Are there any alternatives to Paypal?

[Teleking]

Yes, my funds had a hold put on them. Last time I deal with this group.

[Tonefish]

Yes, my funds had a hold put on them. Last time I deal with this group.

My guess is that your funds were put on hold because of something you did, or was done by the other party in your transaction, no?

I haven't found anything better than them, so far. If you dig into why they do what they do and how they do it, it makes a lot more sense. The one thing that funks it all up is buyers who are trying to screw over sellers...there's little available to protect sellers from that.

[whitehall]

Not yet anyway. I had heard that Google was going to roll out their own version of PP to compete. But in light of present times I have heard no more.

[teleman65]

I'm partial to hand delivered cash :D

[ski_fast]

My friend just sold 7K worth of gear on eBay. Unless the buyer leaves immediate positive feedback your funds will be locked up and held for 21 days! That leaves the buyer time to file a complaint. Sounds like a big hassle. Somebody could buy an amp, use it for two weeks, then return it. Paypal just turned eBay into Guitar Center... I think Paypal pays interest on the account but if they received even 1 percent on millions of dollars they were holding that would be incentive enough to implement this "new policy."

[movingpictures]

My friend just sold 7K worth of gear on eBay. Unless the buyer leaves immediate positive feedback your funds will be locked up and held for 21 days! That leaves the buyer time to file a complaint. Sounds like a big hassle. Somebody could buy an amp, use it for two weeks, then return it. Paypal just turned eBay into Guitar Center... I think Paypal pays interest on the account but if they received even 1 percent on millions of dollars they were holding that would be incentive enough to implement this "new policy."

Im pretty sure that hold only applies if you have very few transactions or a poor feedback rating.

[ski_fast]

My friend said if you have less than 100 transactions it applies. That is a big number if all you sell is high end stuff.

[Frank B]

Im pretty sure that hold only applies if you have very few transactions or a poor feedback rating.

Guess it depends on what a 'few' transactions- I have 70 transactions all w/ positive ratings and just had a payment held. Is a bit of a drag ...

[alanfc]

Yessss,,,
the article is still up...
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/0802/gallery.paypal_alternatives.fsb/2.html

anyone have any personal experience with these?
And was it for your small business? :

=Digital River
=2Checkout . com
=AlertPay
=TrialPay
=E-junkie

thanks

[mitch236]

I have only about 25 transactions and never had a hold. I don't want to jinx it but there it is. I actually withdraw the funds as soon as they hit PP.

[alanfc]

bump for my question in post # 9

[fullerplast]

bump for my question in post # 9

2Checkout.com processes credit cards and checks while monitoring for fraud and ensuring data security.

2Checkout.com has a one-time setup fee of $49.00 and takes a 5.5% commission plus $0.45 for each sale.

Protection against buyer scamming via chargebacks? None that I can see.

Protection against seller scamming via misrepresentation or non-shipment? None that I can see, beyond what you can already do with any charge card.

Value added for your 5.5% +? The ability to use charge cards and a screening for stolen cards, as best I can tell.

The ability to say "screw Paypal and their rules"? Apparently priceless.;)

[alanfc]

I just went to my bank's small business merchant area, and got some info, all the way down to the pricing -- but then you have to call in person for that ....WTF why can't they just tell you upfront what the deals are. SO you have to get on the phone and sit through the hard-sell. But I think a non-Paypal, easy payment thing direct from the website is best, with my own bank (i think)

[alanfc]

I've now had 2 replies from Paypal , both form letters. About upgrading my account but no direct answer to my question...its not that complex is it? Aargh... Here was the question:

Form Message
customer subject: limits to withrawals
customer message: Additional Information: 'If I upgrade to Premier,

will I be able to withdraw as I need to, with no $$ total restrictions?

The hypothetical is this: 3-4 withdraws per month for a grand total of
$#,###-#,### per month, for example. On a regular basis

Thanks'

[jazzandmetal?]

I just sold a pedal last week on ebay and I had no hold at all on the funds.