EBay and PayPal Conspiracy

Posted by samanthasmom on 2013-03-14:

There is no conspiracy. Ebay owns paypal. Ebay charges a fee (like a commission) when an item is sold, the fee is a percentage of the sales price. It is their fee for allowing a seller to sell an item on ebay. Paypal also charges a fee when said item is paid for, the fee is a percentage of the sale price. This fee what paypal charges you to use their payment processing service. Since ebay owns paypal, you could argue it is double dipping but you are using 2 different services and thus being charged for 2 different services. The terms are laid in the user agreements for both ebay and paypal, which you had to have agreed to when you signed up. This is why it is important to read before you sign & accept THEIR TERMS OF SERVICE.

Posted by trmn8r on 2013-03-14:

Ebay does NOT get paid by the buyer.

When you buy something on Ebay, you are sent to the PayPal website to make the payment. Then PayPal takes its percentage of the total, and the remainder is transferred into the seller's PayPal accouunt. Then Ebay bills the seller for its fees.

Is it right for PayPal to charge a percentage of the total? I believe the answer is "yes", because PayPal is like a charge card, and when you buy something with a charge card the card issuer gets a percentage of the total charged.

Posted by Jeff on 2013-03-14:

Of course you are right. Ebay owns paypal. Thats why thats the number one way they accept payment. Its pretty much hard to pay any other way on ebay besides paypal, unless you are picking it up and paying cash. You cant send money orders, or personal checks anymore....not sure why, Im sure they came up with a crafty reason why you can't, but Im sure its because they want to maximize their profits with paypal.

Posted by samanthasmom on 2013-03-14:

Actually you can pay with money order, check and other instant payment services but they are not covered under ebay's protection. You are not just limited to paypal. Finding a seller that accepts anything but paypal is a bit difficult but there are sellers out there who accept other payment methods. For reference: http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/methods.html

Posted by BASE1k on 2013-03-14:

If eBay owns PayPal why do they not do all there deductions before allowing the seller to withdraw their money?

Posted by samanthasmom on 2013-03-14:

I'm not sure I understand your question. Ebay owns paypal but they are separate entities. ebay bills you monthly, they can't just help themselves to your paypal account every time you sell an item. eBay bills you monthly, its up to you to pay it every month or set up autopay. Paypal takes their cut at the time of the transaction, just like a financial institution does. Or any other time you make an electronic payment and there is a service fee. You really should of read the terms & conditions or at least the FAQs before you sold an item because all of this is explained there.

Posted by DAn on 2013-03-25:

Do not sell on eBay. Ebay/paypal tandem charges huge fees. eBay provides no protection to sellers. It actually abuses them with variety of methods.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2013-03-25:

Drop Ebay and use Webstore.com...it is pretty much formatted the same as Ebay, but you are not obligated to use PayPal, they have different payment options AND there are NO seller fees at all!