paypal (paypal.com)

Member Name: dhj1

Product:	paypal.com
Date:	26/08/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: credit card information not shared, instant

Disadvantages: high fees, paypal protection not always reliable, bank withdrawal time

I use or should I say have to use paypal mainly because of ebay. Yes the idea of sellers being able to be paid by buyers instantly from anywhere in the world is a good one. The fact buyers can pay using credit card (and not share that secure card information) is an obvious advantage and sellers can withdraw the payments to their bank accounts with ease.

However the fees at 3.4% plus a flat rate to accept payments is quite high especially compared to the old method of cheques and cash which were free for the seller but of course do not offer any protection to buyers. Paypal has now offered the buyer protection especially on ebay purchases so they are protected against not receiving their goods or if the goods are not as described.

For sellers though you can still be a victim of fruad if a buyer has hacked in to someones paypal account or is trying to do some other kind of scam - the seller protection is not always very good. It can also force sellers on ebay to offer refunds when a buyer may be trying it on which is unfair to the seller. I think paypal have got themselves in to a tricky situation by trying to intervene in disuputes between buyers and sellers on ebay.

There are many online businesses now accepting paypal too and you can have the option to pay for goods or services using your paypal balance built up from previous incoming payments which is sometimes handy. The fact you don't have to share your actual credit card details is a major plus. You don't receive any interest on your paypal balance though so I wouldn't keep too much in there for too long and if your log in details are compromised you risk losing the funds.

Paypal is somewhat useful for sending personal payments as some transactions are fee free and there is no need to exchange bank details.

A gripe though is the long time it takes to withdraw your paypal funds to a bank account.

Summary: paypal is hit & miss