Do you use paypal? (For Business)

Hi there guys, I trust your input more than other sources on the web. I was curious to know, does anyone out here use PayPal via their Online Business transactions? I’m talking about receiving payments and purchasing business expenses, or do you simply use your debit/credit card?

I’ve recently formed a business and activated my accounts through my local bank, but now I’m seeking advice for the online domain. I was under the impression paypal would do just fine, until I noticed their 2.9% + $.30(USD) per transaction. If I’m accepting micro transactions($1.00 USD), I’ll probably be walking away with 37 cents per purchase, (after apple has their share). My god. Does anyone else out there actually do this?

Paypal is notorious for seizing funds and locking accounts without adequate reason. I only use them for personal transactions, i.e., small transactions every now and then. If you need an online payment processor for business purposes (multiple transactions or large-scale transactions), I would suggest doing some research on Dwolla. I haven’t tried using it yet myself, nor do I have an account for it, but I like what people have been saying about them so far. (And obviously, shady processors – talking about AlertPay/Payza and Moneybookers/Skrill – are to be avoided.)

Yes, I use PayPal for everything where possible. I’m aware of their reputation, so I take steps to be careful, but I’ve been using them for 10+ years over thousands of transactions with exactly zero problems. I don’t know about microtransactions; the lowest price I have is $4.95, which generally gets me around $4.50 depending on currency. A $49.95 item gets me around $48, which isn’t unreasonable.

I don’t understand this though:

In what way does Apple get their share when you’re using PayPal? If you’re dealing with Apple, then you’re not using PayPal to sell anything—you’re going through Apple’s stores, so PayPal’s fees are irrelevant. Likewise, if you’re selling through PayPal, then there are no Apple fees.

–Eric

I think he say that he using the App store for processing IAPs, but having that revenue connected to a Paypal account (instead of directly to a bank account).

I never purchased an Apple Developer Account and thus, Erich’s explanation was unbeknownst to me. I assumed Apple took 30% for hosting your game and when a customer makes a purchase, their cash is accepted by you via paypal or other variants. (Much like Kickstarter requires Amazon). That really does simplify things. Hah, how silly of me. So I guess that leaves me with a somewhat related question;

I was curious to know if I could dodge the business account fees at paypal, by conducting a personal account for business expenses and/or license deals. Would this work, or do you think they’ll freeze my account? In terms of license deals, I’m inferring web games, which to my understanding doesn’t usually exceed $1000 maximum. (All speculation and random info I read on the web).