Ebay and other online auction powerselling tips and information

Paypal is the preferred method of most sellers on eBay. Granted, you will have to pay fees to use Paypal. The standard fees are about 2.5% of the transaction amount, plus 30 cents per transaction. This may seem like a lot, but consider the following:

1) Checks and money orders take longer to arrive via snail mail than electronic payments. Customers often have to find a stamp, find an envelope, go purchase a money order, and remember to mail it to you. Many of these payments never arrive.

2) When using Paypal, both buyer and seller have each other's contact information and a record of the transaction to refer to in the event of a dipute.

3) Paypal is immediate. You can't beat electronic transactions with regard to speed.

4) Paypal is safe. Many "old school" internet shoppers fear that using online payment systems exposes their financial information to scammers and hackers. Not exactly true. Case in point: Think of how many human hands touch a check or money order (the bank teller, the check processing clerk, etc) and how many opportunities there are for fraud when a human being is involved in a transaction with a paper instrument.

5) Checks, money orders, and cashier's checks can be fraudulent. I avoid them. 

6) Paypal offers other services, such as a debit card. I have a Paypal debit card and use it frequently for purchases and cash at ATMs - and I receive cash back for qualified purchases.

7) 90% of eBay sellers accept Paypal. If your customer doesn't have a Paypal account and hasn't jumped on the online payment bandwagon, there is probably a reason why - he may not have been approved. Not having a Paypal account is a red flag and you may not want to deal with that customer anyway.