Adding 3% is Not Legal and Polk Mods Need to EnForce

nodeuces

The practice of added fees to cover paypal fees is not legal in the eyes of the law nor in the eyes of the Paypal Agreement.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_payments


"No Surcharges. Under Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express 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"). You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as payment. 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)."

Systems

Don't the PayPal fees ONLY apply to non-members who pay by credit cards? I have made several purchases and made several sales and no fees have been applied to my account or those who I purchased from. Sounds only fair to me that if you want to use the service and you have to pay a fee when making a sale, you should be the one who pays the fee. Not the buyer who uses your preferred choice of payment.

Face

If you don't like it, either negotiate or don't buy the item.

maximillian

The 3% is a paypal fee, not a credit card fee. So the law doesn't apply. If I had money in my Paypal account and payed a Polkie with those funds, then no credit card is involved; so you can see the law doesn't really apply.

Now Paypal may ask you not to apply the surcharge as part of their agreement with you using their service. But their service contract gets a little ambiguous with the "handling fee" wording.

Personally I don't mind it if a seller wants to charge me 3% or not, I just take that into account of the sale price. This can be negotiated.

I have been here only a few months but have noticed that most sellers here are not looking to make money on their gear (unless they desperately need cash and part with something they otherwise would not part with). They are looking to share or find an easy method to get rid of their no-longer-used gear. I imagine this is the reason behind some of the rules for selling on this forum (post price, no commenting if you think the price is too high). The forum rules even state that this is not the place to make money. There are better avenues for making money on older gear. People here will typically sell their stuff at a lower price compared to places like Ebay. So if they want to pass along the cost of me utilizing the convenience of Paypal, then so be it.

bobman1235

Polk has no connection with sales made on this board, they simply provide a place for people to have friendly sales. Contact the seller if you have a problem with their practice, don't demand that Polk do something.

Also, lighten up.

unc2701

Face said it perfectly- it's a point of negotiation between you two and really is not a legal issue.

But from now on, I'm charging a 3% handing fee. I also offer a 3% discount for cash, check and MO.:rolleyes:

nadams

It's actually quite common... Ever see gas advertised at two different prices? One for cash, a higher one for credit.

Personally, the 3% is just the cost of doing business to me. I always factor it in when I set my price, to make sure I still get what I want for a particular item.

heiney9

nodeuces wrote: »

The practice of added fees to cover paypal fees is not legal in the eyes of the law nor in the eyes of the Paypal Agreement.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_payments


"No Surcharges. Under Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express 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"). You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as payment. 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)."

Last time I checked when I sell something I'm not a merchant. You are correct a Merchant who has signed an agreement with a CC processing service/agent can NOT add a surcharge stating it's to cover the transaction fee (they accomplish that by setting a minimum for CC purchases). Same goes for PayPal if you are a MERCHANT. Most if not all sales done her in the FM and on Audiogon are private individuals and do NOT fall under the Merchant agreement guidelines. If you are a business using these services and expect an additonal 3% then yes, you are in violation. I have yet to see a business on Audiogon (where adding 3% is common) require adding 3% to the sale.

H9

Motzart

Why not calculate the 3% of what your selling and add it to your selling price.
Don't even need to mention it!

Seems pretty cut-n-dry to me. :rolleyes:

Fatbrando

"First thing we do is Kill all the lawyers" - William Shakespeare

FB

Fatbrando

Reported

shack

Yeah....what they all said.

None are merchants...private transactions...terms completely negotiable...Polk has no responsiblity...etc...

Bottom line...don't like the terms...don't buy.

heiney9

Motzart wrote: »

Why not calculate the 3% of what your selling and add it to your selling price.
Don't even need to mention it!

Seems pretty cut-n-dry to me. :rolleyes:

No need as there is NO violation. Adding 3% is perfectly legal for a private sale.

Ricardo

Mods, please send me a check for $81.75 for all I've paid in 3% fees on purchases done here.

Thanks.

Motzart

Ummmm isn't this considered Hijacking the forum?

Hard for anyone to sell anything if this subject keeps bumping to the top! :mad:

-justin-

Polk has no connection with sales made on this board, they simply provide a place for people to have friendly sales.

This is correct. We can not take any legal action, please contact paypal directly for any violations of paypal policy, but nowhere do I read that it's illegal to post information about a sale with a policy issue.

Regards,
~Justin