The PayPal Caste System - Small Merchants Get Squeezed

by: pace306

I cant count how many times other posters here besides myself have commented that nothing on eBay is even or honest.

eBay is pay for play, and now JD is taking that playbook to Paypal.

By eliminating the competition and outlawing every other choice - eBay knows sellers have no choice.

Best stick it to them - kick them when they are down - and laugh all the way to the bank (JDs specialty).

"PayPal offers value added services as part of the rate, such as seller protection, credit and new innovations such as One touch. Seller protection alone can protect our merchants from fraud that can analysts say can cost merchant $279 for every $100 loss."

.... who asked for any of those "innovations"? ALL I want is for Paypal to be responsible to its customers (me ie the seller) and NOT to eBay or any other agency, group or player.

Paypals fraud protection is minimal at best - NO transaction is looked at by hand - its all a computer algorithm. I've caught MORE then a few bad transactions and stopped them before  they went through. A guy with a bad address, from an Eastern European country - buying the same item over and over again 1 per day ... is fraud. Paypal SWORE it wasnt ... guess who was right?

With out human intelligence it doesnt work ... which explains eBay AND Paypals way of doing business.

by: iheartjacksparrow

"But a company spokesperson confirmed that merchants with negotiated contracts such as The Home Depot will not experience a rate hike."

I think we'd already figured that one out before an announcement. PayPal is not going to infuriate their favored sellers.

by: JQ

"PayPal's justification for the rate hike is the value added services it offers as part of the rate, "such as seller protection,"

???????

Paypal offers seller protection?

Did that press release come out of Bizarro world?

by: pace306

JQ - seller protection = "hands up, gimme all your money" ... just like in the old west.

seller protection paypal style = 180 days to make claims ...... !

by: thebobman

It already was simple... "Click here for lower rate", and now its going to cost me an extra $150 a year.

Also, is paypal *ever* going to fix the notification emails when using paypay shipping? On about July 25th, they just quit coming and I bugged them for a couple weeks about it, but it still isn't fixed.

by: thebobman

And propay, sure I only get a couple payments a year from it, but it gives people an alternative. Funny thing is I just renewed for another year...just 2 days before I get the notification that it will no longer be accepted.

by: comments

If it "only effects 1% of the merchant bases" then why are they bothering to do it in the first place? More double talk......

by: cosqueen

After 10 years on ebay, and after the horrendous week I had with dishonest buyers, I have made the decision to close 1/1/16. And thank God I don't have to worry about selling more than $3K per month -- that stopped years ago.  Squeezing out every medium and small seller.  Oh how very, very sad for many.

by: blackmail

does anyone actually sell more than 3k a month (other than Toolguy)I think those days are gone and the real question after fees and cost of goods sold what do they really make?
all sellers are indentured servants of eBay
there is so much competition with fake and china sellers there is no room for a profit  

by: Rexford

Ming has been saying it for years---Ebay Lies!!!  It has never been truer, and of course this is what we are seeing with PayPal as well.

Wenig has shown us his true colors. The honeymoon is over.

Here is the upside--most of us opine that John Donahoe destroyed eBay.  He's at PayPal now....just give it time.  In my humble opinion I think John is more focused on pleasing Wall Street than actually running the business and being a business partner with the customers.  He seems to have yet to figure out that when the customers are profitable the company is profitable.  Profit pleases Wall Street.

And immunity for eBay's mega enterprise sellers?  No surprise at all.  Reconnecting with small sellers?  More lies.

by: felyne

@rexford, I think you hit the nail on the head.

by: unknown

I wonder how they figured the math for the 1%? Does Home Depot count for 1, 2200+ (a guess at number of stores, 22,000 (a guess at number of terminals per store) or some other number?  

by: toolguy

eBay works and works well

Where else could a guy sell a set of 12" brass stencils for $120?

I LOVE EBAY!

It let's me be my own boss. . .

by: JQ

"Wenig has shown us his true colors. The honeymoon is over."

???????

