Couple of PayPal questions

[Nick C]

Hi Folks,

I'm considering adding PayPal (standard) to our little shop, recent customer feedback has prompted me to consider the option.

As a consumer, I've used PayPal for years with no issues, but as a seller I'd like to know if there are really any benefits? On this forum I've read about the high percentage of 'rogues' who use PayPal (claiming goods didn't arrive etc.), duplication of payment processing charges and the slightly jiggly integration between Actinic and PayPal, specifically with the address details not being forwarded to PayPal and protection issues that arise from this.

So if you have a spare moment, could you let me know your feelings on PayPal with Actinic?

[Paul Bulpit]

Once the integration was sorted out (there's a long thread on here about the bounceback to trigger the confirmation email) we haven't really had any issues - except the fees are generally considered to be high.

Having said that, if you add together PSP fees + bank charges then it compares quite favourably as a payment method.

Haven't had any issues with 'rogues' though I would say that if you do get a Paypal chargeback you haven't got a hope of winning the case.

Reconciliation is straightforward once you work out which report suits you best; also be aware of how the PP fee reversal works if you are selling low value items and accept returns.

______________
Paul

[gpzzone]

Haven't had any issues with 'rogues' though I would say that if you do get a Paypal chargeback you haven't got a hope of winning the case.

Hear Hear.

The danger here of course is that there are some rogues out there that know this, and routinely call "foul play" secure in the knowledge that PP wil back them without ever questioning there claim.

This is fabulous for genuine consumers because at last you have a powerful champion with teeth on your side, but as is always the case there are a minority that exploit the situation.

[Nick C]

I've thought about the option in the past, but horror stories of claims being settled on the side of the consumer, who lied, have dissuaded me from offering the option on our shop. However I don't like the idea of lost sales. We are operating in a niche market and certainly over the last few years haven't had to deal with any fraudulent transactions, perhaps we would be lucky through PP too.

I'm now wondering if it would be better to enable PayPal through Actinic, or at the SagePay end?

[TraceyHand]

I would do it through Actinic itself, tbh
It's VERY easy to set up and I'm unsure if doing it through Sagepay would mean paying twice? Once to Sagepay and once to Paypal?

It's certainly too easy to set up in Actinic for this method to be ignored, IMO

[feemish]

If you dont have paypal as an option you will be losing sales.

More than 50% of our customers choose paypal over hsbc secure epayments.

We do have a very small percentage of people cliaming they dont receive the goods... hard to actually know if theyre honest.. paypal will refund to these guys. Does taste bitter when it first happens, but its quite rare.. The added protection that paypal offers to customers does mean that some people will only use paypal. It has to be added as an option IMO.

[Nick C]

Thanks again for all your input.

Do those of you with PayPal tie it to your standard business account, or set up a separate account purely to handle PayPal transactions?

[gpzzone]

Thanks again for all your input.

Do those of you with PayPal tie it to your standard business account, or set up a separate account purely to handle PayPal transactions?

Every week or so I will transfer the Paypal funds across into our main bank a/c.

Paypal's fees are high, but it is an increasingly popular payment option, and despite all of the horror stories, and down-sides, it is a must have option.

Personally I hate it with a vengeance, but in the long run it makes me money.

[feemish]

I use the same paypal business account for my business purchases and my paypal sales. Every two weeks I download 'all activity' as a csv file. You can then quite easily go through and pull out the orders you need to account for.
You can add another email address to the same paypal account.. and use that email address on actinic.. then all the actinic sales will show up as being paid to that address... making it even easier to sort.

[Nick C]

Well I think I'll give it a go. The PP business account is setup, just running through the verification process to lift the limitations.

Tracey, Sagepay have informed me that there is no additional cost for PayPal through their system, but I'll try Acitinic initially.

[feemish]

better to have paypal seperate from sagepay anyway..
that way you have two payment options in case one goes down.

[TraceyHand]

Tracey, Sagepay have informed me that there is no additional cost for PayPal through their system, but I'll try Acitinic initially.

I wasn't aware of that, however, I completely agree with Mark (feemish) that it is much better to have it listed separately so it can double up as a backup payment option, if you don't use a secondary PSP for that purpose.

[Nick C]

Yes it's a very good point.

[Nick C]

Still waiting for the payment verification from PayPal, so I thought I'd ask another question.

I presume PayPal 'Express' is the best option for a 'click now and pay' set-up, after the customer has gone through checkout and entered their address details etc? This is what PayPal suggests, but the girl I spoke to on the phone today seemed hesitant when I mentioned Actinic, hesitant enough that I'm not sure if she was experienced enough to have heard of them.

[feemish]

you want to choose 'paypal website payments standard'

link up to paypal is as easy as entering your paypal email account address.