How to reduce paypal fees?

1. 58

   silentsapphireposted 13 years ago

   I offer writing services and I am losing a lot of money on paypal. For example when I get paid $20 for 3 articles I actually get $18.92 and the rest is towards paypal fees. This amount adds up to a lot of money at the end of the month. I know you have to pay paypal fees to use it, but is there anyway we can reduce it?

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   1. 72

      Just Ask Susanposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If you wait until your PayPal account has hit 150.00 before transferring to your bank account it does not cost you a transfer fee.

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   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      What kind of Paypal account do you have?
      
      Unless you want to accept credit card payments, you only need the "Personal" Paypal account.  The basic Paypal account doesn't charge fees for receiving or sending payments within the same country, and only charges a small amount for international transactions. 
      
      I have known several people who got sucked into signing up for more sophisticated Paypal accounts which they didn't need, and ended up paying much higher fees.

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2. 58

   silentsapphireposted 13 years ago

   I appreciate your advice Susan but I am losing money when I receive it I always transfer at $200 or more so don't lose money on transferring to my bank account.

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   1. 72

      Just Ask Susanposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Do you think that this could be possibly due to the exchange rate between countries?

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      1. 77

         Uninvited Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Actually, I think mine is. I get paid in Canadian dollars by a UK company.

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3. 77

   Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

   Only one site I work for is charged PayPal fees. I have no idea why.

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4. 66

   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   Paypal charges fees, there isn't much you can do about it as any other method charges even more fees.

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5. 0

   erikjohnsonposted 13 years ago

   Great feedback.  I own a online store and yes Pay Pal is expensive.  They like to take their fees and they like to really hold onto their money.  But it is one of those evil things you can't be without.  Many consumers will not even do business with you unless you offer it. And good ideas about lowering your Pay Pal fees would be great to here.

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   1. 75

      Aficionadaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      PayPal provides a service that is an important part of online financial transactions now.  It may be annoying to have to pay for the service, but they have to pay their employees too.  I'm all for finding legitimate ways to lower fees, as others have suggested and described here, but I don't have a problem with paying people a reasonable fee for a service they provide.
      
      @silentsapphire:  I think TamCor's idea is best - just up your fees somewhat.  Charge $21.50 or $22 for three articles.  Also, FYI - if you are in the US, the fee that you pay to PayPal is likely tax deductible, and that should help you out a little bit.

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6. 80

   TamCorposted 13 years ago

   There are only two things I can think of to suggest to you...
   
   One is to up your fees a couple of dollars, to where you are getting closer to the original amount you wanted for your services.
   
   Another is to get their PayPal debit card, which works like a bank debit card.  You can only use it for the amount that's in your PayPal account.  But they have a cash back option, so when you use it as a credit card(by not punching in pin code for debit), you will get a percentage back into your account.
   
   I've had mine for 7 years or so, so mine is 1.5% back.  My husband got his later, after they'd changed it, so his is only 1%.  But still, it's a way to at least get back something!
   
   I am guessing that the 1% is still the going rate, but you'd have to check to be sure...
   
   I never transfer the PayPal money to my bank account anymore--I just use my card to make purchases, or I can go to an ATM and withdraw what I want.
   
   Hope this helps a little...

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7. 66

   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   Fees for some types of transfer (including being paid for services) are 2-3% for all accounts, the sender can choose to pay it.
   https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c … es-outside

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe it depends which country you're in.  In Australia, there's no fee to send or receive money domestically, if it's "personal".
      
      https://cms.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/marke … le.x=en_AU
      
      You are charged for "commercial" transactions. I'm not sure how they determine what a commercial transaction is.  I've never been charged these fees, except when being paid internationally (and that fee is inevitable because everyone charges for currency conversion).

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8. 66

   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   Exactly, between friends is free. But anything where you are paid for a product or service costs 2-3%. The sender is meant to declare what type of transaction it is.

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In all the time I've used Paypal, whether to pay for software, buy eBay items or receive payment from sites like HubPages, I've never been asked to declare anything.
      
      I know it's different for Business accounts but I have no experience of that.

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         psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I get a drop box asking if it is a product, service or gift.
         
         If you make over a certain amount they move you to a business account regardless.
         
         The bottom line is that someone should be paying the 2-3% for any payment for services.  If you have somehow avoided it, it might pay to lay low and not mention it.
         
         If a company is declaring the payment as a professional service the fee will activate. For example I have a payment from webmerchant:
         
         Amount received:   
             $25.00 USD
         Fee amount:   
             -$1.03 USD
         Net amount:   
             $23.97 USD
         
         A lot of sites don't click the right button to dodge the fee.
         
         I don't have a Hubads payment yet so I don't know what they do.

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   2. 72

      Just Ask Susanposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I write for a site in the USA and I am in Canada. When they pay me for articles that I write I am not charged anything at all.

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