ft88 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 All paypal accts accept eBay. But if your paypal account never takes an eBay fee and only from outside eBay then paypal allows for personal. If you are taking eBay payments then paypal limits or disallows personal. Two paypal accounts solves this. Make sure one never takes eBay is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Great reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Cataldo Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) All paypal accts accept eBay. But if your paypal account never takes an eBay fee and only from outside eBay then paypal allows for personal. If you are taking eBay payments then paypal limits or disallows personal. Two paypal accounts solves this. Make sure one never takes eBay is all. That's not correct, IME. My Paypal account pays my eBay fees, is "attached" to my eBay account and I've never had one problem taking a personal payment, including some really big ones a few years ago ($5,000 or so). Why do you think that's what makes it limit the personal payments you can get? Curious to hear your experiences. Peace, Chip Edited January 11, 2015 by Chip Cataldo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 This is only my experience of late. Paypal won't disclose how they determine when to charge fees on payments. I am making assumptions that could very well be wrong. To be clear I am referring to personal payments that get charged a paypal fee anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action252Kid Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 This is only my experience of late. Paypal won't disclose how they determine when to charge fees on payments. I am making assumptions that could very well be wrong. To be clear I am referring to personal payments that get charged a paypal fee anyway. I was a little confused on this until recently myself, but it actually doesn't have anything to do with accepting eBay payments. It is related to if the sender of the "personal PayPal" is using a credit card to fund the transfer, or if they are simply transferring 'cash' out of their PayPal or bank account. You can send/receive personal PayPal money as much as you want, but PayPal is only going to make it "free" (no fees) if it is a PayPal or bank transfer from one account to another. If you are using a credit card to make the transfer, then either the sender or receiver is going to have to pay PayPal fees. Probably not a great idea to make a habit of sending (or receiving) money this way anyway, but that's how PayPal determines if there is a fee or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 I was getting a fee even when it came from a balance. Otherwise that is correct regarding cc vs balance. Normally balance personal payments are fee free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnut Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If you have a business account capable of taking credit cards you always get charged a fee when taking payments for PURCHASES even if the payment comes from a balance. Also, the sender will have to pay a fee when paying personal to that account if they live outside the seller's country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 I think that makes sense. It is worth looking into as the paypal fees add up over time at 3-4% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Good Business Practices Learn it, Live it, Love it. Whether selling here on the boards or on ebay. It also applies to buying. Offer returns. It doesn't have to be unconditional but allowing for returns is the standard. Target will let you return a once worn dress, the least I can do is allow for a return for a collectible with subjective grading. It's more than that though, it's also perception. Nothing worse than an ebay listing for a comic that says "Sold as is." Great, so if the interior is water logged, I'm stuck with it. Keep in mind paypal/ebay return policy will allow for basically any buyer to get a refund, so don't fight it even if you fell entitled, which you shouldn't. I feel like I can grade pretty well. And with that and an open grading policy I probably have a 5% problem rate. Either with condition, missing books, or postage issues. As a one man operation, I do miss things and the best thing I can do is work with the buyer. Condition issues I leave it up to the buyer to either return it or get a partial refund. I don't ask for pictures or proof or what have you. For returns I generally refund the amount and the original postage but not the return postage. That tends to be standard practice and buyers, including myself, seem to accept the loss of return postage is the risk in buying. It should happen infrequently enough as to be seen as one offs. Missing or lost books are very rare except for international where it is more frequent but still uncommon. I mentioned before that Paypal postage requires tracking, so that seems to take care of that. But if a package goes missing I generally offer to split the damages. There's a trust issue on each side. As in, the buyer of the seller could be outright lying, so and I think it makes sense to split it. Postage damage also depends but I generally take responsibility and treat it as a condition issue offering the solution option to the buyer. If you are grading and packing well, refunds might be 2% of your expenses. Not nothing but a minimal amount that you simply shouldn't jeopardize any goodwill you've created over it. And its the right thing to do all said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Self Insurance I practice this and it goes with good practices. Often enough I have received packages either from the board here or from ebay where the seller spent $5 on postage and upwards or $3 on insurance. For a $50 comic. Again this doesn't seem like much but those expenses really add up. I am a huge believer in self insuring so allow me to rant a little. Insurance companies in general make a lot of money off of peoples overblown worries and unwillingness to take risk. OMG what happens when the nasty USPS steals my package, how will I manage and SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY