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  #1  
Old Aug 30, 2012, 01:43 PM
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Vert1 Vert1 is offline
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Default Paypal Sucks Thread

Paypal is charging me more than the total listed for cds from cdjapan. I don't remember them doing this before. The total has always been what cdjapan listed as the total. Now it looks like paypal is charging a different yen rate (one in their favor). The cdjpan order total is 6,092 yen ($76.43) while paypal charges $79.59.

Here's what xe.com states as of today


So I'm not pleased. Anyone else have a paypal story to vent about?
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Last edited by Vert1; Aug 30, 2012 at 01:57 PM.
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  #2  
Old Aug 30, 2012, 05:24 PM
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dancey dancey is offline
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Paypal is fine and if it wasn't for paypal you probably wouldn't even be ordering from CDJapan anyway.

Most major banks and credit card companies update their currency exchange rate once a day. If it fluctuates during the day, it's not reflected. xe.com updates real time. You can't use xe.com for an accurate picture of what the exchange rate with paypal will be like at the time of order. Only paypal will tell you. I'm sure they have a FAQ outlining that somewhere.


Here it is:

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/helpc...ID=12900&m=SRE

Most banks charge a currency conversion fee, just like PayPal.

Welcome to real life.

Last edited by dancey; Aug 30, 2012 at 05:27 PM.
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  #3  
Old Aug 30, 2012, 09:02 PM
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The link redirects me to the homepage.

Paypal is ripping me off. So you think it's fine to charge customers more money than what the website lists and what reliable currency converters list? I bought Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4 in January and I don't remember the price being different than what was shown on cdjapan. They should have their conversion up-to-date if it's not. There is no excuse.

Secondly, Paypal is not a bank or really comparable to one. They can't protect you for shit if someone hacks into your account or if a buyer wants their money back. They rip off people who want to sell products online. You may think complaining about $3 discrepancy on their yen to usd currency converter isn't much, but this stuff adds up -- they regularly rip off sellers charging them around 4% (3.75% in Jan 2012) of the cost of their good sold. They aren't as special as they think they are and people are wising up.

From music seller http://www.ear-rational.com
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I mentioned Dwolla in the latest weekly update, and I thought I'd send a more detailed email.

We've been accepting PayPal payments for about 10 years now, and while it's great being able to send payments back and forth via email, it's expensive. We pay 2.5% + 30 cents per transaction, REGARDLESS OF THE FUNDING SOURCE.

Paying 2.5% + 30 cents to receive a credit card payment is actually a reasonable deal, given that we are an Internet retailer and do not handle the credit cards in person.

But paying that amount for a payment which is coming from the customer's bank account is ridiculous. Even worse, PayPal charges that same fee when the funds are coming from the customer's PayPal balance! (In that case, the funds are in PayPal's coffers--they simply lower the customer's balance by the amount sent, and increase my balance by the same amount--minus the fee).

(For those who have told me that PayPal payments are FREE if you are not paying by credit card, this is only true for Personal payments. It's certainly possible for you to send me a Personal payment when you are not paying by credit card, but technically it's against the rules. Personal payments are great when you want to send money to your kid in college, or to pay your rent, or to split a dinner check, but they are not supposed to be used to pay for goods.)

SO, I'm glad to see there is a viable competitor out there when it comes to paying directly from your bank account.

Dwolla (which I think is a dumb name, but what do I know) allows you to send money from your bank account to mine, and charges only 25 CENTS to do this, regardless of the size of the transfer!

They are currently moving between $30M and $50M per month. Signing up is quick and easy (and FREE), and sending payments is FREE. The recipient pays 25 cents to receive a payment, but the sender pays nothing, just as with PayPal. Here's an article entitled "This 28-Year-Old's Startup Is Moving $350 Million And Wants To Completely Kill Credit Cards":

http://read.bi/toVnVt

One downside for now is that they are U.S. only. I suspect they will be able to expand outside the U.S., but fees would be higher due to currency conversion and whatnot. But we'll see.

So if you are currently in the U.S. and paying us via PayPal, and are NOT funding your payments with a credit card, please consider signing up for Dwolla (http://www.dwolla.com) and using it to pay us. You can feel good knowing that we are not getting screwed by PayPal in order to receive your cash. (=

Here's a recap of our preferred electronic payment methods:

INSIDE the U.S. and using your bank account to pay

1. Dwolla (we pay 25 cents to receive your payment) or
2. PayPal (we pay 2.5% + 30 cents to receive your payment)

INSIDE the U.S. and paying by credit card, or OUTSIDE the U.S.

