topic Re: Another paypal rort. in Selling

Another paypal rort.

outback_blends — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 09:34:47 GMT

So I sell an item to a person who is living in the same state as me and sent the item to an address also in the same state. No problem there until I see an extra charge on my paypal account for the transaction.

So I send an email to paypal who inform me that the buyer is registered in another country so an over the border surcharge has been applied to my fee.

Just a heads up. I have replied to paypal to reconsider the fee but I dont think it will happen.

Re: Another paypal rort.

twyngwyn — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:08:14 GMT

OMG - how much was the fee - flat rate or a percentage?

Re: Another paypal rort.

casbit33 — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:11:06 GMT

I am so glad I post to Australia only.

Way too many problems posting international.

Re: Another paypal rort.

outback_blends — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:16:12 GMT

@casbit33 wrote:
I am so glad I post to Australia only.
Way too many problems posting international.

Thats the problem - They Live in Western Australia and the item was posted to Western Australia but they opened their paypal account in Malayasia - I gather they moved here. So I get bunged an 1.2 %

Grab Grab grab ...thets all paypal do.

Re: Another paypal rort.

kopenhagen5 — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:40:17 GMT

So in other words a cross border admin surcharge by PayPal.

That is just wrong.

That means on every sale we need to check account registration and decide to accept the sale or not.

It probably states it in the fine print that we sign to join PayPal but really that fee should be on the buyer if they are the ones wanting to live O.S. and not change their account to the new country.

Re: Another paypal rort.

digital*ghost — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 11:21:17 GMT

@outback_blends wrote:
So I sell an item to a person who is living in the same state as me and sent the item to an address also in the same state. No problem there until I see an extra charge on my paypal account for the transaction.
So I send an email to paypal who inform me that the buyer is registered in another country so an over the border surcharge has been applied to my fee.

Just a heads up. I have replied to paypal to reconsider the fee but I dont think it will happen.

PayPal have had a clause for additional percentages for quite a while, some of them are built into their exchange rate (i.e. when I pay a seller in USD from my account balance, which is in AUD, it costs me more than it would if I held a balance in USD, you can convert an amount to other currencies first and then pay, and the exchange rate is ever so slightly better than if it's converted at the time of purchase, but either way the seller also pays an extra percentage in fees to receive the converted amount, so they get everyone in that regard).

Even if a buyer's account is registered in Australia, if they pay with a foreign credit card, the surcharge applies as well. The buyer may well be overseas, and had the item sent to someone they know. I often have people in Asian countries purchasing from me, get the items sent to a friend or relative in Aus, then either pick it up while visiting, or have a bunch of stuff sent over all at once. (A bit beside the point, I know, just mentioning that it's not uncommon for Aus sellers to receive 'foreign' payments, half the time without even knowing it).

Re: Another paypal rort.

lyndal1838 — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 17:03:29 GMT

I am always charged the Cross Border Fee by my bank when I pay an overseas seller.

Does that mean that the seller also pays the same fee to paypal?

Re: Another paypal rort.

transport-posters — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 20:58:37 GMT

Wow, had no idea this could occur. Thank you for alerting us.

Re: Another paypal rort.

englishrosegardens — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 22:59:18 GMT

Why does paypal not have the right to recoup the extra costs incurred by people paying in a foreign currency? The extra fees for international payments have been around since I first joined ebay well over 10 years ago.

Why don't people ever read up on the terms when they start selling? No, it's too easy to just blame someone else for everything.

Re: Another paypal rort.

digital*ghost — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 00:59:49 GMT

@lyndal1838 wrote:
I am always charged the Cross Border Fee by my bank when I pay an overseas seller.
Does that mean that the seller also pays the same fee to paypal?

That would come under the buyer using a foreign (to the seller) credit card to fund the payment, so assuming they have the same kind of clauses in other regions, it's more than likely the seller pays a slightly higher fee on the payment.

It may be different in other countries, but I pay 1% more on payments from overseas. (I'm lucky enough to be on merchant rates, though, I'm not sure if that makes a difference to the extra percentage, but it does mean the fee for cross-border transactions puts the total not too far above their standard rates - at least for now, as PP have phased out merchant rates in other countries).

Re: Another paypal rort.

kopenhagen5 — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 03:25:36 GMT

@englishrosegardens wrote:
Why does paypal not have the right to recoup the extra costs incurred by people paying in a foreign currency? The extra fees for international payments have been around since I first joined ebay well over 10 years ago.

Why don't people ever read up on the terms when they start selling? No, it's too easy to just blame someone else for everything.

The way I read it is, PayPal already have a fee charged for foreign currency transactions but this appears to be an additional fee. Even though selling only to Australia in same currency but if the buyer's account happens to stem from O.S. (which is not obvious when delivery addy shows Aus and all International members blocked) there is an extra fee.

I am surprised and I think not many members are aware of it.

Personally I think the buyer should pay that fee as it is them wanting that luxury nothing to do with seller.

Re: Another paypal rort.

lyndal1838 — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 03:32:37 GMT

But I do pay the fee as a buyer Kopes, which is why I queried whether the seller also pays it in some way? It is a bit rich if both parties pay it.

I do know that some Australian Credit cards charge a Cross Border Fee on ALL paypal payments whether they are payments to Aussie sellers in AU$ or overseas sellers in a foreign currency.. When I queried it I was told it was because paypal is an overseas company.

Re: Another paypal rort.

digital*ghost — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 03:51:27 GMT

@kopenhagen5 wrote:

The way I read it is, PayPal already have a fee charged for foreign currency transactions but this appears to be an additional fee. Even though selling only to Australia in same currency but if the buyer's account happens to stem from O.S. (which is not obvious when delivery addy shows Aus and all International members blocked) there is an extra fee.

If the buyer's account is registered in another country, it is likely their primary funds / balance etc are in another currency and that a currency conversion took place. You can add additional currencies (my account is currently set up to accept / keep AUD and USD, but I could add GBP etc if I wanted to).

I think perhaps the greater issue is that there's really not anything to indicate to a seller in these kinds of cases, the origin and currency of the payment in order to clarify the higher fees, because they don't break down the fees and just show the total cost, which is what contributes to people being unaware of additional costs, unfortunately.

Most sellers probably wouldn't consider whether or not a foreign buyer can still purchase and pay and therefore incur these additional fees, either, at least not when they only post exclusively to Aus, and as far as I'm aware, you can't block payments from a buyer based on their PayPal currency or country of registration (at least, not on eBay, it might be possible in the settings that can be applied on independent websites), so I understand that it tends not to be the kind of information that's sought out or paid much mind to, further contributing to the surprise.

But, the info is there, still. Looking at PayPal's PDS, all cross-border transactions are supposed to incur an additional 1% rate, regardless of the base rate that's applied (i.e. no different for merchant rates etc), so that would be 3.6% instead of 2.6% on a standard transaction, and then if the payment is funded by a non-Australian credit card, a further 1%, so the total percentage can actually be 4.6%

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/cfsgpds-full?country.x=AU#18_Fees_and_charges

(the info I'm referring to is about half-way down the very long page).

Re: Another paypal rort.

heihachi_73 — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 07:31:13 GMT

Well, there's your problem, Western Australia is in a different country than Eastern Australia. That's why things are a little different over there. 🙂