Show Of Hands -- Who would prefer to use a Credit Card over PayPal?

[TGO David]

I'm looking for a show of hands.  Who here would prefer when purchasing a Benefactor membership on TGO to use a Credit/Debit Card through a processing company like Stripe or 2CheckOut as opposed to using a credit card (or existing account balance) through PayPal?

 

I am adding a poll to this question so if you're on TapaTalk just drop a reply in the thread or access the mobile version of this thread at http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/92050-show-of-hands-who-would-prefer-to-use-a-credit-card-over-paypal/

 

 

Edited to add:

 

Do not cast your vote on the notion that either of these choices is more or less "pro gun" than the other.  PayPal allows you to pay for a lot of things through them that are firearms related, firearms parts, etc. but just not BATFE regulated items like serialized components, NFA items, etc.

 

It's a fact of life that a lot of payment processing companies don't like that.  Neither Stripe or 2CheckOut support serialized item sales either and many banks are cracking down on it as well.  They're doing it not necessarily due to politics but also due to the fact that it's hard for them to keep tabs on jurisdictionally allowed sales which puts them at a risk of liability.

[nightrunner]

I voted no preference.

It's not a huge issue to me but as long as it was just as simple to use as PayPal, I'm for it. It would be nice to be able to not support PayPal as they don't support us (anti gun policies)

[TGO David]

I voted no preference.

It's not a huge issue to me but as long as it was just as simple to use as PayPal, I'm for it. It would be nice to be able to not support PayPal as they don't support us (anti gun policies)

 

I don't agree with the conclusion that PayPal is exactly anti-gun.  You can buy a lot of things through them that are firearms related, firearms parts, etc. but just not BATFE regulated items like serialized components, NFA items, etc.

 

It's a fact of life that a lot of payment processing companies don't like that.  Neither Stripe or 2CheckOut support serialized item sales either and many banks are cracking down on it as well.  They're doing it not necessarily due to politics but also due to the fact that it's hard for them to keep tabs on jurisdictionally allowed sales which puts them at a risk of liability.

 

Do I like that?  No.

 

But we have to deal with the world we live in.

[tennesseetiger]

I like using PayPal as a proxy for my accounts so I voted PayPal but it won't break my heart to use a credit card either.

[Randall53]

Everyone to their own opinion, but I had a bad experience with PayPal a couple of years ago and they were not helpful at all. I had to change my CC and bank accounts to stop using them and I still get crap on the old account which now has dead account info. It was while they were connected with Ebay. things may be different now, but I'm done with them.  

[bersaguy]

I voted Debit/Credit card because back several years ago I had some bad issues with Paypal and still have the bad taste in my mouth from it. Mine incidents with them were also back when they merged with E-Bay like Randall, but I won't go back if at all possible to avoid them........... :ugh:

[gregintenn]

Whatever works best for yo David. :up:

[nightrunner]

I don't agree with the conclusion that PayPal is exactly anti-gun. You can buy a lot of things through them that are firearms related, firearms parts, etc. but just not BATFE regulated items like serialized components, NFA items, etc.

It's a fact of life that a lot of payment processing companies don't like that. Neither Stripe or 2CheckOut support serialized item sales either and many banks are cracking down on it as well. They're doing it not necessarily due to politics but also due to the fact that it's hard for them to keep tabs on jurisdictionally allowed sales which puts them at a risk of liability.

Do I like that? No.

But we have to deal with the world we live in.

Maybe I have been given bad information over the years.

When buying gun parts both on here and GOC, I have had the seller tell me to either do a gift or put that it's for a video game or something less controversial. Otherwise PayPal might delete both our accounts.

I can fully understand not wanting to get involved in regulated merchandise.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Ebay recently lightened their stance on gun part and especially on "assault weapon" parts. You can build an AR15, except the receiver, using nothing but Ebay and pay for it using PayPal.

 

Plenty of banks and credit card companies out there are way worse than PayPal.

 

And with PayPal it is MUCH easier than paying with a credit card. I counted steps and it take me less than 5 steps to buy something using PayPal. That is less than 5 mouse clicks so I cannot see ANY credit card being any easier for online purchases. And if your purchases are from outside of the United States it can be very, very difficult to get a guarantee from your CC company like PP does. My bank refuses any purchases outside of the US unless I call them first and have it cleared but part of that is them telling me there are no protections with overseas purchases.

