# Pay Pal or Straight from your site?



## sopka (Jun 18, 2009)

I going to start to develop the website for my brand soon and I am not sure whether i should go with PayPal (the easiest option for me at the moment) or have a script set up so customers can shop straight from the site. 

I don't know if paypal will turn away some customers because there people out there who don't have a paypal account. Having a direct shopping cart in my opinion looks more professional, like a proper brand type professional, but is a potentional security issue.

What are your opinions on this? It would help me a lot on deciding which way i should go with this.

Thanks, Martin


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

The best is to offer both. If you only offer a Paypal payment option, some potential customers will view your business as a parttime venture.

Harry
Equipment Zone


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

I think most people that are willing to buy a t-shirt online are pretty much used to being directed to paypal (or similar site) to submit their payment info. I know it looks confusing to the average consumer because paypal asks for login info, but it also says it right there that payment can be made with a credit card without logging in.

If redirecting customers to paypal's site is the easier method for you right now, then go that route. Paypal offers an upgrade package where you can still use them as your transaction provider, but have a shopping cart that is built into your site. So you can always upgrade later on.


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## muneca (Sep 30, 2008)

If pay pal is the only thing you can afford right now. START! I started w/that and then eventually added the other payment services through my financial institution, etc. Don't let that stop you from starting...there will ALWAYS be an excuse to impede your progression. If you can do both right away...do it! If not, don't sweat it.

Good luck 2 u!


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## sopka (Jun 18, 2009)

thanks to all for great answers


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## GCharb (Jun 12, 2009)

Peoples can pay on Paypal real easy, if they never been to Paypal site, they get directed to a full payment form, as any non Paypal services, if they been there before and have a cookie setup, then they get to a login page where you have a link to a full form.

I made my own cart, which collect all the data, shipping options etc, then pass it to Paypal payment page.

There are several copy/paste codes you can get from Paypal developer network, there is also tons of scripting examples if you know your way around some scripting languages.


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## HippieGuy (Sep 27, 2009)

I do not know how some people would consider anyone who uses paypal to be 'part time' as mentioned in a reply. Just about every e-site I have been on uses paypal, and they are major retailers.

If a buyer, you do not need paypal to use it; no account needed. I find it easy, safe, secure. The majority of on line retailers use it, as mentioned, most buyers feel secure. I never had a problem in 4 years.


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## GCharb (Jun 12, 2009)

I am Canadian, Paypal is not as well implemented here but even so, millions of Canadian dollars go through Paypal every year, I have been using it and made most of my clients use it.

It is simple to implement, safe and by far the most reliable payment service I have used or implemented.


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## Austin300 (May 24, 2009)

Paypal works.. ... MOST of the time.


They have a bad reputation with Ebay followers
and that reputation comes from holding onto 
peoples money for several weeks until the buyer leaves 
feedback or untill they get around to it.

Paypal also has a reputation of refusing transactions
because of their "security software" that
won't allow transactions to go through and
the buyer just gives up and goes elswhere 
because of the problems.

Paypal WANTS people to sign up with them
and a simple look at the checkout will show
you that they would rather have you be a
member of Payal.

They are NOT regulated by banking regulations
and therefore some people refuse to let them
have access to their information which they save.

For a small start-up store they will work OK but
for a serious large scale site they are a no go.


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## sopka (Jun 18, 2009)

> For a small start-up store they will work OK but
> for a serious large scale site they are a no go.


Austin300, you gave really firm arguments and the conclusion sums it up nice and clear. My initial prejudice against PayPal was and still is blurry but has a lot to do with the connotation certain people might relate to this service.

I have no other choice but to start with PayPal but once things start to move i will consider the standard approach.

thanks again to all contributors


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## IvanM (Mar 17, 2010)

I would use both but use paypal with caution, by this I mean PayPal is not on your side. Make sure you track everything and follow up as much as possible. Even with tracking numbers I have had problems with paypal, unlike my bank paypal will take the side of the consumer not the business. If the consumer says they got a red shirt and not a blue one, guess who gets an instant chargeback. The consumer can get a refund from paypal before even mailing your merchandise back. There are lots of issues with paypal and it is expensive. Do your research, youd be surprised what you can afford as far as receiving payment. In the end I have paypal on my sites just in case someone feels paypal is more secure but I curb the use of paypal by charging a $1.00 processing fee if paypal is used.


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## brenden (Dec 11, 2008)

Hi all,

PayPal has mixed reactions in Australia. One thing PayPal does quite poorly is promote that they accept credit cards. We've had a number of DecoNetwork users comment that their customers don't know PayPal does accept credit card and when their customers see the "PayPal checkout" button they assume they need a PayPal account to buy something. One customer even commented that their sales tripled when they moved from only PayPal and to an integrated payment gateway. Double bonus is they didn't leave their website so seemed to be a seamless part of the checkout process instead of bouncing over to a PayPal checkout page. But of course, with Pro you can also do that with PayPal.

My advise would be to strongly promote the use of credit card through PayPal to make sure it is crystal clear you don't need a PayPal account to buy through PayPal.


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## teesey (Aug 1, 2009)

Here's a quick explanation - strictly from a business perspective - of why there's no reason not to have on-site checkout.