AND IT WON'T BE ME. OK, yeah. Lets break it down financially. Sell 100 items for $50 = $5000. Insurance at $3 each is $150. Out of 50 items the post office can lose 3 items and still break even. My loss or damage rate for domestic shipments is around 1 out of 1000. Keep in mind to attempt to collect damages on a USPS insurance claim has the joy of filing taxes. Forms, faxes, photos, oops you filled it out wrong send it in again.... wait 6-8 weeks. Get judgement, is there an appeal. Plus you have to coordinate with the buyer and on and on. All for $50. Just take that money, put it aside and self insure. I'd even suggest it for high dollar books up to $1000. Can you afford to lose it? Not, is it OK to lose it, but is it worth the risk. For 1 book in a 10 year period, fine buy insurance. But over a couple years I may buy/sell 20-30 $1000 books and at $10 per shipment, that really adds up. I wonder why CGC doesn't incorporate that in their business model. Self insure shipments up to say $10,000 and then buy insurance for amounts over that. Think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semicentennial Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Great information. Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uchiha101 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 awesome journal...time to read it all hehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Cataldo Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I'd like to hear about the accounting side of things if you have any advice, Ed. Peace, Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 A little personal story. I just got a call from a gentleman handling an estate. Says there is upwards of 1000 comics from 1950s and 1960s. He lives over 4 hours away. Doesn't have an exact price in mind and will likely shop them around to get the best price. He is going to call back when the books are in front of him to give me an idea about what he has. I mentioned two things, that I was more than happy to walk him through the value of the collection, but I wanted to be given serious consideration for my offer. Don't make me do a ton of work and then go with someone else. Also, I want to make sure he has the goods. Marvel and DC with a strong couple of keys, I'll make the round trip. Archie and Harvey's - maybe but probably not. So this is the type of deal that is on the edge and requires a bunch of stuff I've mentioned in this thread. I'm competing against dealers and their sales pitch. I need to be able to evaluate the worth of the collection. I have to be willing to travel and willing to work the risk that I get nothing. I better bring enough money to buy at least part of the collection. I need to be able to sell the collection quickly and efficiently. All those things give me an edge, either I can get to them first and win, pay more than a dealer because my costs are low, show the seller that I'm trustworthy, knowledgable and willing to help. All these things take time, experience, money, passion for the hobby, and a pleasant demeanor. If any of these are missing, it's not going to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uchiha101 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 A little personal story. I just got a call from a gentleman handling an estate. Says there is upwards of 1000 comics from 1950s and 1960s. He lives over 4 hours away. Doesn't have an exact price in mind and will likely shop them around to get the best price. He is going to call back when the books are in front of him to give me an idea about what he has. I mentioned two things, that I was more than happy to walk him through the value of the collection, but I wanted to be given serious consideration for my offer. Don't make me do a ton of work and then go with someone else. Also, I want to make sure he has the goods. Marvel and DC with a strong couple of keys, I'll make the round trip. Archie and Harvey's - maybe but probably not. So this is the type of deal that is on the edge and requires a bunch of stuff I've mentioned in this thread. I'm competing against dealers and their sales pitch. I need to be able to evaluate the worth of the collection. I have to be willing to travel and willing to work the risk that I get nothing. I better bring enough money to buy at least part of the collection. I need to be able to sell the collection quickly and efficiently. All those things give me an edge, either I can get to them first and win, pay more than a dealer because my costs are low, show the seller that I'm trustworthy, knowledgable and willing to help. All these things take time, experience, money, passion for the hobby, and a pleasant demeanor. If any of these are missing, it's not going to work. cool post the archie comics if there are any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 I will with a grumble if I do come across them. Nothing against Archies, but I'd rather not travel 8 hours round trip for a bunch of VG 60's. Of course, he called and said his brother had the flu so this would have to wait a week or so. It's never easy. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Titan Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Wealth of information here! Thanks for the good read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadpoolJr. Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Would you mind if I asked you what collection it was you bought in your eyes that made you a step up from the average dealer, and help put you on the map, or close to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uchiha101 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I will with a grumble if I do come across them. Nothing against Archies, but I'd rather not travel 8 hours round trip for a bunch of VG 60's. Of course, he called and said his brother had the flu so this would have to wait a week or so. It's never easy. Ed Yeah no problem I understand what you mean I wouldn't want to waste my time either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uchiha101 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 if it were easy everyone would do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
