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New Alternative to Paypal
 

The past few weeks I have been working with a team that is developing a new Merchant Card Service. This is going to be big. A lot of my friends are very well connected in Southern California's banking and financial industries.

They are so well connected that the rates for the merchant services will beat Paypal and probably any other company that most of you are using. I'm not trying to sell anything here. The platform is still being developed. I am asking only if there is an interest on this forum in this type of service to help stealth account users. If so, please shoot me some ideas that would help.

The key here is I know that stealth eBay users have a unique need that no other merchant service provider can truly accommodate properly. I can help coordinate things with this company when necessary. Just looking for some input. If there is no interest here then so be it.

One more thing. These guys are mostly dealing with large businesses ($500,000+ per month in sales min). They are no joke.

I'll believe it when I see it. Plus, even if you do set-up and start this super awesome merchant service, it doesn't mean eBay will accept it into their system. I'm sure there's some process involved to get implemented into their payment options and it probably won't be easy.

And I'm pretty sure 0% of stealth users selling on eBay are taking in $500,000 a month, probably not even $500,000 a year. So, if you want it to be successful for the stealth users better make it so that sellers who take in $2000 a month are able to us it as well.

The amount that people bring in is not relevant. I was merely using that as an example to show that this is a serious opportunity. This isn't a Paypal type service. It is a merchant account service. You would get your own account with the company and attach with a shopping cart. Why would eBay not allow this service? It is completely legitimate. We are working directly with one of the top banks in the U.S and will most likely be able to beat almost any other merchant account prices. I'm just looking for advice or comments to help stealth ebayers.

just because it is completely legitimate doesn't mean ebay will like it. Look at all the horror stories of ebay banning people who did nothing wrong. You probably need to pay off ebay a % of what you make in order for them to implement your service

Just look at google checkout, probably the best paypal alternative out there, still not accepted by ebay.

With all due respect, what do any of these comments have to do with this thread? I'm asking for stealth ebay users who actually have an interest in a non Paypal service for their ebay accounts.

i gave you message .please check it ..

Certainly, any new service that would help stealth users would be welcomed. As others have pointed out, that does not mean that eBay will allow it. They still take the position that Google Checkout is an unproven service, even though it is backed by Google. In fact, if eBay could avoid allowing ANYTHING other than PayPal, they would do so. Only the threat of an antitrust lawsuit prevents them from doing that.

I don't think that anyone is trying to discourage you, they are just pointing out the realities of dealing with eBay.

Having said that, here is what I want from a merchant account provider. My current one that I use for my website comes CLOSE. They are not bad. But there is always room for improvement.

I want a merchant account provider to process my transactions at a reasonable cost. I am willing to pay fees for chargebacks, but $25 is unreasonable. It does NOT cost them anywhere near that to process them.

I am more than happy to provide my financial information, and allow a credit check, That is reasonable and normal. What I DON'T want is the merchant account provider to try to micro-manage my business. My first merchant account provider told me that I would have to have any new suppliers approved by them. I'm sorry, but that crosses a line as far as I'm concerned.

Now, I'm not asking that they allow the sale of illegal items, counterfeit merchandise, etc. But the suppliers that could be approved by the first company I dealt with all had higher prices. I cannot be competitive if I cannot buy my merchandise in the open marketplace.

If a chargeback request is made, I would like them to at least ATTEMPT to fight it, unless I am clearly in the wrong. Some buyers use chargebacks as their first option, and their banks allow it. That should not happen. If the buyer files for a chargeback without trying to resolve it with the seller first, then the seller should be given an opportunity to resolve it - and if resolved, it should NOT be counted as a chargeback.

If you feel that you need a deposit from me, or if you want to impose a "rolling reserve" please tell me this UPFRONT. Meaning BEFORE the contract is signed.

