Here is the official Paypal surcharge policies taken off their website this morning, for those who are interested. It seems that some CR members who use surcharges for Paypal use are violating the terms of their Paypal agreement and misleading customers for their own profit. CR members should work out payment details in advance with the seller because ebay does not help you in these matters.
In summary of the first section, the seller loses UK Paypal seller protection if they use Paypal surcharges. In the second section, UK Paypal transactions with buyers/sellers outside the UK shall not use surcharges. For UK - UK transactions, surcharges are limited to the actual costs incurred, must be completed in British Pounds, and both buyer and seller must live in the UK. In the third section, all US transactions that use Visa or Mastercard credit cards cannot have any surcharge imposed to complete the transaction.
Regards, Steve Neago Cincinnati, OH
**************************************************************************** * Seller Protection Policy for UK
Notice Date: September 8, 2003 (updated October 16, 2003) Effective Date: October 10, 2003 Effective October 10, 2003, UK Sellers will be eligible for free coverage under PayPal's Seller Protection Policy on qualified transactions with UK and US buyers. Sellers who follow the guidelines of the Seller Protection Policy will not be held liable for activity relating to chargebacks for the unauthorized use of credit or debit cards or false claims of non-receipt. Qualified transactions will be displayed as "Seller Protection Policy Eligible" in the Transaction Details page for a given transaction.
The requirements for coverage are as follows:
Have a Verified Premier or Business account
Ship tangible goods
Ensure the transaction is "Seller Protection Policy Eligible" on the Transaction Details Page
Ship the item to the address shown on the Transaction Details page
Use a shipping service that can be tracked online
Accept payment from only one PayPal account
Ship the item to a UK or US buyer at an address within the UK or the US
Ship the item within seven days of receiving payment
Respond to all PayPal inquiries about the transaction in a timely fashion
Do not impose a surcharge (additional fee for using PayPal) on the buyer
****************************************************************
PayPal Surcharging Policy Update
Notice Date: July 10, 2003 Effective Date: July 25, 2003 PayPal's No Surcharge Policy has been updated to clarify when surcharging may occur in the United Kingdom. Section V of the Payments (Sending, Receiving, and Withdrawals) Policy describes the conditions under which sellers residing in the UK and listing items for sale on a UK-based website may impose a surcharge (a fee to the buyer for accepting credit card payments).
The conditions are:
Both the buyer and the seller reside in the United Kingdom;
The purchase price is paid in Pounds Sterling;
The surcharge imposed by the seller is no greater than is necessary to recover the receiving fees incurred by the seller; and
The seller clearly indicates to the buyer prior to the buyer's submission of a bid or (in non-auction transactions) prior to the completion of the purchase that a surcharge will be incurred, and the amount of the surcharge PayPal continues to discourage surcharging as it believes it is detrimental to both buyers and sellers. We will continue to evaluate the effects and incidences of surcharging on our community over the coming months and may continue to revise our policies on this issue in the future.
***************************************************************************8 Payment Surcharges
" Notice Date: March 25, 2001 " "Effective Date: March 31, 2001" "Under Visa and MasterCard regulations and the laws of several states, including California, merchants may not charge a fee to the buyer for accepting credit card payments (often called a \"surcharge\"). In order to comply with these laws and regulations, PayPal has amended its User Agreement so that, effective March 31, customers may not charge a fee for accepting PayPal. This restriction does not prevent you from imposing a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge (in other words, the handling fee for transactions paid through PayPal may not be higher than the handling fee for transactions paid through other payment methods). "
> I got a lot of off-list email responses to my question about the legality
of
> sellers on ebay asking for a premium for use of Paypal. The best I can
figure
> it out, if the auction is within the US, between US sellers, it is not
> allowed, even if mentioned in the auction. If the deal is between an EU
seller and
> US buyer or between EU seller and buyer, then it MAY be okay--I was not
able
> to resolve conflicting comments on this issue. Regardless, don't depend
on
> Ebay or Paypal to police this for you. I believe the best advice is to
email
> the seller and verify the shipping and any fees they intend to levy,
whether
> Paypal, packing, or whatever PRIOR to bidding. It probably isn't going to
break
> the bank, but it sure is frustrating. Thanks for all the responses. Lou
> Deeter, Orlando FL