Paypal cracking down on the gifts to business accts

[All In Cards]

Just got an email from paypal. Looks like I might have to open up another acct to get some payments.

Here is a copy of the email.

We recently changed our pricing so that all PayPal customers can receive
money from friends and family within the US for free. PayPal merchants
receiving money as payment for a purchase continue to incur fees.


We're not sure if you are aware of this, but we noticed that some of
your customers are sending you personal payments for purchases.
Unfortunately, this violates our rules and we need your help correcting
this. Please don't ask or allow your customers to use personal payments
for their purchases.


If we continue to see such activity after 12/02/2009, we may have to
disable your ability to receive personal payments and then you will pay
fees for all money received through PayPal.

 

[Messier2]

How do they know it's a "purchase"?

 

[All In Cards]

How do they know it's a "purchase"?

good question, going to look into this

 

[Pine Tar]

How do they know it's a "purchase"?

I would think that if you get more then one or two payments at a certain time
that would be a tip off.

What the hell was paypal( Ebay) thinking, since the rape you on the fees, first on Ebay and then
when your paid, did they not think this would have happened. It is becuase they seen a decline in revenue
but payment to people have gone up. And come on we know most of us on here do it.

Oh yeah and they wanted me to open a account for my kid since she was in college, I just said to them politely
hell no.

 

[Pine Tar]

Ok and another thing, I don't not control how someone pays me, they just pay me.
So if I get a gift, then am I to refund the money and ask the person to pay me the right way.
Will i would think maybe, but
That may end of, pissing them off and then not paying me, or saying to paypal, I paid him but he refunded my money
I can see this getting ugly and soon. paypal should go after the sender and not the receiver, since they were the one that sent it the selling party.

 

[hive17]

They're not going to go after the sender. That's the same as doing something that negatively affects the buyer. eBay is on the sack of every buyer. Besides, it's only the seller/receiver that benefits from a gift payment, so only they should be punished by eBay/Pay Pal.

Face it, they figured out what some of us are doing and are pissed that we found a work-around.

 

[matfanofold]

Ok and another thing, I don't not control how someone pays me, they just pay me.
So if I get a gift, then am I to refund the money and ask the person to pay me the right way.

I really do not see this as a problem. I have never recieved payment as a 'gift' in over several hundred sales, and quite frankly, I do not see it happening without being solicited.

Will i would think maybe, but
That may end of, pissing them off and then not paying me, or saying to paypal, I paid him but he refunded my money..

Again, if you are not asking, implying, or factoring in this type of payment in your auctions, I believe there is zero chance of this happening.

I can see this getting ugly and soon. paypal should go after the sender and not the receiver, since they were the one that sent it the selling party.

I just do not see it. I am sure the sender would not pay this way without being notified of the implications and acceptance of the seller, so it's really a moot point as far as I'm concerned. However, I do understand your frustration if you have been working outside the rules until now. Yet, if you were doing things properly from the get go, this would not even be an issue for you.


EDIT: And as far as how they could single you out, I only seeing it going down 2 ways...

1. There is a red flag system for people who receive 'gift' cash via paypal and this made someone look in to it..

or...

2. Someone notified them of it.

 

[All In Cards]

and its only from payments I receive here on FCB.

Could always set up a personal acct with a different email addy. That might be a good way around it.

 

[boomo]

you really want to use the payment owed option, that way you can always say,
someone owed me money for work or consignment i did for them.

 

[Crazylox23]

I hate fees as well , but paypal is a big time convenience to get money fast for items we sell. That "gift" payment was meant for just that cash gifts. I dont see the problem with them cracking down, it is their business and they were losing money. I imagine because of the abuse of the "gift" payments paypal will take them away all together. And those that actually use it for Gifts will be out of luck.

 

[jcmint]

If your getting 100's of gift payments a month it becomes obvious to them. It was only a matter of time.

 

[George_Calfas]

My guess it is from the title field or the text box, people placing information with these fields. It would not be very difficult for them to mine that text.

Also red flags probably go up if you have a business account and receive gift there.

Andrew, I agree start a personal account.

 

[All In Cards]

fcb needs to set up some kind of bill pay software so we all can avoid paypal.

 

[prospectorgems]

fcb needs to set up some kind of bill pay software so we all can avoid paypal.

That would be very nice. Smart thinking.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

www.revolutionmoneyexchange.com

 

[lisu]

I get at least $500 from my roomie every month as a personal payment for living expenses or whatever and haven't had a problem, but maybe you are getting so many that they have noticed it, Andrew! That sucks!

 

[cgilmo]

fcb needs to set up some kind of bill pay software so we all can avoid paypal.

The pains of being a fiscal intermediary are enough to make me want no part of this.

 

[porcello94]

fcb needs to set up some kind of bill pay software so we all can avoid paypal.

The pains of being a fiscal intermediary are enough to make me want no part of this.

That and the fact that there's really no incentive for you, unless you took fees as well, which brings us right back where we started.

 

[Erich]

I think they are seeing the "payment for donruss sig break #2" and so on come up with something to get aound this.

 

[All In Cards]

I think they are seeing the "payment for donruss sig break #2" and so on come up with something to get aound this.

it could be my bday every day, lol