|
|
|
Here's why *some* sellers accept PayPal only:
If they take checks, checks bounce. They lose the sale and have to pay bank fees. Some sellers overreact after geting one bounced check and look for a way to prevent it from ever happening again.
If they hold the merchandise until the check clears, the buyer often complains that it takes too long to receive the goods even if the seller puts in the description that merchandise is held until the check clears. Although checks in the USA only take 3-5 days to clear, they take about 2 weeks to bounce! The bank doesn't inform us that a check bounced until another week goes by (because they re-deposit it and take their time mailing us an NSF notice). If the check bounes, we may preserve the merchandise, but we still have to pay bank fees.
For foreign orders, foreign checks take longer to clear and many banks charge $5 or more to process foreign checks. This may destroy any profit margin.
I don't require PayPal, but I accept it. 90% of my buyers (and 99% of my foreign customers) prefer to use PayPal because (1) it doesn't cost them anything to set up an account and (2) I know I can ship PayPal orders immediately so my customers often receive the item within 3 days of the auction close. A cynic could ask why buyers are so afraid to use PayPal if it costs nothing.
Requiring PayPal limits the number of bidders, but it also limits the number of problems. And the biggest issue for sellers isn't the number of bidders - it's the number of problems that throw a wrench into an otherwise well-oiled selling machine. So people who take PayPal (or those who require it) aren't idiots; they have made a business decision based on the alternatives.
|
|
