Great Piece of Mind (paypal.com)

Member Name: chris_14

Product:	paypal.com
Date:	14/09/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Safe, Secure, Convinient, easy to use

Disadvantages: Increasing fees

I created a paypal account when i first started using Ebay as i wanted an easy way to send and recieve money.

Paypal works by creating a link between the buyer and seller that means you dont need to reveal any bank details to each other. You can simply pay the buyer or sellers "Email address" which paypal then transfers to your bank account on your behalf.

This creates a great sense of security when using sites such as Ebay as you know you have not given out any personal information to what are technically strangers.

When you first sign up to Paypal the process can be a little long, as you will need to add a funding source...i.e your bank account or a credit card. Paypal then need to varify that this is your card or account and will usually take a small deposit from your account which you then need to check and enter online. This makes sure that you are who you say you are.

Once this process is completed you are free to send or receive money simply by giving out your assigned email address. Any money recieved through paypal will stay in your paypal account until you transfer it to your bank account. Alternativly you can keep this money in your paypal account and use it to but other items online. Paypal then charges you a small fee for receiving money although sending money is free.

Paypal offers great buyer and seller protection and almost everything you use paypal for will be protected. This means in the event you were to fall short of a scam paypal will do their best to help you out.

However one thing to note as i found out myself is that Paypal can only generally recover any money that you have paid to someone that is still in their paypal account. This means if they have transfered it out of their paypal account papal cannot retrieve it immediatly and it could take months to retrieve.

That said paypal is a very safe and secure way to buy and sell items online, its quick and easy to use although i would say that the charges have increased in the last year which has slightly put me off using paypal.

Summary: A safe way to purchase items online