Paypal as your main credit card processor

[DCG]

Does anyone on here use Paypal (not Paypal Pro) as their main (or only) credit card processor on their site? I'm considering switching to Paypal to avoid the monthly fees, but worry that making customers have to leave my site to pay through Paypal might seem unprofessional.

Thoughts? Has Paypal gotten to the point where its respectable enough that customers won't mind using it?

[RDavis]

I offer my customers Paypal, Google Checkout and Option of calling in credit card if they would like to since as of right now there is no support for Securepay or so that's what I was told Most pay with Paypal google checkout is next and paying over the phone comes in with a few orders here and there
perhaps I am missing out on sales but I havent had anyone complain yet
and the ones who have called thanked me for having an option to call and have the card processed as they feel more secure that way.... No Idea why but whatever makes them feel secure is all thats important

[shanshine]

I think paypal is secure enough I use paypal quite a bit in my personal life especailly with ebay transactions.


I don't understand why you think that you may be avoiding fees though....in order to take credit cards through paypal you have to have the premier service (or something along those lines)and there are still fees associated with accepting credit cards through paypal. So I don't know what you would actually be saving by switching to paypal exclusively.

[RDavis]

I dont think he meant fully avoiding fees but perhaps he meant like the monthly that authorize.net and or other processors like that
I know that Paypal PRO charges close to 30 a month and virtual terminal is included in that cost
I chose to just accept paypal quick express as well as google checkout the 2 or whatever it is percent isnt all that bad and you arent commited to 2 years or longer like you are with authorize.net and other merchant services
some dont have long term agreements now *shrugs* guess just find what works for you and go with it
I just had a guy pay with an Echeck took a few days to clear through paypal but he liked the option of doing that experiment with stuff and see how it goes

[DaveW]

Does anyone on here use Paypal (not Paypal Pro) as their main (or only) credit card processor on their site? I'm considering switching to Paypal to avoid the monthly fees, but worry that making customers have to leave my site to pay through Paypal might seem unprofessional.

Thoughts? Has Paypal gotten to the point where its respectable enough that customers won't mind using it?

When I go to a site that uses regular PayPal for processing, my first thought is "I hope they are succesful enough to get a real cart soon." Depending on who it is and what they sell, I may or may not go ahead with the purchase, but my initial response is negative. I realize this is more perception than reality, but you asked my opinion. :)

Also, IMO, paying with PayPal is an extreme pain in the butt if you want to pay and not use your balance or one of the default payment methods. I only have one PayPal account, for the company. I also only have one email adress, business and personal, which is tied to that account. Paying with PayPal on my personal card through that account is generally a pain and I often go elsewhere.

HTH,

DaveW

[Mark]

IMHO, PayPal would be good to offer as an option, but not the sole source of payment. We do not offer it.

[GoldenEagleOutdoors]

I have been using both the Paypal Pro and the express paypal on my site and I've noticed some people use express and some use their credit cards. Paypal is becoming more widely accepted by sellers since I've seen it on big box retailer websites such as HP and one of the office stores.

With that being said, I don't like Paypal all that much because of the games they play with your money and they don't deposit the money from sales directly into my checking account like regular processors. I was kinda stuck using them because I couldn't get another processor since 3D wasn't setup for quickbooks merchant accounts.

[cekman]

I use PAYPAL PRO - I feel customers are confused if they only see PAYPAL as an option. They feel they HAVE to be a member of PAYPAL and there are just too many customers that aren't. (maybe they do - I don't remember)

By using PAYPAL PRO I can offer your standard credit card option and the "IF your a PAYPAL member you can pay with PAYPAL" option.

I have quite a few people use their paypal account.

If you're trying to avoid merchant fees altogether then I wouldn't do it. I think you'll lose business.

Just my opinion - but I wouldn't consider not offering standard credit card payment option. The VAST majority of my customers pay via standard credit card.

[SarahInc]

I use Paypal Pro, and also offer Paypal Express too. Most of my customers purchase through my site using a credit card though. I only get a few that utilize paypal express. My Paypal Pro is $30 a month, plus like .35 cents per transaction and like some percentage (depending on your totally monthly sales).

If you use just paypal as a payment option you won't have the monthly fee, but you will still have per transaction fees. There is no way around that. Although I think Paypal is widely recognized, I think offering it the only payment option will result in lost sales. Some people aren't familiar with it, and will think they have to sign up for something. And just leave them. Like someone else said, I also would question a company that only offers paypal as a payment option.

[yourcablestore.com]

Why not use Google Checkout? Much easier setup and less confusing for the buyers (IMO).

[DaveW]

We offer every payment choice we can get...all cards through a regualr gateway, Google and PayPal. To clairfy my earlier comment, I just don't like sites that use PayPal regular for their card processing...I do think PayPal as an additional option is good.

