?

Well of course. There are many other online payment gateways available such as:
Google Checkout
PPPay
Nochex
Moneybookers
Worldpay

There are many more to pick from in the following thread written by Anthony
Checkout Payment Processors

So what's this PayPal Masspay thing I keep on hearing about? Is it the right thing for me?

PayPal Masspay is a simple tool used to send large amounts of cash to any PayPal Member. This tool is intended to be used for things like:

• Affiliate commissions
• Customer rebates
• Pay-to-surf rewards
• Employee benefits
• Lottery prizes
• Survey incentives

Whats so special about Masspay?
The reason why so many Wholesalers/Dropshippers use Masspay is because when sending payments the payment sender gets charged 65p for any amount transaction which is made whilst the recipient doesn't get charged a penny.

Is Masspay safe?
My advice to you is that when making a Masspay Payment to someone make sure you know the recipient is reliable and trustworthy. Masspay Payments can not be cancelled and there is no way of getting your money back.

How to use?
For you to use PayPal Masspay you must have the following:

• A PayPal Premier or Business Account
• A spreadsheet software
• Money ready in your PayPal Account

If you don't have a spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel then you can download a free package which includes excel:

http://download.openoffice.org/2.3.0...focus=download

Once you have those ready follow these instructions:
Open your spreadsheet software
When open the programme you'll find these little boxes set out on the page. These are called "cells"

In the first cell (A1), you type in the email that you want to send the payment to
In the second cell (B1) you type in the amount you want to send (example 12.00)
In the third cell (C1) you type in the currency. A list of accepted currencies are on this page:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/we...-works-outside

In the fourth cell (D1) you can type in any comment you like. Once you have done that, go to "File" and then "Save As" and where it says "File Type" you chose "tab-delimited file"

Pros

• Small Fee
• Saves money

Cons

• You must upgrade to either a Premier or Business Account
• Time consuming
• Hard to set up
• Requires experience in spreadsheet software
• No protection for the buyer

Thanks for reading.

[thepolodealer]

Great info here, good post.

[mattm2K7]

Absolutely superb cleared up many issues. Surely it should be sticky??

[Saajan]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Also added a few more bits in

[mattm2K7]

Saajan, what details would you need to fax and is it complicated to fax, as am worried one day my account will be frozen?
Cheers
Matt

[Saajan]

Originally Posted by mattm2K7

Saajan, what details would you need to fax and is it complicated to fax, as am worried one day my account will be frozen?
Cheers
Matt

Hello,
The process is very simple. PayPal will ask you to print out a A4 page from your computer which is called the "fax cover sheet" On that page, it has your fax ID number which PayPal provides, your case number, your email in which you have to insert and your own fax number.

That sheet will also ask you you list the number of extra pages you are going to fax. Depending on the situation, PayPal could ask for the following:

• Passport Information
• Utility Bill
• Or something which can identify you

Hope this helps.

[mattm2K7]

Cheers that helps!
Matt

[Saajan]

Hi,
I just thought of something. This is for you eBay sellers. I am writing this from my own experience and it is your choice if you want to follow it or not. Personally I sell on eBay and obviously I use a verified PayPal Business Account to accept my transactions online. Once I receive the payment, I check the following to insure the buyer is legit and also faithful:

• Their eBay feedback
  - If its to low, like for example -1 or -2 and they have paid via PayPal I will refund their payment straight away and give a clear and precise explanation for my actions.
• Their eBay address and personal details
  - I ALWAYS see if the buyers personal information matches up with their PayPal account information, such as their name, address and telephone. If their name differs then I would really mind but say if the address is totally different, I would message the eBayer and ask for an explanation.
• I'll always check whether the buyers PayPal account is confirmed. If they have already paid via PayPal and their address is unconfirmed, again I will refund the payment and give a reasonable explanation

You might be thinking to yourself, "Hmm it's only a unconfirmed address" or "Loosing a sale because of a unconfirmed address..pfft.." Well its not as simple as that. If you sent a toy as an example to a buyer with a unconfirmed address, you'll likely ending refunding the buyer, fighting against a chargeback or be in stress because your PayPal account balance is in a negative state. If you send anything to a buyer with a unconfirmed address then your not covered by PayPal's Seller Protection Policy. This policy helps the seller fight unauthorized chargebacks or any disputes which may be created against you. So think about it, sending items to a unconfirmed address will lose you sales even more, lose profit, be in danger of chargebacks or silly excuses which the buyer might make to get their money back and even getting your PayPal account in a right mess.

Only send to confirmed address. Be on the safe side.

[HaRdy SiNgH]

great post... i have to admit once i did send an item ( expensive) to an unconfirmed address but luckily it went through smoothly... some great advice and tips there really helpful good job mate

[Saajan]

Originally Posted by HaRdy SiNgH

great post... i have to admit once i did send an item ( expensive) to an unconfirmed address but luckily it went through smoothly... some great advice and tips there really helpful good job mate

Thanks for the feedback. When I first started out, I sent items to unconfirmed addresses to but they all went fine as well. Touch wood