Entries Tagged 'PayPal Q&A' ↓

Would it be a serious problem if you lost your PayPal balance? What if it lost value as a result of the current financial climate?

(This information applies primarily to U.S. users. If you are outside the U.S., double-check to see if your funds are at risk.)

Since PayPal is not a bank, funds are not directly covered by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). They are covered by what's called FDIC Pass-Through Insurance. But pay attention, if your funds are in PayPal's money market fund, they are not covered at all by FDIC and may lose value.

First, here's what's covered by FDIC Pass-Through Insurance, from the PayPal site:

You do not need to keep funds with PayPal in order to use our service. If you do hold a balance, you can do so in two ways: (1) PayPal, as your agent, will place your funds in a pooled account at an unaffiliated FDIC-insured bank or savings institution, which is eligible for pass-through FDIC insurance coverage; or (2) you can elect to earn a return on your funds by enrolling to invest all funds that you receive into the PayPal Money Market Fund. The PayPal Money Market Fund is not FDIC insured, not guaranteed by any bank and may lose value. PayPal keeps a record of the amount of your balances, which you can check by logging in to your account through the PayPal Web site at any time.

So the money market funds can lose value. If your funds are not in the money market, PayPal keeps your money in one of three banks. (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or Comerica - California, U.S.A.). If one of those banks fail,

your balance placed at the bank would be subject to FDIC pass-through deposit insurance coverage, along with any other deposits you hold at that bank, up to a total of $100,000.00 USD. Pass-through deposit coverage is contingent upon PayPal maintaining accurate records and on determinations of the FDIC as receiver at the time of a future receivership of any bank at which we place your funds.

The only way your funds are protected by FDIC is if they are not in the PayPal Money Market Fund. If that makes you nervous, you can close your PayPal Money Market Fund, and have PayPal keep your funds in an FDIC insured bank by-

• logging into your PayPal account
• click "Profile"
• click "Money Market Fund"
• click "Close Money Market Fund"

It will take a little while to get this done, so plan ahead. The bottom line is your funds are covered by FDIC if they're not in the money market fund.

There is one other thing PayPal says:

FDIC pass-through deposit insurance protects you only against the failure of the bank at which PayPal places your funds, and does NOT protect you against PayPal's insolvency. Through the terms of our User Agreement, we believe that your funds will also be protected from any claims of PayPal's creditors and will be returned to you even in the unlikely event of a PayPal insolvency.

It seems like the most reasonable thing to do is scrape your PayPal account regularly, into your bank. At least there is one less layer between you and your money. Keep it simple.

Here is the direct link to the PayPal-FDIC page: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/travelers-outside

Popularity: 30% [?]

Last October I wrote a post describing how to create a pre-paid shipping label, through [tag]PayPal[/tag], for a [tag]non-eBay[/tag] package. That post became one of my most popular and I wanted to expand a little on ways to use this powerful tool to expand your business. A few obvious benefits come to mind, such as avoiding the line at the Post Office, or having your mail carrier pick up your packages with pre-paid labels right at your home.

Print Labels for Amazon Orders with PayPal

When I started selling through [tag]Amazon[/tag], I missed the seamless integration between my [tag]eBay[/tag] seller account and PayPal [tag]shipping[/tag] labels. Really though, it's not that hard to work around. Amazon orders are required to have a packing slip inside, so I just print all of my packing slips out, and copy the addresses into PayPal's Ship Now page. I get the option to ship packages Media Mail rates, and I get a trackable, pre-paid label for my package. The payment for the label comes out of my PayPal account. Obviously, this will work with any package. So if you're selling on a site other than eBay, you can still use this feature from PayPal.

PayPal MultiOrder Shipping

When you want to create more than one label, PayPal's [tag]MultiOrder Shipping[/tag] is a good tool. PayPal had some serious problems with the program last year, but I gave it another try and it works just great now for me. To find MultiOrder Shipping, login to your PayPal account. In the left column near the top under the heading "Tools" you'll find the link to MultiOrder Shipping. It will import your eBay listings, but can also be used to create your own labels one at a time. To do so click "File" > "Create New Orders" and fill out the info. You can create package presets so you don't have to enter the information for each package. This is especially helpful with Amazon orders, since most books ship via [tag]Media Mail[/tag] and fall into the same price category. I created a preset called "Amazon Book" that covers most books I sell. I simply select the preset, and then type in the customer's name. Then I click "Create Another" and it's saved to the queue and I'm on to my next label. Once they are all created, I can print them all out at once.

