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PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 6:49 pm
by N0RRS
Guys,

I have noticed that the vast majority of sellers on QTH.com who post ads state that they will only accept PayPal if the buyer pays the fee for the seller using PayPal.

:roll: THIS PRACTICE IS FORBIDDEN BY THE PAYPAL USER AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO ITEM 4.5 of the User Agreement Contract ( you know, the stuff no one cares to read, but always agree to) Please read this for yourselves:

4.5 No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions.

More information can be obtained from http://www.paypal.com

George/N0RRS

Re: PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:32 pm
by KC7I
Paypal fee charging is NOT "Illegal". Illegal means against criminal law. There is no law regarding paypal fees.
At the most, it is a minor breach of contract, which is a civil matter.

Re: PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 10:02 pm
by k1ri
Not by the letter of law, but against PayPal policy and could negate the PayPal guarantees on a purchase. If seller is asking for more money for PayPal perhaps they should wise up and include the fee in their asking price and negotiate with buyer. On principle alone I will not buy from anyone asking me to pay extra. Most sellers are aware of the PayPal policy and their up-charging indicates they have no problem following policies, etc. Makes me question their character and the honesty.

Re: PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:37 pm
by K8AC
Just this week, I contacted Paypal about this issue. I've been a Paypal user since they began and as a seller have always paid the fees as the agreement calls for. But, Paypal now says that the part of the agreement regarding fees applies only to transactions on eBay.. Furthermore, they say that if the seller says up front that the buyer must pay the fees, then he is not violating the agreement. Looking at the ads on QTH.com today, it appears that there are only a couple of us who sell on QTH.com that do not insist on the buyer paying the Paypal fees.

While the fees are rather high (2.9%), using Paypal does provide the buyer with protection in the event the doesn't ship the goods or otherwise attempts to cheat the buyer. To me, that's worth the price. Recently I contacted a QTH.com seller about his Flex 6500 which he had advertised for $3,600. While the ad didn't mention the buyer paying the fees, he insisted on that and so I backed out of the sale. It just makes no sense to me at all that a seller would walk away from an easy sale just to avoid the fee. The same guy would think nothing of spending $200 to travel to a distant hamfest to sell his item. I've decided to go back to eBay to sell ham gear - the audience is larger and better protections are in place. Their fees are higher, but with the increase in scammers on QTH.com, it's worth the cost.

Re: PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 5:20 pm
by n5wrx
I would think an agreement between the two parties involved would trump anyone elses opinion about this.
If both are happy then what is the problem?
Why should the seller take a 3% loss just because the buyer wants to pay by paypal?
If you dont want to cover the fee so the seller can get his full asking price then move on and dont buy it.

Of course the seller could simply add 3% to the asking price to start with and give a 3% discount for other payment forms.
Wouldn't that be "legal"?

Re: PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:43 pm
by KC7I
So, since I don't use Paypal, I'm supposed to pay a higher price to support their monopoly marketing scheme?
Not happening. If someone wants the same price without using Paypal, that to me is dishonest by charging me for something I don't use.
"While the fees are rather high (2.9%), using Paypal does provide the buyer with protection"
Yes, it helps (generally) to protect the BUYER. And you want the SELLER to pay that fee? Or me, who doesn't use Paypal?
If YOU choose to use Paypal then it is YOU who should be paying that fee.
The reason Paypal has that policy is to make their service more appealing. It has nothing to do with honesty or anyones protection.
Those that complain about "upcharging" are just giving Paypal free advertising. They don't need it. They're already a monopoly.

Re: PayPal Fee Upcharging is ILLEGAL!!

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:12 pm
by sndeng
I find this amusing. Someone always thinks they know the law and that we should fear there words. First gas stations have been "up charging" for a long time. Ever go into one and see a sign, one price for cash and one for credit? They're all over the place. PayPal is in the banking business just like the others using the same system. Secondly, I researched through hundreds of sites trying to find one case or article where PayPal actually went after someone for breaching their rule on "up charging" and removed their account or other action. Not one, nada, zilch. If they started doing this a lot of people would forego using them. Why they added this mundane rule is strictly to keep the sheep in line with them. If you really believe this is a necessary rule then, perhaps, you should request PayPal to increase just your fees so you can be even happier about this unenforced rule. QRZ may have finally gotten the clue about this. The manager of that site was taking down peoples ads for this reason. Not a good idea. If PayPal wants to enforce their rule, let them do their own dirty work.
Dan N0FQN