1. Use PayPal to send us payment, or
2. Enter your credit card info on our website and we will charge your card

(we pay the same fee either way)

I realize this was long-winded, so thanks for reading this.

Dave
Quote:
First off, Dwolla is U.S. only, so stop reading if you're not in the U.S. (I apologize, but there is no way for me to limit these emails to the U.S. folks on my mailing list).

Next, I want to clarify my comments about Dwolla, because I see they have the potential for being misinterpreted.

I am NOT asking my customers to stop using credit cards. Credit cards are a standard way of doing business and businesses expect to pay a fee to accept credit cards, and the 2.5% + $0.30 I pay is in my mind a reasonable fee for offering my customers the convenience of paying by credit card. Many credit cards offer cash back, travel points, and other loyalty programs, and I'm happy my customers are taking advantage of such deals.

However, paying 2.5% + $0.30 to accept a PayPal payment which was funded FROM YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, is usurious, and Dwolla knows this. I wouldn't be surprised if PayPal eventually lowers the fee on bank-funded payments, in order to stay competitive. But for now, they aren't budging.

SO, if you are currently using PayPal in order to send us payments FROM YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, please consider using Dwolla. Switching from PayPal to Dwolla for these kind of payments will save me needless fees, and will cost you nothing, since you wouldn't be getting any cash back/travel points/etc. by doing a transfer from your bank account.

If you're currently using credit cards to pay through PayPal or you've entered your credit card info for us to charge your card, then stick with it if it works for you!

Thanks,
Dave



I ended up purchasing my product (Tetsuo Complete Box) from otaku.com because Alex lists the amount in USD and paypal can't price hike. Buying stuff from Japan is expensive enough. I don't need paypal trying to milk more money out of me.
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Last edited by Vert1; Aug 30, 2012 at 09:22 PM.
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  #4  
Old Aug 30, 2012, 10:27 PM
Hellacia Hellacia is offline
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Huh, never bought from CDJapan before - they don't do credit card though? When I buy from Play-Asia, I do credit card, period. I don't touch Paypal if I don't have to. Now that's not because I'm anti-Paypal or anything, but using a credit card has its benefits, especially when you've built up a practically perfect credit score and you've been with a company for a long time. With a credit card company, you can dispute charges. The couple times any of my family have ever had to dispute a charge, we got our money back pretty promptly. And I've always been under the impression that Paypal charges some type of commission somewhere along the line for a purchase. I may not have to pay it if I'm the buyer, but I don't like the idea regardless.

I say always use a credit card where you can.
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  #5  
Old Sep 18, 2012, 07:50 AM
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kami68k kami68k is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dancey View Post
Paypal is fine and if it wasn't for paypal you probably wouldn't even be ordering from CDJapan anyway.
Haha, so true.

I remember sending cash by mail to random asian countries a few times before paypal was around. Always got my goods though :-)
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  #6  
Old Sep 19, 2012, 06:31 AM
Boyblunder Boyblunder is offline
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Paypal is handy but they do rip you off. If you don't send your stuff out via recorded delivery then the recipient can always claim their money back without question.
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  #7  
Old Nov 27, 2012, 11:10 PM
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MiLO MiLO is offline
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I have a Paypal story to vent, though I realize that it was my fault.

I got scammed by a website (doesn't exist anymore) that sold Playstation Network cards and other similar stuff. The cards provide a code that adds funds to your PSN account. So after buying a card they (the seller) suppose to send an email with a code. It is meant to be a quick digital transection, no waiting for mail parcels. And there are legitimate sites out there that do it, but this one turned out to be a fraud.

So in attempt to get the money back, after opening a dispute and escalating it to a claim, Paypal resolved the case in favor a scammer/fake site owner who ripped me off.
And the reason being for that is their policy for non-tangible goods: if it isn't a physical item that can be send via mail and has a tracking number, than oh well too bad so sad, there's no way to prove anything. Which makes sense actually. And of course scammers know it very well.

Basically moral of the story is - if you get scammed, blame it on your lack of knowledge.

Last edited by MiLO; Nov 27, 2012 at 11:13 PM.
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  #8  
Old Dec 15, 2012, 06:20 PM
Crash Crash is offline
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If you want to avoid additional foreign currency fees, the best way to go is with a credit card that doesn't charge them. I use Capital One. If I lived in a state where JCB offered their services, that would be a great option, too.
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