[TriLUG] OT: PayPal - Good or Bad

[Aaron S. Joyner]

Michael Rulison wrote:
> This list is very active on several off topic areas, so...
> 
> I have heard that PayPal follows its own procedures on when and whether
> to remit balances it holds to the bank accounts of person who have set
> up accounts there and that these procedures differ from those of banks
> and are not subject to government regulator review, that the only
> external review is if you have the funds to go to court. More
> specifically, that it may hold funds indefinitely declaring that they
> were obtained from persons engaged in illegal activities.
> 
> While my own few experiences have been satisfactory, I wonder whether
> there is any body of evidence or opinion to the contrary that deserves
> respectful consideration?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> 

For the record, I've been using my Paypal account happily for nearly 5
years now, and I've done hundreds of transactions.  I've done large
international business-related transactions (ala multiple tranactions in
the tens of thousands of dollars per week), and the worst experience
I've ever had was when they suspended my business partner's account
until he could provide more identification.  Essentially they wanted to
make sure we weren't laundering money.  :)  This only took about 2
business days, and was generally a harmless procedure involving faxing
them a drivers license and a signed copy of a form verifying his identity.

Generally speaking, I've always been very happy with the instant
transactions, and other than that once, never even had a need to
interact with their customer service.  As for the concerns other people
have had over disputes with Ebay sellers, I think that's more a function
of dealing with people you don't know / don't trust.  In general, I
haven't done a lot of that, my paypal transactions have usually been
with close personal or business relations, and for that it works like a
charm.  If you want fraud protection, use a separate account for the
shady sellers or customers, and insulate yourself as Steve suggested.
I'd suggest that even better advice is avoid shady sellers or customers.  :)

Aaron S. Joyner