This is sort of a knitting related question. I saw some knitting things on ebay that I want, so I signed up for a paypal account. My question is has anyone done this and have they hooked it up to their bank account. I don’t know if I am comfortable doing this, but it seems to be the easiest way to pay for it. Any opinions are welcome.
A Sort of Knitting Question
I have had a PayPal account for several years now, and have never had a problem with it being added to my bank account. I’ve also had my credit card added to my PayPal account and never had a problem with either. You’ll need to do one of the two to pay for your eBay purchases via PayPal.
PayPal also has certain guarantees for fraud, and in sometimes will guarantee your purchases at eBay (such as you pay for an item and never receive it).
I personally feel more secure having one institution (PayPal) having my personal banking and credit card information vs. giving it to several different eBay merchants.
Rather than hook it up to your bank account, hook it to your credit card.
If something goes wrong with a transaction and you get ripped off, you can file for a PayPal chargeback. If the seller who has ripped you off can’t prove to PayPal that he sent the item to you, and IF he still has a balance with PayPal, they will credit you the money your seller pilfered. BUT, if they can’t get the money back because his paypal account is empty, you can contact your credit card company and file a credit card chargeback in order to get your money back. So using your cc thru PayPal will double your chances of recouping your losses on bad deal.
If you pay through your bank account, your chances of getting your money back on a fraudulent transaction are slimmer than slim. If PayPal can’t get the money back from the seller, you have nowhere else to turn.
On the other hand, if you are going to sell stuff on ebay, THEN you need to have your PayPal account hooked up to your bank account because you need to be able to transfer the balances in your PayPal account to your bank account.
Having said all of this, I highly doubt that people who sell knitting stuff on eBay are going to rip you off. 
But just be aware that your cc can protect you in the even that you ever get into a bad deal on ebay.
I had problems with a pay pal account once. Suddenly my credit card was charged for things I never bought and it was charged by Pay Pal. They corrected the sitution quite quickly.
But I would definiltly recommend hooking it to a credit card rather than a bank account, like Salsa said.
Thank you very much. I feel much better about it now. I will try to hook my debit card to it since I don’t have a credit card. I had never wanted anything bad enough to go thru all this for ebay. (My son has been trying to get me to do it for years.) I didn’t realize what good prices they had on knitting things. I want. Thank you again.
I’ve had my paypal account hooked the my credit card and my bank account for many years now.
Never had a problem.
brightspot, I am not really sure if my advice above applies to a debit card. All I know is that you can do chargebacks on credit cards, but I’m not sure about debit cards. You should contact your bank and check with them. Just ask if you can file a chargeback on your debit card in the event of a disputed purchase and see what they say.
I once had an authorized (and international) charge on my debit card in excess of $200!! :shock: I called my bank and my money was returned to me next business day! I didn’t even have to fill out any forms 
I had a wierd issue with pay pay and my credit card a few years ago: every time I used paypal to pay for something, the charge would show up on my credit card as normal, but I would also have a “cash advance” fee for each charge I made. I always called the company and they fixed it right away each time… but this got old after a few months, so I just hooked paypal to my bank account instead. I don’t know if the problem was with PayPal or my credit card company, but I like having it hooked to my bank account better anyway… no ridiculous interest rate charges, and it forced me to think “do I reeeeeeeeally want this???” because it’s being paid for NOW, not later.
I have two accounts: One for my everyday use around town and one for on-line purchases. My on-line account is a debit card that acts like a credit card so I can use it for paypal. I only put in the account what I need to pay for an item. That way if I get ripped off they only steal a small amount of money rather than my whole she-bang. I’ve beenon ebay using paypal for a couple of years. I sell small stuff mostly. books, little knicknaks. It adds up though and pays for my knitting habit. I’ve bought needles, yarn, you name it. I haven’t had any problems really. SOme slow payers when I sold stuff, slow delivery on things I bought but so far I’ve done OK. It’s cool, like a big yard sale that everyone in the world participates in.
No ya don’t. You can get the PayPal debit card and take the money out of the ATM, as long as you don’t mind paying ATM fees.
Hildegard, that is what has always stopped me before. I had never seen anything worth the hassle of signing up, but they have great knitting stuff. My son has tried to get me to sign up several times so he can get electronics stuff. (Mostly to take apart!) He is going to be very happy.
I know you’ve probably had your fill of comments already, but I just have to chime in. I love Paypal! I’ve used them with a few different accounts, for years (since they first started up), and never had a problem. They’re convenient, honest, and their site is well organized and easy to use if you ever need to change your bank account, or do anything.
I prefer to use them, because I know they’re reliable. It’s a fact that most websites out there are not secure sites for taking credit cards. Even if they have a secure certificate, it doesn’t mean anything. There are a lot of amateur designers out there, who think they know how to handle credit cards securely, but don’t! My husband got a course catalog for a web-designer’s training program once, and their own website wasn’t secure!
Whenever you can pay through Paypal, Yahoo, or another big name, that’s always a relief. I look for a site that looks very professional, or uses Paypal or Yahoo. Otherwise I pay by phone!
Amy
All comments welcome. I know what you mean about the professional looking websites. I have gone to a few looking for knitting needles that there was no way that I would buy anything at.
Well here’s my two cents!
I have a paypal account linked to the credit card, and use it to buy stuff on Ebay etc.
Basically, I won’t buy anywhere that DOESN’T take paypal! I’ve never had a problem and feel so much safer and secure doing it that way.
Also, when buying on ebay because I pay with paypal I always get positive feedback for paying promptly with no hassles.
Have any of you bought things from overseas, like from England? How does that work? It seemed like paypal said something about a fee, but I didn’t understand it. Too much legaleese.
I’ve had Paypal for a few years now. I have it linked to one of my savings accounts in which I keep a limited amount of funds.
A lot of sellers who say they take Paypal do not accept Paypal linked to credit cards. Apparently there are extra charges involved for them, and some sellers will even attempt to pass the charges on to the buyer even though it’s against the law. So there is an advantage to having it linked to a bank account instead.