PayPal was initially established to handle micropayments and simple Internet transactions. The company quickly became the payment of choice for both buying and selling products on eBay, the world’s largest online auction site. In 2002, eBay purchased PayPal and has integrated many of the systems, which has made the auction transaction payment process very simple.
Because the payPal transaction process is so well integrated with eBay, almost all eBay sellers accept PayPal payments. PayPal is completely free for buyers. Sellers pay all the transaction fees. There are three account options.
1. PayPal Personal Account An eBay buyer who wishes to sign up for PayPal for occasional eBay purchases can sign up for a Personal Account. With a Personal Account, you can send and receive money for free, but you cannot accept debit or credit card payments. This is a good choice for an eBay buyer, but not for someone who wants to sell items on eBay.
2. PayPal Premier Account With a Premier account, you can send money for free and receive all payment types for low fees. This type of account is good for both buyers and sellers, and particularly good for casual sellers who are not selling items as a company.
3. PayPal Business Account If you are selling items as a business, this is the best choice.
PayPal is also accepted by a very large number of online merchants, so it can be used beyond just eBay auctions. Look for the PayPal logo in online stores that you use.
The sign-up process for PayPal is simple and straight-forward. If you intend to use PayPal to buy items in eBay and other Internet sites, you will need to provide credit card information or will need to transfer funds into your account. If you are a seller and want to use PayPal to receive payments in eBay or on your Web site, it is a good idea to provide them with a verifiable credit card address. Your transactions will then indicate that you are "Verified", which instills an additional degree of confidence in buyers.
Want to learn more about a PayPal business account? Click the PayPal logo.
