Thanks for your post. My gut reaction when I see the Paypal surcharge in an ad is problematic, nickel-dime seller. It becomes especially ridiculous on items priced under a couple of hundred bucks.
Credit card processing is an arcane and labyrinthine set of rules and procedures. Believe it or not, but compared to merchant services companies who impose monthly statement fees, monthly minimums as well as hefty interchange fees for sub-optimal transactions, all on top of their own 2 - 3% discount fees, Paypal is an amazing bargain for the occasional seller.
In my experience, no matter how fair a listing is, most buyers jostle for a deal. Competition works. Our transactions are already complicated with haggling over price, shipping and insurance. Streamlining the process by eliminating the upcharge issue makes good sense. If a seller offers the convenience and timeliness of Paypal up front, he/she ought to take the fee on the chin as a cost of facillitating trade.
Credit card processing is an arcane and labyrinthine set of rules and procedures. Believe it or not, but compared to merchant services companies who impose monthly statement fees, monthly minimums as well as hefty interchange fees for sub-optimal transactions, all on top of their own 2 - 3% discount fees, Paypal is an amazing bargain for the occasional seller.
In my experience, no matter how fair a listing is, most buyers jostle for a deal. Competition works. Our transactions are already complicated with haggling over price, shipping and insurance. Streamlining the process by eliminating the upcharge issue makes good sense. If a seller offers the convenience and timeliness of Paypal up front, he/she ought to take the fee on the chin as a cost of facillitating trade.