If we are doing business, and you decide that I am too risky as a seller, don't just cut me off without notice. I would understand this happening if I was caught doing something illegal, committing fraud, selling counterfeits, etc. But NOT just because I tripped some theoretical risk model. If you no longer want to do business with me, OK, that is your decision, but please give me some time to find another provider.

Please be honest and upfront about the fees. Salesmen always try to put their product in the best light to make the sale, which is understandable. But don't quote me one price and then bury the true cost in 3 point type on page 17 of the contract.

If, during our relationship, you feel that you need updated financial information from me, OK, that is reasonable. But please don't tell me on Thursday afternoon that if you do not have the information by 5pm on Friday, you will cut me off.

I don't know that you could do anything about this, but it drives me nuts that I get a charge approved, send the merchandise to the verified address, have delivery confirmation, did everything right and then am told the charge was fraudulent and I have to eat the loss. A retail merchant with a store would NEVER be asked to do that. And what is the last time you made a purchase any anyone checked your signature?

The most important thing for me is, if a problem comes up, please have someone available to discuss it that is NOT reading from a script. I don't want to deal with Robo-Rep. Have some flexibility to deal with the situation. In most cases, I have to believe that a compromise could be reached.

Of course, some of these things may be beyond your control. And I'm not suggesting that you put your money at risk for fraudsters to take advantage of you. But some of these rules are just insane. I was actually told once that even though my credit was good and my financials were fine, my rates were being increased due to demographic data based on my ZIP CODE. I am NOT a zip code!

Don't take this as a rant. I'm just trying to give you some insight into what we would want when using a merchant account provider.

Jeff,

Thank you for your reply! Really appreciated it. That is what I was looking for. I hope more people reply as well. I want to setup a really good service for stealth ebay users. I know how hard it is to get paid these days on ebay.

The chances are ebay won't allow it, but if they did, I would definitely use it if the company you are talking can implement different (about 90% different) buyer and seller protection policies. All the policies should be fair and clearly stated on the website and in the user agreements. Jeff pointed out a big chunk of what I wanted to say. Thanks.

how long do you think it would take to get this up and running?

Sometime after New Years. Hopefully, sometime in January.

No ridiculous holds on my money. I can understand a 3-4 day hold or even a week, but 21 days is just ridiculous. I cannot run a business when I can't bring in money and I steadily have product out my door.

Alphaversa, first off... it would be great if you ever responded to a pm.

Secondly... the odds of ANYONE getting approved to be able to be used with ebay is just insane. The fact is, if ebay doesn't control it, they're not going to like it. Your service will still require a SSN next year when sales reach the threshold, so it won't work for stealth users taking in .5 million in a month. If you know what to sell to take in real fractions of millions in a month, please, PLEASE clue me in so I can quit this horrendous trade.

To be quite honest, it's been a real gem taking in less than a grand a month on hundreds of paypal accounts... and they have NO idea whatsoever who I am. I kind of like paypal. It's the ultimate stealth solution. Will this company be as easy to manipulate at will?

Don't you think if it was just as easy as teaming up with a merchant processor there would be thousands of solutions to accept payments on ebay like there are direct card processors?

If you have luck, keep me posted, and best of luck to you for that matter.

I just find this super hard to swallow.

I don't understand the comparison to Paypal. This isn't a Paypal type service. It is your own personal merchant account. We are working with one of the top 5 banks in the U.S. right now. Credibility won't be an issue. If they don't accept this merchant account then I don't see how they would accept any?

You have to get approved to sell with a merchant account.... they have a list of those they do not accept. It would be as easy as getting adding on to your list. How would your service benefit an ebay stealth artist with the plethora of direct merchant accounts already on the market?

My 3 biggest problems with any merchant or gateway service I have ever used.

Chargeback handling [or lack of] is always the biggest. I always feel helpless. I could have video of the buyer receiving it and still lose. My guess is the credit card companies themselves make it very difficult because they want to have the buyers back. They pay the fees

I kind of have to agree. Its locked right in there with eBay and if handled carefully can work just fine.