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Do you recommend me to use Pay-Pal?
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Thread poster: Helena Diaz del Real

Do you recommend me to use Pay-Pal?

Irina Sevostianova
United States
Local time: 16:57
English to Russian

PayPal is very efficient and a perfect tol to wire money compared to anything else

Nov 24, 2005

It waorked well all the time in my cases be it sending money or receiving it. It is a nice and a wonderful tool. Use it and be satisfied and happy.

All the best

Irina from the US

Angus Woo
Hong Kong
Local time: 05:57
Chinese to English
+ ...

Wow, this is great news.

Nov 24, 2005

Michael Bastin wrote:
Paypal is the best alternative to these CHECKS.

It is great when you want to ask for a downpayment before starting a job, it is also great when you deal with a US company that will end up paying you by check no matter what you recommend them. Send a paypal invoice and you're done.

I regularly receive checks from US which usually takes weeks before I actually get the money, simply because they pay only by check.

Are you sure this is going to work? For they only pay by checks no matter what, exactly like what you said and they don't have a paypal account.

Thank you Michael.

[Edited at 2005-11-24 10:33]

Marcus Malabad

Canada
Local time: 16:57

Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...

no hearsay

Nov 24, 2005

Michael Bastin wrote:
Those who complain about it without using it should give it a try before spreading the news it is not good.

I've been using Paypal for 3-4 years now and use their Mastercard plastic cc everywhere. I have had no problems receiving money from my clients in Europe (euros > CDN$ at great rates). This happens almost 6-8 times a months for large amounts. The longest that I've ever waited is 3 business days for the money to actually be credited to my account. Their telephone help desk in Canada is quick and very helpful.

People should refrain from posting hearsay and just plain gossip in this thread. Describe instead your own experience. Hearsay, if inadmissible in court as evidence, should be inadmissible here as well.

Marcus

Walter Landesman

Uruguay
Local time: 19:57

Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...

Yes, I do.

Nov 24, 2005

Well, I finally tried PayPal. I used to be anxious and suspicious, too. I had read so many things in several forums....
But, fortunately, I can say that it works fine with me.
If you don`t have a US based bank account, to withdraw money, they issue a PayPal check and send it to you by courier. PP checks can ONLY be cashed if they are deposited in an bank account under the same name the check was issued to.

I should highlight the following, which is a quite new feature (to me, at last):

" If you have an account registered from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, India, Jamaica, or Uruguay, you can request a check. When you request a check, it will take 4-6 business days to process the request and prepare the check to be mailed. Postal delivery time is additional and varies depending on your country. PayPal has no control over the postal delivery times."

Charges are USD 11 for each check, no matter what amount. I think it`s a good deal. It works efficiently too.

I certainly recommend it.

Walter

Sara Freitas
France
Local time: 22:57
French to English

Hearsay and gossip?

Nov 24, 2005

Just to clarify, I used to have a PayPal account. There was an issue concerning a payment of 19 euros to my account if I remember correctly. My difficulties resolving the issue with PayPal led me to do some investigating (including reading the fine print in their terms and conditions and visiting some of the PayPal monitoring sites out there) and I decided not to work with them anymore.

In my case, the problem concerned a small amount of money, but I regularly issue invoices in the thousands of euros and I am not willing to gamble with that kind of money in the event that PayPal were to decide to freeze my account or reverse a payment due to "suspected" illegal activity or fraud on my account.

I don't consider mentioning very real lawsuits against PayPal as "gossip" or hearsay. If you read my posting, I was also very careful to include a caveat concerning disgruntled former PayPal employees fueling the debate with stories of dubious credibility.

People are free to do as they choose. If PayPal is a smart business solution for you and you are willing to take the risk, then go for it.

Sara

Michael Bastin

Dominican Republic
Local time: 17:57
English to French
+ ...

not for large amounts

Nov 25, 2005

Sara,

Paypal is never recommended for large amounts for a bank transfer proves cheaper. Bank transfers have a one time fixe fee, while paypal applies a percentage.

I alsmot cried when I got paid a couple of thousand dollars by paypal, their fees ate up most of the margin I had gained from a project.

Angus,

Sending check is an american habit difficult to change, believe me. It is sooooo deeply rooted in the culture there that it is necessary to educate the customer. Suggesting paypal is one option, but many will deem it "too complicated" before even trying. By sending a check they just ignore the fact that it may take a while for you to clear it + time for the post. It's not their problem anymore, after all they paid...

Again, having paypal is just about being flexible in the ways you can receive money. That means more potential business too!

Angus Woo
Hong Kong
Local time: 05:57
Chinese to English
+ ...

Thank you Michael

Nov 26, 2005

Michael Bastin wrote:
Angus,

Sending check is an american habit difficult to change, believe me. It is sooooo deeply rooted in the culture there that it is necessary to educate the customer. Suggesting paypal is one option, but many will deem it "too complicated" before even trying. By sending a check they just ignore the fact that it may take a while for you to clear it + time for the post. It's not their problem anymore, after all they paid...

Again, having paypal is just about being flexible in the ways you can receive money. That means more potential business too!

It is indeed a deeply rooted habit. I have suggested paypal more than once. Nonetheless, a polite and yet determined reply is all I get which means weeks of waiting is inevitable.

It's ironic that the US invented the internet and yet is most reluctant to use an online payment system such as paypal.

NancyLynn

Canada
Local time: 16:57

Member (2002)
French to English
+ ...

MODERATOR

I smile every time I see that comment :-)

Nov 29, 2005

That cheque-writing is rooted in American culture... It never even occurs to me to discuss bank transfer with my clients to the south; we both just assume that a cheque is the answer. Here, too. All my Canadian clients, private or agency, pay me by cheque through the post.

I guess it's in our genes.

Every day I throw out a handful of reply envelopes that all my creditors send with their bills, as they expect their clients to pay by cheque by return post.

PayPal is great for me, though; a new European client recently fretted that I wouldn't be paid until January, until he realised was able to pay me via PayPal... the day after I submitted the translation.

I agree, for small to medium amounts, especially when the client is far, PayPal is a good solution that's worked for me.

Nancy

Jo Macdonald

Spain
Local time: 22:57

Member
Italian to English
+ ...

My experience

Nov 29, 2005

Hi Helena,
I haven't used paypal to be paid for translation jobs, but I have used it to recieve money when selling sports equipment and have always recieved the agreed sum less the paypal charges.
Once there was a mixup when the payer sent the money to the wrong account but everything was sorted within a day.
If you're going to pay funds you need to give them a credit card number, same if you're going to recieve more than a few thousand.
For less than the recieving limit per year you don't have to give them your card number, so imo the only person who is risking anything is the one paying funds in.
Jo

Helena Diaz del Real

Germany
Local time: 22:57

Member (2005)
German to Spanish
+ ...

TOPIC STARTER

THANK YOU very much

Dec 7, 2005

Hi everybody!
Thank you very much to all of you for your comments and thoughts.
I now accept "Moneybbokers", which is probably the same or very similar to "PayPal" but I feel more confident with it (I do not know myself why, actually!)
Kind regards
Helena1962