There was a honeymoon period under Wenig?

by: pace306

@blackmail

Yes, actually *I* do more then 3k a month on eBay - and I work very hard to do so.

I sell new goods that average in price at around $100.

My problem wasnt just the raise in cost(s) but the sneaky, slimy way eBay and Paypal "who as you know are now SEPARATE companies" - EXCEPT for when they arent - do things like this.

If they do THIS, what stops them from doing other horrible rotten things.

Worse they are so BRAVEN about it. They do it openly and flaunt it in front of people - they even remove threads talking about it on eBays forums.

I know its not belowe eBay to lie cheat and steal - thats their NORMAL modus operandi.

Ina ran that article last week from that crackpot eBy CS guy - who said "people arent going to be happy" ... no they wont - 'cause you STEAL from them.

WHat negative bravado to yell from the tree tops about some new garbage on how they are "fixing" things - but wont so them until Q1 of 2016. Why make your sellers SUFFER during Christmas. There are ALOT of sellers whos majority of the year business is just that - during the holidays.

These 2 abysmal excuses for companies unfortunately are still need for most people - myself included. I cant throw away the 10-15K per month - but the amount of aggravation is UNMATCHED.

EVERY day I have to play defense and protect myself from "my selling partner" who today is "just a venue" but when they want to steal call themselves a "managed markeplace". Managed by whom, Charles Manson?

I always knew eBay and Paypal are tiered. I was there at that NYC mid town seller when they canceled over 1000 sales in 1 day, and eBay YAWNED. They got covered by eBay and made it up to them by using a feed from D&H with 20K items in it - you do the math. I wasnt involved in that debacle thank god as I was busy exiting the company anyway. Lets see anyone here (I know I couldnt do it) cancel 1000 sales - LMAO lets see anyone here GET 1000 sales.

Its all smoke and mirrors and the infuriating thing is - we all spend time doing these things and protecting ourselves from the predatory animals eBay/Paypal instead of making sales ......  

by: Rexford

pace306...it's called collusion, and it is illegal.

by: thebobman

>does anyone actually sell more than 3k a month

Depends on the month. Last night I had an $875 sale. I'm trying to turn it into a $2,800 sale if the guy needs more units (I had more, but they weren't ready for sale yet). I sell used computer parts/telecom/dictation and have between $40-$50k each on Amazon and ebay in a year. Some of the things aren't allowed to be sold on Amazon, like bulk lots and incomplete items. For the most part, I buy items for 10-20% of what I can sell them for, but I buy them "AS-IS, untested", so if something is broke or unsellable, I personally take the loss.

by: Twisted Sticks

Another hardship for small sellers trying to make a go of it.  Big business wins again.

This country was made on the backs of small businesses.  What happened to unique and different.

All across this country it is the same big box, fast food cookie cutter shopping.  So sad.

by: Map

This act is another abuse by John Donahoe & Company with collaboration by the Obama Administration to kill & maim small business owners with blessings to take record profits by this criminal organization of ebay & paypal.

The close connections of John Donahoe & the Obama administration lead to speculation that small business are being targeted for extermination thru corporate robbery and manipulation of traffic to small business sellers listings.

The OBAMA Justice department & the OBAMA controlled FTC have heard our thousands of complaints about ebay & paypal but they do nothing.

Think about it. The more people who are unemployed & underemployed individuals & families that exist in this country are the people whom are going to make OBAMA CARE a success.

Obama care is nothing more than Medicaid expansion and mandatory requirement for individuals over the Medicaid income limits must pay for Health Insurance policy.

It is all BS and that is why Obama has not created 1 job in this country and that is why John Donahoe is allowed to steel & fleece small sellers without prosecution by the LAW.

by: krl

"PayPal's justification for the rate hike is the value added services it offers as part of the rate, "such as seller protection, credit and new innovations such as One Touch."    Seller protection (kinda a joke) is a value added service? Give me a break. Cant you come up with a better way of communicating the reasoning for the rate hike. OneTouch? Does this mean Paypay will come to my home and do check my glucose levels? lol