If you are selling products and services online, then you are most likely accepting payments online. Who really has time to wait for a check to arrive in the mail? Yeah, me neither. So, we all turn to the easiest company to start accepting payments: Paypal. And while this is a good service, it can also be the end of your online business.
Take a very common example. You are accepting payments with Paypal, have a bunch of money in your account, and they freeze your account. Think it can’t happen? Think again. Lately, they have been freezing accounts of more and more online businesses. And the only 2 ways to get your money is to refund all of the recent payments, or wait for 6 months.
Let’s look at this from another point as well. Imagine you have also set up an affiliate program, and are holding the commissions of all of your affiliates. Now, you can not pay them because your money is locked up. This would not be very good at all.
So, not only can you not get your money, or pay your affiliates, you also can not accept payments. Here you have a live website, with a steady stream of traffic, and you can not accept payments. This is why you need another option.
You need another method to accept payments. It can be a number of other programs or companies out there, but you need to make sure you have one of them setup. I just re-activated my 2checkout account. I don’t have it on my websites just yet, but I do plan on getting everything setup within the next month.
I have heard other people also talk online about having an 80/20 split in payments. Where, they get 80% of their payments with Paypal, and the other 20% with their other method. 2checkout is just one of the easier ones to get setup (and they have no monthly payments).
Always have a 2nd option in online businesses. Especially when money is involved. Not to mention, there are a certain amount of people out there that will not use Paypal. It may end up increasing your sales. Go figure!
March 8th, 2008 at 4:18 am
This is great advice. You hear so many stories of people having their paypal accounts closed for no reason!
March 12th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Yeah,
We were looking at that the other day. We were looking at running a 3 way split program. Where you can either choose 2checkout, Worldpay “New Zealanders like Worldpay” and Paypal.com.
Once you hit pay, you are taken to an order page, you input your information and choose your payment option.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Still have not gotten it set up just yet.
I have been busy finishing my basement, and moving the office down there. Just got done about an hour ago, and of course, here I am!!
March 13th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I prefer paypal, yes they are a hassel sometimes but I like them still
March 15th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Very interesting. I once bought software through paypal, and the software did not work. When requested a refund, the seller and paypal said NO because I did in-fact download it. So, I did not get my money back.
Now, if I have a choice for payment, I choose anyone else other than Paypal.
Luke
March 18th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Thanks for the great info. I know I need to look into another means of being paid because pay pal has already frozen my account once. We do need back up!
March 24th, 2008 at 3:39 am
As far as the Paypal.com thing goes. I for the life of me cannot see why these guys are doing this.
I am a big believer in testing, researching and testing again. So I spend a time going over marketing research from other companies. Now I know that a lot of shoppers use paypal through websites the most, to buy stuff.
So why oh why do paypal keep on doing this. It’s like biting the hand that feeds it.
March 24th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Yes, I know. I actually read over at Warrior Forum today someone had their paypal account suspended because they sold an item on Ebay that was drop shipped. And Ebay ALLOWS drop shipping.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Whats going on with these people? Is anyone really looking into why. i suppose with the likes of Google, when they change something or your website drops out. Someone usually has an answer why.
With Paypal there seems to be no answers at all.