Label Printers and Supplies

A common question is: "Do I need a special printer to [tag]print labels[/tag] through PayPal?" The answer is no. Although you can print your labels on plain paper with your printer, you may want to get a label printer. I use one for the posters I sell on eBay. It prints a long narrow label that is just right for shipping tubes. There are a number of models available, each configured for different labels. See all PayPal compatible label printers on eBay right now.

System Requirements for Creating Labels with PayPal

You can find the system requirements for using PayPal to create your labels here.
The requirements for creating a single label as well as using PayPal MultiOrder Shipping are all listed.

photo credit: SC Fiasco

Popularity: 67% [?]

What if you have a package you want to send that is NOT an [tag]eBay[/tag] item? Usually, when you sell an item on eBay, you may create a postage-paid label for that item through [tag]PayPal[/tag], and ship it. That's cool, but what if you didn't sell the item through eBay and you just want to send your Mom some new work boots?

UPDATE: Ok - thanks to some [tag]eBayers[/tag] on the [tag]discussion boards[/tag] I am asking that you ignore all the stuff I've struck out below. There is a much simpler way to use PayPal to create an original label. The good part is - you really do have a way to print postage-paid labels in service types not offered on the USPS.com site. You must be signed into PayPal and then you can use this link: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

There is some concern that my earlier method will send a confusing email to the original customer and we don't want that. Thank to eBay posters: [tag]balloonplace[/tag], [tag]poker-chips-on-line[/tag], [tag]no.1macgyver[/tag] for their correct and helpful information!

In order to make this work, you will have to have at least one sale on eBay in the past 90 days.

This is really a great tool to use and is really quite simple once you do it a few times.

Popularity: 5% [?]

(This article was contributed by my friend and fellow-eBay University Instructor Jack Waddick - Steve)

You’ve, no doubt, heard all the recent buzz surrounding the just released Apple iPhone…it plays music, it plays video, it does text messaging, it even (gasp) makes phone calls…all for only $499, ($599 with 8GB).

If your thing is being the first on the block with the latest, coolest, hippest gadget (and you have $500 to burn) the Apple iPhone is probably the way to go.

If you are an avid eBayer I am going to save you $494 and instead suggest you spend just $5 for my #1 favorite new product of eBay Live! 2007.

From all new product announcements, new tools and creative new eBay strategies showcased at this year’s eBay Live! my #1 favorite new product is the [tag]PayPal[/tag] [tag]Security Key[/tag]. The PayPal Security Key is a simple cost effective way to add an extra layer of security to both your eBay & PayPal accounts.

For only $5 PayPal will mail you a small electronic key you can carry on your key chain that generates a random 6-digit security code that changes every 30 seconds. You use this code (in addition to your user id & password) to gain access to your eBay & PayPal accounts. And, of course, the bad guy hackers don’t have access to your ever changing security code.

I ordered my PayPal Security Key in Boston at [tag]eBay[/tag] Live! just a couple of weeks ago. I received it within a few days and have been using it ever since. I love the extra measure of security it provides and I’ve been recommending it to all the eBay buyers & sellers I know.

Click here for complete details and ordering information.

It may not play music or videos, but it will be the best $5 you spend this year.

--------------------------
Jack Waddick is a Certified eBay Business Consultant and eBay University Instructor that helps individuals and business owners maximize their eBay selling profits. His website is www.OakviewTraining.com and he can be reached at 847-322-0088 or jwaddick@oakviewtraining.com.[tags]paypal security,phishing,ebay security[/tags]

Popularity: 4% [?]

Well Sybil, the simple answer is yes. As long as it's not due to a personality disorder...
Many people have an [tag]eBay user ID[/tag] for buying and one for selling on [tag]eBay[/tag]. Some have one for personal transactions and one for business. I recently bought a 'lot' of items which I plan to separate into single items and sell on eBay. I got a relatively good deal on them, and I may go back to the seller for more. I don't want to give away my source too easily, or make buyers feel bad since they could see what I originally paid for these items. (I know if a person is determined they can figure these things out, but why make it super easy for them?)

