Is this really how PayPal works?

woos wrote in post #12157829
What? lol. I never said anything about knowing the guy--it was all over the papers and internet there when it happened, everyone was talkin' about it--i have no idea who the guy was.

Right, but somehow you know why he did it and what he did before setting it off ("made sure no one was there ... he just wanted to annoy paypal, not hurt anyone"). Mind reader?

instead of canceling the transaction, why didn't the other guy send you a payment for the difference?

Ray Marrero wrote in post #12162404
instead of canceling the transaction, why didn't the other guy send you a payment for the difference?

Because that is another fee involved, you NEVER pay somebody back as a refund, just use the refund option.

Ray Marrero wrote in post #12162404
instead of canceling the transaction, why didn't the other guy send you a payment for the difference?

That won't work if it was an underpayment. And sending a second payment to make up the difference would leave the seller without protection for one of the payments, because he'd only be shipping one thing.

GJim wrote in post #12161539
Their only answer was that they were 'unable to verify the validity of the funds'. They wouldn't send the funds to my trading account, nor would they refund back to my bank account

A very familiar story with Paypal. These people are crooks.

woos wrote in post #12157844
Not exactly. :P

Basically, Paypal does a few things that a bank would normally do (ie, you can have an account there with money in it, and get a debit card to access the money, etc)...

But because they aren't a bank, they don't have the ability legally to invest the money stored with them, or anything like that--they make their money on the fees they charge you (and by stealing people's money when they can get away with it).

Excuse me, but that is misinformed. Paypal does not keep their money in the basement. They keep it on their bank account. Most accounts earn interest and I would be surprised if Paypal's money ( actually your money ) do not. That is a very simple scheme. I am sure such large bank customer as Paypal assumes something much more involved and lucrative.

Refresh Image wrote in post #12164377
Excuse me, but that is misinformed. Paypal does not keep their money in the basement. They keep it on their bank account. Most accounts earn interest and I would be surprised if Paypal's money ( actually your money ) do not. That is a very simple scheme. I am sure such large bank customer as Paypal assumes something much more involved and lucrative.

I have already posted a CNN article on this, and since paypal is a publicly traded company, you can find their financial records to show the interest accrued from their various holdings.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #12164986
I have already posted a CNN article on this, and since paypal is a publicly traded company, you can find their financial records to show the interest accrued from their various holdings.

Interesting, seems I was wrong. I stand corrected! I have been told adamantly that Paypal doesn't earn any interest on US based PayPal accounts (playing the 'float your money around' game, lol). And maybe they don't (but now I suspect they do, all the stuff points to you being right)...but even if they can't, if they can keep their money in an account that bears interest then that ends up being about the same thing, doesn't it? And yeah, I'd looked at some of their info, but I'd assumed their interest profits were from their Bill Me Later service...Interesting.

Any organisation that holds other people's money yet doesn't invest it in the money markets would be utterly irresponsible.

woos wrote in post #12155116
Paypal DOES NOT make interest off of your money.

They do make interest if you allow them to put it in a money market account but they also share that revenue with you.

The problem is the way banks are setup it's not that Paypal can take money out instantly and wont return it instantly. They basically make an ACH withdraw request like any checking transaction the money is then put on hold. While the reimbursement to them from your bank is pending they let you use funds from their account similar to a quick loan. Where as years ago you had to actually load money from your checking account and wait for the money to clear before you could spend it.

So it's simply not possible for them to return money back to your checking account instantly because there is no such thing as instant bank transfers. Even when you deposit a check and your bank credits that check in a day or two it can actually take weeks for your bank to actually get reimbursed. The banks by law have to give you access to the funds within a certain time frame regardless if the check has actually cleared or not.

To many people attack Paypal without having even the slightest understanding of how banks work. Sometimes the service is not perfect but i myself have done many tens of thousands in transactions since the service opened just about and never had a problem. I cant say the same for a hand full of other money transfer services that have disappeared with thousands of my money over the years.

peterbj7 wrote in post #12169251
Any organisation that holds other people's money yet doesn't invest it in the money markets would be utterly irresponsible.

Gambling with your money without your permission would be illegal..

isoMorphic wrote in post #12171746
Too many people attack Paypal without having even the slightest understanding of how banks work

I have a very good understanding of how banks work, or at any rte how well run banks work (which pretty well excludes most banks in the USA). I think Paypal stinks.

peterbj7 wrote in post #12171990
I have a very good understanding of how banks work, or at any rte how well run banks work (which pretty well excludes most banks in the USA). I think Paypal stinks.

Well you are free to have your opinion like everyone else. Fact is there is no better service out there (name one if you can) which offers all the features for merchants which Paypal does all under one roof. You wont find cheaper merchant processing anywhere for low volume sales and without any yearly account fees. Even if you did find one it would not include check payments at the same rate and there would be a rolling reserve to cover potential chargebacks.

I could go on and on about the benefits which especially getting 1.5% cash back from my Paypal debit card cuts my processing fees by about half. So far they have paid me thousands just for spending my own money which is not a bad deal either. I don't even have to put money into Paypal i just link the card to my bank and go shopping which at the end of every month they pay me. My bank wont give me a deal like that so i have no use for my bank debit card anymore other to deposit money at the ATM to spend with my Paypal card.

And again while most other services have disappeared or been shut down for money laundering Paypal is still around providing me with great service.

I'm sorry, I know too much about how it actually operates, as a customer, a trader, and an auditor. I want nothing more to do with it - except I want them to give me back the $200 of my money that they've been holding for nearly two years and refuse to account for.

isoMorphic wrote in post #12172491
Well you are free to have your opinion like everyone else. Fact is there is no better service out there (name one if you can) which offers all the features for merchants which Paypal does all under one roof. You wont find cheaper merchant processing anywhere for low volume sales and without any yearly account fees. Even if you did find one it would not include check payments at the same rate and there would be a rolling reserve to cover potential chargebacks.

I could go on and on about the benefits which especially getting 1.5% cash back from my Paypal debit card cuts my processing fees by about half. So far they have paid me thousands just for spending my own money which is not a bad deal either. I don't even have to put money into Paypal i just link the card to my bank and go shopping which at the end of every month they pay me. My bank wont give me a deal like that so i have no use for my bank debit card anymore other to deposit money at the ATM to spend with my Paypal card.

And again while most other services have disappeared or been shut down for money laundering Paypal is still around providing me with great service.

Google checkout works just as well, and there are credit cards that pay out better than that 1.5%.