It's slightly more complicated than that - I have 2 PayPal accounts. At one time payments went to both accounts, but now they go to a single account and I would send money to the other account to cover Ebay fees. I did that when PayPal still was tied to Ebay and my shipping history would translate over to Ebay as "shipped" without problems - a situation that changed when the companies split.

I should have changed everything, but I didn't. That was a costly mistake.

Yet under the PayPal agreement, they were supposed to look to my PayPal account first. If there was no money there, my bank account comes into play. If there's no money in the bank account, my credit card is supposed to be charged.

When the PayPal account was empty, they went to the bank account. When it was empty, they didn't try the credit card (and I was charged an NSF fee). PayPal resubmitted the charge to my bank after 3 days. The bank charged another NSF fee. Not knowing this had happened, I didn't replenish either account. When I learned of the situation, I replenished both accounts (bank and PP). This time I replenished both accounts. (I had been out of town without reliable internet access, so I did not try to log in to the bank website or to PayPal, fearing my movements could be tracked by hackers)

Then I got a message that PayPal would try again to debit my bank account in another 3 days. I asked them why they couldn't charge the PayPal account now that it was replenished, or why they never tried the credit card during all these episodes. They sent me form letters twice before they told me it was too complicated and I needed to call them.

I think I have it straightened out - I no longer have two PP accounts tied to a single Ebay account. I have put sufficient funds in the bank to cover any contingencies.

The lesson here: if you think they are going to go to third option and charge your credit card, they aren't. They stay focused on the bank account even when you put sufficient money in your PP account to cover the $2.61.

Another lesson: if there is a problem with your PP account, they don't post a message in your PP account's message system. They send an email - sometimes from a foreign office - that sets off red flags for security-conscious users like me.