Purchasing in Private

In my case, I show people what I'm selling in my classes and when I'm coaching individuals. I may not want them to see that I purchased vacuum cleaner bags, new socks and vitamins. So I use the 'family' user ID for those purchases. This is another reason for two IDs, privacy.

Personal and Business

It's a good idea not to co-mingle your business and personal sales and purchases. If you can keep your business purchases within your business account, it makes things easier at tax time. So many people I know have a personal or 'family' ID and their business ID is separate. You'll need a separate email address for each. And for two Sellers accounts you should really have separate banking and credit info. (Although the last I knew you could use a checking account and / or credit card on up to ten accounts before eBay says you've reached the limit.)

Many business people have created a completely self-contained eBay / PayPal environment for their business. They have one user ID, a distinct checking account, and a debit card associated with that account. All of these are exclusively used for business buying and selling. With a PayPal business account you may also get a PayPal debit card and use that to pay eBay fees. I am no tax expert, but I know keeping your business separate from your personal finances is fundamental.

Using Multiple [tag]PayPal [/tag]IDs

Your [tag]PayPal user ID [/tag]is your email address. If you have a Premier or Business account, you may have multiple users. In this case, you may add the email address from both eBay accounts to your PayPal account and not have to deal with maintaining two PayPal accounts. Again though, if you are doing business on the account, it would be best to keep them separated - business and personal.
[tags]eBay Username,PayPal account,separate eBay accounts[/tags]

Popularity: 5% [?]

[tag]Changing the name on your PayPal account [/tag]is not something you do often, so it's one of those 'easily forgotten' procedures which can baffle even an experienced user. There are several reasons for changing a name:

• marriage, or divorce
• changing a business name
• changing the contact person on a business account
• joining the Witness Protection Program (okay, I made that one up)

In these days of phishing scams and identity theft, [tag]PayPal[/tag] has made it understandably difficult to make a name change on an account. Personally I'm glad, I feel my account is a little better protected. But still we need to know how to make a change when necessary.

When you want to change your business name, you can do so online by following the steps below. No extra steps are necessary. But if you need to change your whole last name, or change the contact name for your business, you are going to have to fax some information to PayPal. That is for your security. Just suck it up and do it. Further, if you only want to change 1 - 2 letters because your name is slightly mispelled, you can just follow the steps below and change it online.

The easy way and the difficult way to get to the name change page...

I've done the work. So if you don't really want to know how to get to the page, scroll to the bottom of this post. Otherwise, I'm going to give you the step-by-step guide on finding the name-change page.

Step 1: When logged-in to your PayPal account. Click "Help" at the top of the page.

Step 2: Under the left menu column you'll see "Still Having Trouble?" then a link which says: "Contact Us" - click that link. (See screenshot below)

Step 3: After clicking the "Contact Us" link, you'll be at a page that asks how you want your help. Even though you want to do this yourself, choose "Help by Email". Trust me you're getting closer. I've added a screenshot so you know where to click.

Step 4: At this point you'll be at a screen which seems to direct you to the type of email inquiry you're about to make. Ahhh but they're going to fool you! Just pretend to go along with their plan. Non-chalantly choose "My Account Profile > Name Change" then, "Continue"...

Step 5: Now you have reached the point where you choose which type of change you'll make. I have a business account, your screen may look slightly different. You must choose one of the options (screenshot below) and press "Continue"...

Step 6: Now, if you want to change your Business Name or make a minor change to your name you will be able to make the change at a screen like this (the minor name change screen is similar), click Continue and you're done...

The other Step 6: Unfortunately, if you need to really change your name, or change the Contact Person for a business account, you'll need to do a little old-fashioned faxing of actual documents. PayPal wants a valid photo ID, and one of several other identifying documentation. (See below)

If you're just changing your name due to a marriage or divorce, you only need to fax a copy of a photo ID and a copy of the marriage license or divorce decree. And that is it! Change your PayPal name in approximately six easy steps.

You can fax readable copies of your ID by making a slight enlargement on a copy machine, or scanner at home, and faxing the copy.

If you chose to skip all the amazing and interesting descriptions and screenshots - well, I probably would have too.

Here's your link:

https://www.paypal.com/us/wf/f=ap_namechg

[tags]PayPal change name,business name,PayPal business account,eBay[/tags]

Popularity: 6% [?]