First of all, you should know that the difference in cost between standard Paypal and Paypal Pro is $30/month. Both payment systems take 2.9% + $0.30 for every sale they process for you. 

Along with paying $30/month, you'll also need 2 other things: a business or premier Paypal account (this is free & if you're an actual business it's super easy to get). The other thing you need is SSL encryption on your checkout pages (this can be setup for no more than $50/year). 

So the bottom line is this: The financial toll of on-site checkout is quite literally $30 per month more than you are already paying. If you aren't making enough sales or generating enough revenue to afford the $30/month cost of on-site checkout, then the scope of your business challenges are far beyond figuring out how to process transactions.


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## brenden (Dec 11, 2008)

Hear hear!  Thanks Emre.


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## GCharb (Jun 12, 2009)

-----Paypal Standard-----
No setup fee
No monthly fee
No commercial banking account
No credit application
Customers pay on Paypal site
Easy integration
Fee 2.9 - 1.9%
Customers with no Paypal cookie are presented with a full buyer form

-----Paypal Pro-----
No setup fee
SSL certificate
No commercial banking account
Monthly fee, $30.00
Credit application
Customers pay on your site
More complicated integration but more tools, like more shipping options, international currency tool etc.
Fee 2.9 - 1.9%

-----Regular payment gateway-----
Setup fee
Commercial banking account
SSL certificate
Gateway account
Monthly fee
Credit application
Customers pay on your site
Other fees may accur depending on your provider
Transaction fees are usually comparable to Paypal

In general Paypal cost less then regular gateway account, and true some had problems with Paypal in the past, but it is getting better all the time.

From my experience other solutiuons are not hassle free, they all have their pits and falls.

Maybe someone here could share their experience implementing other services, might shed a light on the diffrent services out there.


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## Leesfer (Feb 23, 2010)

Paypal does NOT require you to have a paypal account to make purchases from sites using the merchant program. You can redirect to paypal to finalize the purchase and make a payment using a credit card without signing in.

How would you write a custom script without using a merchant service from PayPal or another bank? That is not possible. You have to use some type of merchant service to accept credit cards and there is a monthly fee if you do. If you do take this route I would recommend PayPal Pro. It can be integrated into your site without redirecting to paypal to finalize the purchase.


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## TeesForChange (Jan 17, 2007)

I think you should offer both options - some people love to pay with PayPal and others prefer to enter in their credit card # directly. paypal might also be cheaper if you don't have a lot of volume at first.


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## party animal (Aug 30, 2009)

Paypal can process credit cards even if the customer doesn't have a paypal account. So that way your customers will just be charging their order to a credit card.


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## SHIROINEKO (Mar 31, 2010)

muneca said:


> If pay pal is the only thing you can afford right now. START! I started w/that and then eventually added the other payment services through my financial institution, etc. Don't let that stop you from starting...there will ALWAYS be an excuse to impede your progression. If you can do both right away...do it! If not, don't sweat it.
> 
> Good luck 2 u!



Great opinion here. 

I like that.


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## Jsheffers (Apr 8, 2010)

I agree with most of you on here. DO something to get started, but if you know some about coding for the web I encourage your to check out a Drupal + Ubercart E-Commerce solution.


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## kevintees (Apr 8, 2010)

Hello, I'm still a rookie in this business but thanks to sites like this, I really adjusted my focus on what to research. When I created my business plan I did a lot of comparison with various accounts. The Pro's of PayPal is that it's free and easy to use and great for start up. However, PayPal is not FDIC insured. 

That was important for me because if and when my business gets bigger, I like the peace of mind knowing that my money is protected. 

Security for PayPal is good but I did have a few issues with them. I got locked out of my own account several times because of me logging in from a different computers. Being a online retailer that's something that I can afford to have happen. I know for a fact I lost a couple of customers. My business mentor told that "You only get 1 time per customer to make an easy transaction". (I know kinda corny but true)


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## maxcz (May 25, 2010)

Yes .I agree with #2. More ways you do .. much you can get.


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## adibranch (Jun 18, 2010)

also remember that if you're taking payments online yourself (ie on site card processing) then you open yourself up to PCI complicance issues. Something you dont do with paypal... but .. paypal sucks. once your shop is big enough use a merchant provider such as sagepay (UK) or similar to avoid paypal AND the PCI issues.


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## Klez (May 22, 2010)

I have been playing with Zen-Cart on and off for two weeks. Last night I tried paypal and it was so easy I am done. I'll add Zen-Cart when I figure it out more and get larger, but paypal was just so easy.


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## bluecollarwear (Jun 14, 2010)

I recently had the same problem because I just set up my first site. I liked paypal because of the "brand" name it carries with it. People feel more secure with a website theat has the "paypal" name on it. I signed up for paypal pro. It allowed me to have a shopping cart that did not direct users away from my site and could feel that they were paying my site securely and also gave them the option to pay through the traditional paypal link. They check your credit to do this and like most entrepreneuers I don't have the best..but paypal made arrangements and they take 30% of the gross sale and hold it in an account for 90 days in case of chargebacks, and return it to me on the 91st day. This would be a huge turnoff to most of us but I look at it like a savings account and will use that money to reinvest in the company.
Its only been two weeks for me and less than 20 sales but I have had no problems.


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