Payment types: Preferred vs avoided - discussion

I hate working with PayPal, and tend to avoid businesses that pay only that way. Too many problems, privacy issues, and their moralizing stance.

Paypal. Never had an issue with them.

brainstorm77 said:

Paypal. Never had an issue with them.

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Ditto. Over a period of years.

I use to love Paypal, but recent months is starting to change my view. They keep holding my money for no apparent reason for weeks at a time and their support staff is incompetent. That said, when it works, it is more convenient to get paid electronically (at least for me anyway) then having to wait on a paper check to come through the mail.

I've never had an issue with Paypal, either. The first time I had an account breach, I was expecting the resolution to be a nightmare but it was all solved within 72 hours of reporting the issue.

Shoot, even Bank of America was breached, and is breached routinely. I deal with markets, not pay systems. Money is money. I'd prefer a paper check, or a direct deposit, but I've had no issues with PayPal, and apparently they have no more issues than any other electronic system. Every bank in my small city has issues all too often, but what can anyone do about it?

I would prefer not to use PayPal, but it's really common and I've never let it be a reason to avoid an e-publisher. Even if a publisher does direct deposit or checks for Americans, if you're international, PayPal is often the only option, unless you want to open a US bank account. Which I don't want to do.

I once had a big headache with a UK publisher because they only issued checks, and it looked like it was going to cost half my payment to get it cashed in the US. Fortunately we managed to figure out another way.

Now that I'm traveling a lot, I much prefer an electronic method of payment even from US publishers.

Not a solitary problem with PayPal so far. I only keep $10 on account. I invoice, and when notified of payment, I have PP immediately move all but the ten to my bank. It's worth the small fees (under 3%), especially when payments come in US dollars from Canada, Dubai, and Singapore. PP's annual statement is great at tax time.

Like Maryn, I also accept checks. Two years ago, one bounced, but the publisher reissued the check from their right account, including my bank's fee for a returned check. Luckily, my account had enough to cover the temporary loss, or there would have been other problems.

One client pays by Western Union, which is nice because transmission fees are paid by the sender. Another perk is a WU terminal in my bank.

I haven't had to deal with money orders yet.

I had a problem with Paypal once, it left me very leery of using it again. But I've also heard many people say that it has worked just fine for them. Go figure...

Maryn said:

They have, in the past, decided they were the arbiter of what adult users could read and would not process payments for erotic fiction which did not meet with their approval. They were apparently pressured by banks and caved immediately.

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I agree censorship is not cool. In fact, it's downright wrong. I certainly have no ax to grind for PayPal as they're convenient rather than necessary. However, they did update their policies on erotic literature bans, and it's my understanding the original pressure on PayPal to censor was forced by certain controlling banks and credit card companies--not vice versa.

Again, censorship is against my core beliefs, and I wouldn't have knowingly dealt with any of the institutions censoring during or before 2004.

I love PayPal. When so much of my writing is flash fiction and pubs usually pay by the word, I really wish they just wouldn't pay me at all because apparently I'm on an IRS list and have been audited three times already. Their ten or twenty bucks is likely to end up getting me flagged yet again because I'm far too stupid to keep up with it all, and anyway having to bother mailing in or delivering tiny checks to the bank is a pain. PayPal is easy and comes with a record at the end of the year.

I pay with all sorts of things: Cash money; Checks; PayPal and credit cards, etc.

Paypal has been convenient for me, and so far, I haven't had too much trouble with it. *knocks on wood*

I prefer credit cards or checks, but if it's a electronic purchase, then I don't mind paying PayPal (unless I run into problems with it).

ETA: Now, if you're talking about payments from pub to author, then I would take either checks or direct deposit.

I've also used PayPal for years, and without any problems. And quite frankly, there'd be very few businesses I could work with if I had to agree with all of their "moral" decisions.

If a publisher wants to pay me - hell, I'll take it whatever form they want!

brainstorm77 said:

Paypal. Never had an issue with them.

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Me either, but what I did do was create a separate bank account just for Paypal desposits. I get an email advising me of the deposit and then I transfer it into my main account. If it gets breached, which it never has, there won't be much in there anyway.

Never had an issue with Paypal and, as a UK writer who has sold a majority of stories to US markets, they're the only way to go if I don't want to lose half my money in bank charges.

Maryn said:

Whether Paypal operates efficiently for most is not my issue with them. They have, in the past, decided they were the arbiter of what adult users could read and would not process payments for erotic fiction which did not meet with their approval. They were apparently pressured by banks and caved immediately.

Not cool.

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I seriously doubt if anyone has ever been denied the right to read, write, or publish erotica because of PayPal. I don't know whether banks put pressure on them, or not, but I highly doubt it. From my understanding, lawyers did, and it's a shame they caved. But lawyers and lawsuits can put anyone out of business, so it's understandable. .

Anyone who wants to can read, write, or publish erotica, but no one has the right to tell me I have to be associated with it in any way, up to and including processing money that comes from it. Freedom is never a one way street. Freedom means both sides have rights, or neither side is free. You're the abitur of what you want to read, write or publish, but you are not the arbiter of what I, or anyone else, have to associate with.

Your sense of morality says it's fine to read, write, and publish erotica. Fine. But my sense of morality tells me it's an immoral activity, an immoral business, and that I should have no part of it. How about we're both allowed live as our sense of morality dictates?

It's amazing how often people complain that big business has no morals, but oh how they complain when a business makes a decision based on morality.

I would use Paypal if at all able to. Just like I use Amazon and my bank. Each is a business with questionable ethics but at the end fo the day I am not going to undermine my own career and well-being by refusing to use a company with a dominant market share.

Yes it is remotely possible I could arbitrarily lose my Paypal account due to having painted a few nudes and written some erotica, but until then I just make sure I download the money to my own account regularly rather than risk losing it.

Gilroy Cullen said:

... I've come across a few places that state "Payment by Paypal only."

Um, Paypal is a no go for me.

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Then you're not writing for them.

I prefer large duffel bags filled with small denominations with non-sequential serial numbers, but I accept anything. I find many overseas (Non-US/Canada) publishers only pay by PayPal and, except for having to pay the fees and exchange rates, I'm fine with it. Never had an account hacked and I've been doing PayPal since the week it was invented.

Most US publishers are now doing direct deposit but some, especially smaller publishers and for smaller or one-time payments, are still mailing a check to me.

For me, it's money. And I can always use more.

Jeff

Amazon and Barnes & Noble do direct deposits near the end of each months. They also issue paper 1099-R statements (or in email form if you choose that option).

Jamesaritchie said:

Anyone who wants to can read, write, or publish erotica, but no one has the right to tell me I have to be associated with it in any way, up to and including processing money that comes from it.... You're the abitur of what you want to read, write or publish, but you are not the arbiter of what I, or anyone else, have to associate with.

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And nobody here is telling you what you have to associate with, James. No one here is asking you to process their money, either, from what I can see.

Further, no one asked you to defend PayPal. It is every single individual's perfect right to choose whom they do business with, for whatever reason they like. You don't have to approve of it.

Why don't we just drop this little derail/can o' worms right here?

Thanks.

WeaselFire said:

I prefer large duffel bags filled with small denominations with non-sequential serial numbers, but I accept anything.

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For any smut exotic literature I write or edit, I'm thinking of only accepting these older US $500 bills featuring the dirty old man and the lady with the wardrobe malfunction .