 

And I can tell you from first hand experience getting a refund through PayPal is WAY easier than trying to get a refund from a credit card company or your bank. Last time I had to get a refund I sent a request to PayPal. They contacted the seller, who did not respond, and I had my money within a few weeks of filing the dispute. And PayPal did all the "legwork" to ensure I got a refund. Yes it took a little longer but it is a lot easier than the time someone used my credit card fraudulently. When that happened I had to get a police report, statement from the store the CC was used in, I had to write statements and get them notarized. Then after close to a week of gathering all that they agreed to refund it but not before accusing my wife and I of trying to scam the bank.

 

If PayPal is a choice I will pick it over any other method, even if it is more expensive.

 

At this point I do not consider PayPal anti gun any more than the bank I bank with.

[nightrunner]

Ebay recently lightened their stance on gun part and especially on "assault weapon" parts. You can build an AR15, except the receiver, using nothing but Ebay and pay for it using PayPal.

Plenty of banks and credit card companies out there are way worse than PayPal.

And with PayPal it is MUCH easier than paying with a credit card. I counted steps and it take me less than 5 steps to buy something using PayPal. That is less than 5 mouse clicks so I cannot see ANY credit card being any easier for online purchases. And if your purchases are from outside of the United States it can be very, very difficult to get a guarantee from your CC company like PP does. My bank refuses any purchases outside of the US unless I call them first and have it cleared but part of that is them telling me there are no protections with overseas purchases.

And I can tell you from first hand experience getting a refund through PayPal is WAY easier than trying to get a refund from a credit card company or your bank. Last time I had to get a refund I sent a request to PayPal. They contacted the seller, who did not respond, and I had my money within a few weeks of filing the dispute. And PayPal did all the "legwork" to ensure I got a refund. Yes it took a little longer but it is a lot easier than the time someone used my credit card fraudulently. When that happened I had to get a police report, statement from the store the CC was used in, I had to write statements and get them notarized. Then after close to a week of gathering all that they agreed to refund it but not before accusing my wife and I of trying to scam the bank.

If PayPal is a choice I will pick it over any other method, even if it is more expensive.

At this point I do not consider PayPal anti gun any more than the bank I bank with.

Wow, sounds like quite an experience with your bank. I bank at Ascend FCU. They locked my card due to a suspicious transaction before I had even noticed it. Less than 24 hrs after it happened. They called me to authorize it, I did not. They permanently locked my card, this was on Sunday. Monday morning I went to the bank and signed one form and one log book (I believe it was a notary book) had my refund deposited in my account in less than 24hrs after that. They handled the investigation and all that. Pretty simple.

I have no problem with PayPal either aside from my perceived policies, which turns out I am wrong about.

[Dolomite_supafly]

That is another thing that really annoys the crap out of me with my bank. They reissue at least four new cards a year because some business that I have never done business with was hacked. I check my mail and there is a new card for me to activate but when I activate the new one the old one deactivates. So I have to make sure nothing is pending otherwise it will be refused by the bank. And if I decide just not to activate the new one the old one still deactivates in like 30 days. 99% of my regular bills are setup with auto pay using a credit card so I have to go through and change billing information but without a doubt I will forget at least one and get a notice I am behind by a few months.

 

I understand they are trying to protect themselves by doing this several times a year is so aggravating.

 

But as far as PayPal goes all you have to do is look on Ebay to see what they will allow.

[TGO David]

I was shocked to see how many firearms related pieces you can buy on eBay now.  For example, eBay came up in a Google search result for threaded barrels the other day.  There was a time not too awfully long ago where that would have been a forbidden item on eBay.

[Oh Shoot]

Ebay recently lightened their stance on gun part and especially on "assault weapon" parts. You can build an AR15, except the receiver, using nothing but Ebay and pay for it using PayPal.

 

They actually have tightened up on that again. You can't sell them, except you sort of can.

 

Prohibited:

"Parts or accessories for assault weapons. Listings that mention capability with an assault weapon, even if the part or accessory fits non-assault weapons, are also prohibited."

 

So, yes, you can still buy AR and AK, etc parts, but mentioning the firearm by that name can get your auction ended, with a warning. Happened to me not too long ago actually, selling off some AK grips.

 

And note that eBay doesn't give you a list of exactly what "assault weapons" are verboten, no actual firearm name list, and a phone call didn't help clarify either, except that I couldn't use the term "AK" or "AK47" in a listing. So it's become a bit of a cat and mouse game with listing procedures, mostly just done by caliber description now by ongoing vendors. With "amateur" sellers like me, it's sort of an inconsistent whack-a-mole procedure, just like when eBay was flooded with hicap mag listings back during the panic.

 

- OS

Edited November 6, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[Dolomite_supafly]

They actually have tightened up on that again. You can't sell them, except you sort of can.

