I've only used paypal once, quite recently, for a few clothing transactions. As those sites worked with paypal I didn't really mind back then.

I have however acquired a few sites while surfing the web which may be of interest to the topic.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

Note that they do not reflect my own view on the matter but rather a collection of arguments against Paypal.
Seems the more grave ones are an apparant bad costumer service and the ability to call your account invalid and take your money. The stories posted there should reflect that.

Their top alternative pick is http://www.995merchantaccounts.com/ , where you control the banking account. Ikobo seems to have the same good features as well, I don't think it would be bad to pick one above the other.

Well I'll be sure to avoid PayPal in the future whenever I can, their "freezing" policy upsets me.

This post has been edited by Alegis: May 28 2006, 09:29 AM

What about www.alertpay.com online since last Oct-2005.

As per their website, they will allow you to :



Any idea about this service?

Regards,
Sid

wow this scares me, I just signed up with paypal and hoping to use it, because a site accepts only paypal n credit cards. Should I use paypal?

It's your call, slothin. If you think you can slip by these incidents like most other people do, then go right ahead and use it. However, there are plenty of scary stories out there about PayPal's "bad side". Read their Terms of Use carefully- just like you always do before you sign up for a money-handling service. If you're really concerned about their policies, use an alternative.

If your main reason for getting PayPal is to buy and sell on eBay, you can use other methods of payment with most buyers and sellers. If somebody really wants to get (or get rid of) something, they'll allow money orders or something else.

Buyer beware.

Lately, I've been using another service, MoneyBookers.com, which has proven to be the perfect alternative to PayPal, as far as my needs are concerned (), but I'm sure it'll work just as splendidly if you have other needs.


First of all, MoneyBookers.com support a much MUCH wider geographic area than PayPal. I suppose that's one of the major complaints people have against PayPal.


But add to that the fact that there's no verification process with MoneyBookers, that you can fund and/or withdraw from your account through several methods, that their fees are really low for the great service they offer, and that I have never heard any complaints about it till now, and you'll understand why I love this service .


You can take a look at: http://www.moneybookers.com/

Down with Paypal, my speech!


I keep on track paying for my needs in the web with www.daopay.com

A clever way to purchase goods with jsut my phone. No obligations, absolute anonymity, almost instant payment.

This is how I like the web. Rock on guys!

It looks pretty decent, yes it does, its just that if I have an online shop, and want to charge users for products, it will cost me a fortune, sorry if I have misunderstood this feature and they don't provide.

As far as I know, if I sell a $10 item on Paypal, $0.30c one off, and 3.4% general charge so $0.34c + $0.30c mkaes $0.64c, whereas I am assuming with iKobo, I'd have to pay $15.30.

PS I have used the currency $Dollars hypothetically even though I am in England, but it still passes on what I mean

Well, Google just rolled out a new service, Google Checkout, and it is being adopted by a bunch of online webistes (like Buy.com). It is supposed to be better/easier than PayPal. It will enable users to finish checkout in fewer steps (sometimes as few as 1 easy login). I don't think iKobo will be able to make a splash with these two HUGE methodologies. Google Checkout is also offering huge discounts for users in order to spread the news of it's coming ($10 on $30 or more spent, or $20 on $50 or more spent, depending on the merchant).

Paypal has what is known as a first mover advantage and being associated with ebay has made it a monopoly. Similar to Sarah, I am tied to it too due to my usage of ebay and so far I haven't had any problems.

The fact is that there is actually no reliable (and widely recognised) alternative to Paypal. The opposite may also be true. It may have played a role in pushing up Ebay as the top online auction site. A lot of people prefer to pay using paypal rather than use a credit card or by direct debit.

Yes, yes, yes I completely agree! Paypal is now officially the Walmart of the virtual funds world and sadly to say, things won't be changing anytime soon. As long as Paypal is seemlessly integrated into Ebay, the competition can only hope to attract any disgruntled's and show them that there actually is another payment solution in cyber world besides Paypal. What a concept!

Sure Paypal is the most widely accepted and known brand (mostly because of Ebay), but its only until merchants firmly reject it and begin exclusively accepting another brand (that may be even better than Paypal), that customers will notice and the word will get out. Trust me, if you have something that somebody wants, they'll get the money to you on your terms. No Paypal, no problem!

For buyers however, you're in a catch 22. Sellers that prefer Paypal require buyers that have Paypal accounts. No Paypal, no sale. A personal check or money order may be your only other alternative to paying a friend or seller, if they are accepted at all.

Here are a few alternatives to Paypal -

http://www.stormpay.com
http://www.ewalletxpress.com
http://www.moneybookers.com
http://www.bidpay.com (auctions only) <---Yes its back!
http://www.ikobo.com
http://www.firepay.com
http://www.swiftpay.com
http://click2pay.com

Hope this helps somebody.
Good luck to you all!
rtbarnes