# PayPal cart - would you buy from a site that used it? Anybody have experience using it for their site?



## Fardor (Jan 27, 2008)

Would you be significantly less likely to buy from a site if it required you to use the PayPal cart?

Anyone actually using it for their site?

Will people have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal's cart system?


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## SBEMedia (Jun 26, 2008)

People use it all the time, although I don't necessarily trust the site anymore (but remeber this is just my personal opionion....as say they, opinions are like *explitive*, everbodies got one and they all stink), considering all the hacks as of late. I think it comes across as more professional to have a secured payment form...


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## marcelolopez (Jul 16, 2007)

I use PayPal in my website, and I have used their service for several years on eBay with no problems at all.
And no, your customers don't need an account with PayPal to pay with their credit card, just make sure let them know about that fact.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

I don't mind paying with PayPal, but a PayPal _cart_ leaves me with a very bad impression. It might not cost the sale, but it's one of those things that contributes to my perception of an online store.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Solmu said:


> I don't mind paying with PayPal, but a PayPal _cart_ leaves me with a very bad impression. It might not cost the sale, but it's one of those things that contributes to my perception of an online store.


I think that pretty much sums up how I think about "PayPal powered" carts.

I'm probably not your average customer, but when I see an online site that is only powered by a paypal cart, it makes me feel the business is less solvent/secure because they have to use a free shopping cart (and not even a *good* free shopping cart). Just seems less professional and more "fly by night".

I don't have any negative feelings when I see that a business "accepts" paypal as part of their payment options.

I don't think it would cost a sale (maybe...I've added a few t-shirts to my "cart" on various t-shirt sites and then stopped and got distracted when I realized it was a PayPal cart), but it does leave a not so positive impression.

In fact, I saw a great t-shirt site today, great designs, beautiful site, but when I added my t-shirt to the shopping cart, I saw that it was powered by an "ejunkie" system that basically used the PayPal shopping cart. My initial response when visiting the site was "I'm gonna buy that t-shirt TODAY!". That was about 5 hours ago and I still haven't checked out yet. If it was a "regular" shopping cart, I'm 100% sure I would have already checked out by now. And that was the only negative mark that I saw on that particular t-shirt company's site.


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## marcelolopez (Jul 16, 2007)

Rodney said:


> If it was a "regular" shopping cart, I'm 100% sure I would have already checked out by now. And that was the only negative mark that I saw on that particular t-shirt company's site.


Rodney, what do you call a "regular" shopping cart ?
And example of a professional shopping cart, or your preferred cart?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

marcelolopez said:


> Rodney, what do you call a "regular" shopping cart ?
> And example of a professional shopping cart, or your preferred cart?


A regular shopping cart would be any stand alone shopping cart program like zen cart, oscommerce, cubecart, volusion, monstercommerce, yahoostore, etc.

If you read through this ecommerce section of the forum, you'll see lots of my posts with different opinions of shopping cart software  Here's a start: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/ecommerce-site-design/t58514.html


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## Tshirtguy (Jul 12, 2006)

Paypal isn't a bad way to start out though and you can grow later.
I'm a web developer and I often tell clients to start small. I have run into many people that just don't want to do a paypal only situation because they think it looks like they must have something wrong with their business that they can't get a real merchant account.

For me, I actually love when a site at least takes paypal. Then I don't have to get my credit card out.


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## marcelolopez (Jul 16, 2007)

Rodney said:


> A regular shopping cart would be any stand alone shopping cart program like zen cart, oscommerce, cubecart, volusion, monstercommerce, yahoostore, etc.
> 
> If you read through this ecommerce section of the forum, you'll see lots of my posts with different opinions of shopping cart software  Here's a start: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/ecommerce-site-design/t58514.html



I misunderstood your post.. I was taking "cart" for "gateway payment".
I thought you were saying having PayPal as the payment processor looked unprofessional.. Oops


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## redsweater (Jul 3, 2008)

I have to agree with the majority here - I love PayPal but their cart makes me a little uncomfortable. I designed a magnetic sign website for my boss, and although we ended up getting a fair amount of traffic we never got one order online. Quite a few phone orders, though, which told me that customers disliked something about the ordering process. I'm not sure it was always the PayPal cart; the order form made you type in all the info you wanted on your sign and might have confused some people, but it's definitely something to think about.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

All of my sites have PayPal as the payment gateway provider. Like Rodney and others have stated though, the basic PayPal cart does look very amateurish and takes people away from your site every time they add an item. I have always used solutions where the shopping cart is contained within the site itself and the customer is not taken to PayPal until they have finalised their shopping requirements.

While your customers are on your site, you don't want to get giving them any reasons to leave.


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## Fardor (Jan 27, 2008)

It seems like maybe it would be a good idea NOT to use the paypal cart... :O

thanks guyz


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## ambitious (Oct 29, 2007)

That's really up to you.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Fardor said:


> It seems like maybe it would be a good idea NOT to use the paypal cart... :O


 
It is totally your choice on that. If you anticipate the customer only buying one, or two items per visit, then PayPal cart may be an easy option for you. If however you anticipate selling multiple items per customer, then a different solution may serve you much better.


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## Fardor (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm anticipating "customers" to buy zero items, to be honest.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

I'm not sure what cart will help you in that context then... LOL 

If you are anticipating low volume, you may as well start off with the standard PayPal cart. I have seen jewellers use that for $5,000 plus items, so it can't be that much of a deterrent.

Good luck with it all.


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## taurusndixie (Aug 6, 2006)

Sellers need to read the horror stories of PayPal.

There is a video on youtube, guy buys then emails seller, happy with purchase. Buyer paints the product, then decides months later he did not like it. PayPal sided with the buyer.
If there is a problem paypal seems to almost never side with the seller.

check out forums of paypal users at
paypals***s.com

If I can't put this web link here, I am sorry


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

PayPal are obligated to side with the buyer. They have to abide by the laws in the countries in which they operate. I had this myself when I sold someone some software. They decided they didn't want after three weeks. They literally just copied the software and started selling counterfeit copies of this on their EBay shop. I made PayPal aware of this fact, but I still had to accept the goods back.

Despite this, I still use PayPal as the primary payment gateway on all my sites. They are well known, their fees are low and they've never screwed up any of my transactions.

I would say that every payment provider has disgruntled customers. You can't let small incidents influence the rest of your commercial operations.


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## EnMartian (Feb 14, 2008)

We use Paypal Website Payments Pro to process our credit card payments on our sites and have never had any issues with it. It doesn't seem to have any effect on people placing orders either. 

We also always use separate shopping carts. I know, if it were me, I'd be wary of the Paypal shopping cart. I don't pay for things using Paypal either.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Sellers need to read the horror stories of PayPal.


I've been a seller with PayPal for probably over 10 years, since they were x.com

I've read the horror stories, but you'll find similar stories with most merchant accounts (they usually side with buyers as well) and almost any big corporate service based company.

I have had great experience with PayPal, even in the odd time when there was a buyer dispute (with me as the seller and the buyer). It actually happened easier and with better communication than my "real" merchant account.

I think it's good to know "what's possible", but I wouldn't be swayed by all the horror stories. PayPal has done a lot to improve things from when many of those sites first started. Like when you login to your account, their phone number is on the first page you see.


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