why do people add cost for paypal

[Brad54]

But looking at the replies in this thread you're seeing a significant % that bypass the ads for sellers that want the extra 3% added to the price.

The goal is to maximize demand and not repel potential buyers. (Economics 101).

Enough said.

No, the goal is to sell your item at a profit, and minimize costs.
If the goal was to "maximize demand and not repel potential buyers," then Mercedes would have built Yugos. After all, there are far more people who can afford cheap cars, than can afford expensive cars.

Personally, if someone is so ****-hurt about paying 3-percent to cover what is in effect "handling" fees, I probably don't want to do business with them anyway. I've learned there are a couple different kinds of customers, and the ones who are such skinflints that they'll whine about you covering your costs are the ones who will always cause you the most problems.
It's just not worth dealing with them, when someone else happy to get your product at your price, will be along shortly.

For people who are selling a bunch of stuff, a 3-percent hit off every item really ads up after a year.

-Brad

 

[DCarr]

unless you're hard up for cash I think any reasonable guy can wait for 3 or 4 days to receive a MO in the mail.

You can thank all of the scammers for people being leary of accepting Money Orders. I have lost sales due to telling the buyer that I would have to wait until my Bank says the M/O, Cashiers Check or ?? has cleared before I send the item.

As its been said, " Look at the total price for the item and if its worth that amount should be the deciding factor".

For those who are against paying the 3% or ??, if that cost was already added into the price you wouldnt know the difference.

 

[BFBOB]

ok, i'll be the old guy here. and I even that old.
when I was a kid and wanted that record GOOFY GOLD advertised on TV for maybe $9.99 plus S&H. I had to ask my mom and save up my chore allowance.
well guess what? S&H is shipping & handeling.

>>>>WHAT??? You mean it's not Sperry & Hutchinson? As in Green Stamps?? I had lots of those as a kid... greenbacks were a little harder to come by!

but to me if a guy says PP only i'll probably overlook that ad.

anyone that wont take a postal or western union MO is just lazy

>>>>Speed is the issue as much as anything. Willy Wonka had it right a couple of decades ago - the song "I Want It Now". I take money orders all the time in my business. No sweat, you handle them just like checks.... and they have all the same problems as checks. I've never taken a bad one, but then I've taken very, very few bad checks. PayPal has some protection built in, but mostly it is FAST.
In the "I Want It Now" era, it's an important sales tool to be able to cut the total transaction time in half - snail mail only one direction.
And, for small transactions, you can't ignore the cost to the buyer. A Postal Money Order costs at least $1.68 - $1.20 plus a stamp to mail it. On a $5 item, that would likely be a deal killer.

Not calling anyone stupid or lazy, just pointing out that there are pros and cons to any transaction. Buyer and seller alike have to assess the factors and decide whether the item in question is worth the total cost, or will bring enough profit to be worth the time and effort.

***Okay, there is an emotional dimension too. I have occasionally sold something at a loss because I couldn't bear to have a useful item in the landfill just because I had no use for it.

Sheesh, maybe it's simpler somewhere else, but on Earth life is complicated!

 

[BFBOB]

You can thank all of the scammers for people being leary of accepting Money Orders. I have lost sales due to telling the buyer that I would have to wait until my Bank says the M/O, Cashiers Check or ?? has cleared before I send the item.

Not to hijack the thread to use it for actual useful information, but...
You mention scammers on Money Orders. I recently had occasion to track a Postal Money Order. An acquaintance of mine alluded to accepting only POSTAL money orders because they are so easy to authenticate on the USPS website. The website's instructions which are rather sketchy, seemed to indicate that you track a MO the same way as a package: type in the serial number in the Track A Package box. Didn't work - no match. So I had to endure days of anxiety before getting confirmation from the recipient.

Do you know how to track/authenticate a Postal Money Order online? Keystroke by keystroke instructions, hopefully. TIA