Using Paypal outside of eBay - more lenient?

[Exeneva]

Hello Aspkin forum users,

I am planning on setting up a Paypal account (SAFELY) for a website where I will be selling ebooks online. I was just wondering what tips, tricks, safety precautions, etc. that anyone (especially Aspkin, since he does this) can give me for using Paypal outside of eBay?

Is it safer when using Paypal outside of eBay since information can't be shared (that is, until they checkout through Paypal)? Is Paypal as strict? I would like to know everything everyone has learned from using Paypal outside of eBay.

[aspkin]

It's probably best to use a 3rd party service to handle your sales. We use secure-ebook.com for eBay Stealth and it's an automated process. I'm sure they work with Paypal as well; we use Authorize.net as you know. There are also several other services and merchant accounts that can handle this for you fairly cheap.

I don't recommend just using Paypal, they're somewhat strict on virtual items, and buyers can claim not received too easy and get their money back without a problem.

[viking23]

I agree 100%,I use Paypal for my website and still the same old crap.
You can have 100 great transactions go through,then 1 or 2 people complain(about anything) and Paypal limits you.

[Exeneva]

Yeah. But my website is legit, and I did some research regarding Paypal disputes involving electronic items. From what I've read, you can't get your money back from an electronic item, and even if someone disputed it, I could provide proof that the item was delivered since my site uses the Paypal transaction ID to give the user the download link. And this transaction ID can be used multiple times, so I could actually provide the download link for the item in the dispute if needed.

[aspkin]

Originally Posted by Modee

Disagree, PayPal is MUCH more lenient when it comes to use exclusively outside of EBAY. I had two different PP accounts (one in my name, one in family member name). Both legit, both pretty old accounts, both SS # verified.

I use one with my websites and continue to do so. The other with EBAY. The one for my own websites has had LOTS of buyer complaints for non-receipt, many sustained, because I was out of state for a few months last year and didn't ship anything for a long time. Was just too busy and had personal issues as well. PayPal never molested that account at all. Sure, they reversed more than a few transactions where I had shipped nothing and didn't even bother to respond to the complaints, but that was about it.

But the other one was permanently limited for far less serious omissions.

NOW I am not saying that a Paypal-EBAY versus PayPal-non-EBAY account will be able to get away with the social security # demand any better, but I am saying that once the accounts are verified as legitimate PayPal will not shut you down for much short of real fraud if you are using it exclusively off-EBAY. It's as if they feel a compulsion to molest you just because they owe some duty to EBAY.

TRUE... But we're talking about Virtual items here, eBooks... in which there are MUCH better options out there then JUST OLD PAYPAL.. Pfft..

Trust me I sold literally hundreds of thousands of virtual items with Paypal, grossing millions a year, it's a huge pain with Paypal. Too much fraud and too easy to get scammed, there are better options for VIRTUAL ITEMS as I recommend otherwise.

[Exeneva]

You're right, Aspkin.

If it becomes a problem then I will resort to 2CO.

[Jonas]

aspkin, what sites do you recommend for virtual items?