DaveW

[artsyguys]

Paypal, google checkout, amazon payments

There is no substitute for a real merchant account, and you will see additional sales for every payment option you have. There are online shoppers who buy enough that they want to avoid inputting their credit card information every time they make a purchase. So if they can pay through their paypal account, google checkout, or amazon account, they will do it. It's a much faster transaction. Also, they give you the terms that will qualify for guaranteeing that payment and that there will not be any chargebacks. That is a big plus especially if you want to sell outside the U.S. Paypal is international, and if you accept payment through Paypal and ship to a "confirmed" shipping address they guarantee that payment. It's similar on amazon payments and google checkout. That is a great benefit - also buyers are able to use more means of payment, such as echecks, than they normally would with a simple merchant account.

Paypal is there for buyers who really want to use it. Nobody is going to register at paypal to make a purchase. But it is a far easier checkout. All you have to do is enter your paypal id and password and if it's express checkout, then all the information is there and you just say yes - buy it.

Paypal pro is must a merchant account. It has a virtual terminal which allows you to authorize and charge credit cards you may take in person or on the phone. It's $30 a month but it includes discover and amex, and normally you pay extra directly to those cards on a merchant account. However it does not process echecks. Normal paypal processes echecks for paypal buyers. And it does not have a phone authorization function, whereas most other gateways do have this function such as authorize.net.

I have noticed in ten years of online sales that every payment method will produce additional sales. Not many people use echecks but some still don't have debit or credit cards. They are a lot better than taking physical checks and waiting for them to clear. Amex alone is now about 40% of our sales on one storefront and most people just do not think about Amex but it's the most common business card out there and many people buy with their business credit cards.

Paypal express checkout will definitely increase sales. It's fast for buyers. People who prefer to pay with amazon, google checkout or paypal - will actually shop for stores that offer those methods, and all three providers have lists for them to look over. Google puts google checkout icons on their google adwords ads if that seller provides google checkout.

There are fees for all of these, but amazon, google checkout and paypal have no monthly costs and the big bonus is that they guarantee payment and you don't have to worry about fraud protection.

Many people deride these paypal, google checkout and amazon buy-it-now buttons on an item page, but when a buyer can just click one button and get out of that store and finalize a purchase in ten seconds completely securely, it's a big incentive to buy. The check out process - CREATES CART ABANDONMENTS.

So every time you ask the buyer to do something extra it adds risk that he is going to leave before he finalizes the purchase. So for anyone that has a small number of items, I always recommend to go ahead and create those buy-it-now buttons right on the item pages. But you still need a merchant account and the big four credit cards to maximize your sales.

[Mark]

beware that PayPal is not a "banking" institution and is not subject to rules and regs of a normal banking institution. User beware.

[cekman]

Paypal pro is must a merchant account. It has a virtual terminal which allows you to authorize and charge credit cards you may take in person or on the phone. It's $30 a month but it includes discover and amex, and normally you pay extra directly to those cards on a merchant account. However it does not process echecks. Normal paypal processes echecks for paypal buyers. And it does not have a phone authorization function, whereas most other gateways do have this function such as authorize.net.

PayPal pro is much more than a virtual terminal account. It also allows you to capture credit card transactions online just like any merchant account. The user does NOT have to log onto PayPal - they simply enter their credit card information.

It is an ADDED benefit that I can use it as a virtual terminal to enter transactions I get on the road.

My customers can pay by credit card, from their PayPal account (which allows payment by echeck, their PayPal balance, Bank account, or credit card), or personal check/money order.

But you still need a merchant account and the big four credit cards to maximize your sales.

PayPal Pro allows me to accept online credit cards for Visa, Mastercard, AmerEx and Discover. The credit card payment option is by far the most used option on my site. Most people never realize their card is being processed by PayPal.

I think your information about PayPal Pro isn't quite correct.

[adamarketing]

PayPal Pro

My two cents:
I use PayPal Pro and have a large enough volume to get comparable discounts to low cost merchant accounts, which is great, and trust me, being able to see every fee for every transaction up front, with no freakin' games (that many merchants will play) is an awesome feature PayPal has. I don't play into the "paypal sucks" crowd, which has some good points but is promoted my traditional merchants who don't like the competition. Sure, paypal has its problems, but so do traditional institutions that load you with extra fees every month. I've used 3 different merchants now and have had questionable fees added by each of them... but back to paypal.

Problem 1: if a customer is having trouble with PayPal, for whatever reason, PayPal is your only source for processing and you are out of the sale. Let's say, a customer tries a card with PayPal standard. It rejects the card due to some type of gateway error. So, they try the card in regular card processor (paypal pro) and it will reject the card. Why? It is the same gateway. They have no way to pay you.

Problem 2:You have no way of knowing why a persons card was rejected. You have to call up PayPal to figure out why a card was rejected, leaving you bound to 10 more minutes wasted. So, you have no access to the back end data to fix the problem, it is all in PayPal's hands. In a nutshell, your customer will have to use another card for most errors, or it will continue to be rejected... chances are you will loose your customer. No big deal if you are into qty sales but if you are selling anything high dollar, it's huge.

Hope this helps.