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paypal alternatives?


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PayPal is nice, it's easy and it's pretty secure. But it's expensive as fuck, especially if you're using it with eBay. Has anyone used something other than PayPal? I saw a service called WePay that is similar, but looks like it's aimed more towards groups of people (fantasy football, ticket sales, etc). But looks like it's possible to use for selling records as well.

Is there anything else out there? Anyone try to use google checkout?

Just figured I would ask as I'm about to sell off a shit ton of my doubles and others I don't listen to and would always be into saving a couple bucks!

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lokithelion sent me an invite to some service but I can't remember the name of it.

somebody else needs to rise up and take initiative in this and take market share from Paypal. The main reason they're the industry standard is that Ebay bought them and implemented it as the base system to pay, so I'd love for them to lose out on their ridiculous cut they get from both sides of ebay transactions and the cut the get from one sided sales transactions for labels.

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Here is the site I mentioned: https://www.wepay.com/howto/collect

The groups thing is throwing me off, so I'm not entirely sure how well it would work for single sales or even a webstore for label peeps.

That page says it's 3.5% per transaction. Paypal is essentially 2.9% per transaction. I don't think that's outrageous, I don't know how much cheaper of an alternative there would be.

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There's Amazon that offer somekind of service like it. I think it's pretty much like Google checkout.

They must not be better that PayPal.

Let's hope that the guys at LimitedPressing come up with somekind of financial strategy to implement a new and almost free payment system of their own :D a guy can dream.

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Here is the site I mentioned: https://www.wepay.com/howto/collect

The groups thing is throwing me off, so I'm not entirely sure how well it would work for single sales or even a webstore for label peeps.

That page says it's 3.5% per transaction. Paypal is essentially 2.9% per transaction. I don't think that's outrageous, I don't know how much cheaper of an alternative there would be.

If you can get people to sign up with the site and use their bank account info instead of a credit/debit card, there is only a .50 cent fee, as far as I can understand at least. Which, probably wouldn't happen often...

But 2.9% sure does beat 3.5%...

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Cash, Check, Money Order

Back in my day...

Get off my lawn!

Totally remember sending money orders to nitro, recess, dr. strange, fearless and even fat for my first few orders before they slowly started to do online ordering. Kind of miss those days because you never really knew when the record would eventually get to ya...

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the thing is, you CANT get much lower prices. Thats just the way it is.

There was a yahoo payment system a few years back (not sure if its still around). There is google checkout (which i use at vinyl junkie in addition to paypal), which has essentially the same amount of fees, but less options, like printing shipping, etc. You can accept credit cards now without merchant accounts with any number of places like square up, or intuit, etc. But the fees are pretty comparable.

Most people use money off credit cards (even if that card is tied to a bank account), and the provider of those cards charge a fee for the use, and so any company that allows the option for a payment to be drawn from a visa/mastercard/whatever, will HAVE to charge a couple percent, because no way will they pay that out of pocket. the company has to pay the fee, so they pass it down. there are different levels of fees for credit/debit, swiped vs keyed in, visa vs. amex, etc. but most places just find a comfortable average and charge the user.

a lot of banks also charge for the ACH withdrawals, or auto withdraw, which is why there are fees even if you draw from a bank account not money (not to mention the computer processing time, security, etc all of which costs the company a lot).

you wont find a free service out there. unless you use money orders/cash.

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money orders arent even free, at least not at my bank..

well yeah but its free for the seller.

Even sending cash isnt "free", since you have to be a 42 cent stamp, plus the envelope. meaning if you are only sending 10 bucks, you are actually losing a higher percentage than if paypal was used. The only difference is that the BUYER has to pay the percentage, and not the seller.

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lokithelion sent me an invite to some service but I can't remember the name of it.

somebody else needs to rise up and take initiative in this and take market share from Paypal. The main reason they're the industry standard is that Ebay bought them and implemented it as the base system to pay, so I'd love for them to lose out on their ridiculous cut they get from both sides of ebay transactions and the cut the get from one sided sales transactions for labels.

I work in the Payment Industry, at a very close competitor to PayPal, but yet we do business together, and I meet and talk with them weekly.

My point is that there are well over 200+ competitors to PayPal. The indie record / collectors market / label people are only going with PayPal. Probably due to general ignorance within the market and not understanding they have other options. Including an ignorance of PayPals ability to process payments and pay out merchants.

eBay now allows other services including Moneybookers and a few others.

Big Easy said banks should step up, they are. They are in bed with Visa and other card associations and get a lot of money that way. However they are starting to see PayPal take a chunk out of the payments market and they are not getting any of it. Some banks are starting to partner with new payment companies to help get a cut of this. The problem with this is the chicken and the egg problem. No banks want to allow new payment methods unless the payment methods are signed up with large merchants. No large merchants want to signup without bank and consumer backing...At this years DRF conference (the big time payments conference) several banks announced initiatives that are directly in response to PayPals growing share of the payments market.

Banks have also been in this business for YEARS. In order to take a credit card a merchant must signup for a merchant account with an Acquiring bank. This bank "acquires" the transactions and takes a interchange fee based on merchants MCC code and the type of card involved. Banks did not want to invent new products, they are making a killing nickel and dimeing merchants. This is the reason why your banks tell you that using a PIN in the store is "dangerous" and why you don't always earn reward points on debit transactions. PIN debit (different form signiture debit) carries the lowest interchange, typically just a transaction fee, no discount rate applied. Then some banks are just issuing banks, they actually print the cards and give people accounts.

There is no such thing as a "free" payment method. It might be free to the consumer, or maybe to the merchant, but never both. Its just not possible.

People also shop for a Payment Processoring poorly. They fall in to the "digital camera" trap as I like to call it. All anyone cares about when shopping for a camera is pixels. Sure that's one important feature, but not the only one. With payments people only look at the processing rate for a standard transaction. That's very wrong to do for most businesses. There is a huge spread of features and processing around payment processing. In a card not present environment like the internet fraud is a big deal. Charge back support in case that comes in is important. If you just go with the cheapest processor and don't look into it you could get really screwed. You could pay half the discount and transaction fee then the other guy, but end up paying more with a few fraud issues and chargebacks. I have seen many merchant leave our system due to price, only to come back because they paid more in other fees and charges beyond just taking the card.

I think in a few years I might do online payments and usability consultation for labels, they need it.

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There is no such thing as a "free" payment method. It might be free to the consumer, or maybe to the merchant, but never both. Its just not possible.

People also shop for a Payment Processoring poorly. They fall in to the "digital camera" trap as I like to call it. All anyone cares about when shopping for a camera is pixels. Sure that's one important feature, but not the only one. With payments people only look at the processing rate for a standard transaction. That's very wrong to do for most businesses. There is a huge spread of features and processing around payment processing. In a card not present environment like the internet fraud is a big deal. Charge back support in case that comes in is important. If you just go with the cheapest processor and don't look into it you could get really screwed. You could pay half the discount and transaction fee then the other guy, but end up paying more with a few fraud issues and chargebacks. I have seen many merchant leave our system due to price, only to come back because they paid more in other fees and charges beyond just taking the card.

.

This! its backed majorly.

This unfortunately is the way people shop nowadays though. Whats the lowest cost to me, that must mean the best (the walmart mentality). fast forward to 6 months later, when an issue arises and the consumer feels screwed over because they purchased an inferior product but rather than blame themselves, they just blame the company.

just like purchasing the cheapest car insurance doesnt necessarily work out in the long run if there is an accident and you realize just how little is covers. Or when your discount furniture breaks in a matter of months, etc.

There is a reason why processing costs money. it sucks, but there is no way around it, ever. someone will be paying something.

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