 

Prohibited:

"Parts or accessories for assault weapons. Listings that mention capability with an assault weapon, even if the part or accessory fits non-assault weapons, are also prohibited."

 

So, yes, you can still buy AR and AK, etc parts, but mentioning the firearm by that name can get your auction ended, with a warning. Happened to me not too long ago actually, selling off some AK grips.

 

And note that eBay doesn't give you a list of exactly what "assault weapons" are verboten, no actual firearm name list, and a phone call didn't help clarify either, except that I couldn't use the term "AK" or "AK47" in a listing. So it's become a bit of a cat and mouse game with listing procedures, mostly just done by caliber description now by ongoing vendors. With "amateur" sellers like me, it's sort of an inconsistent whack-a-mole procedure, just like when eBay was flooded with hicap mag listings back during the panic.

 

- OS

 

WOW, I guess they have.

 

Earlier this year I helped a friend assemble his AR. 90% of the parts came off of Ebay. LPK, barrel, FF tube, stock, sights, gas block, gas tube, buffer tube with buffer and spring, pistol grip and everything else except the stripped upper receiver and, of course, the lower receiver came from Ebay. Total cost for the gun using decent parts, not bargain basement, was $570. It was a very, very nice gun that he says is as accurate as any of his previous ARs.

[Oh Shoot]

WOW, I guess they have.

 

Earlier this year I helped a friend assemble his AR. 90% of the parts came off of Ebay. LPK, barrel, FF tube, stock, sights, gas block, gas tube, buffer tube with buffer and spring, pistol grip and everything else except the stripped upper receiver and, of course, the lower receiver came from Ebay. Total cost for the gun using decent parts, not bargain basement, was $570. It was a very, very nice gun that he says is as accurate as any of his previous ARs.

 

You can possibly still do that, but it's simply gonna take a lot longer to ferret out the parts since straightforward search terms won't get the same hits as before.

 

Btw, I voted no pref -- since I seldom have a PayPal balance, most all my PayPal payments are funded through credit card anyway, so if there's ever something significant PP can't rectify for me, I'll just contest it with the CC company.

 

The only time I use bank account for funding is if I'm sending freebie bucks to someone so I don't have to pay the fee. Also have to use that for the PP shipping service for non-eBay stuff if I don't have a PP balance at the time.

 

- OS

Edited November 6, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[Johnny Rotten]

CC, I hate PP and only us it when I have to, I use a CC for 100% of my purchases.

[tnguy]

Bitcoin ;)

[vontar]

i voted paypal mainly because I already have a paypal account all setup.

[Oh Shoot]

i voted paypal mainly because I already have a paypal account all setup.

 

You don't have to have a PayPal account to pay with plastic through it.

 

- OS

[Oh Shoot]

Everyone to their own opinion, but I had a bad experience with PayPal a couple of years ago and they were not helpful at all. I had to change my CC and bank accounts to stop using them and I still get crap on the old account which now has dead account info. It was while they were connected with Ebay. things may be different now, but I'm done with them.  

 

How did you pay for your Benefactor status?

 

- OS

[Garufa]

You don't have to have a PayPal account to pay with plastic through it.

 

- OS

 

That's kinda why I have no opinion at this time.

[Lumber_Jack]

I chose Paypal and then realized I have a lifetime membership, changed it to no preference.  I really like the ease and security of Paypal for web payments though

[Randall53]

How did you pay for your Benefactor status?

 

- OS

 

I had no choice but to use my credit card through paypal. Paypal does not have any of my banking info any longer and the credit card I had registered with them is no more. I'd prefer to use my credit card without involving paypal on principle mostly, but I only do it if it is something I feel is important. 

[Oh Shoot]

I had no choice but to use my credit card through paypal. Paypal does not have any of my banking info any longer and the credit card I had registered with them is no more. I'd prefer to use my credit card without involving paypal on principle mostly, but I only do it if it is something I feel is important. 

 

"I'm done with them" = "I'll still use them". Got it. ;)

 

- OS

[Randall53]

"I'm done with them" = "I'll still use them". Got it. ;)

 

- OS

Come on OS, don't start that crap with me. Like I said, they don't have any of my bank info or anything else due to problems long ago. I no longer have an account with them. If I have no choice, then I have no choice. It's a last resort. I get emails every now and then to sign back up but that ain't happening. I do value TGO enough use my credit card through them, but that's it. Bersa apparently does the same thing and I'd say there are a few others here that do too. I see a big difference whether you do or not. I've paid my benefactor dues on here for the past 2 years and that is the only thing I've used them for since 2006 or so.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Randall53