Want to sell few items but struggle to find info on Paypal site re: personal account

[stars1408]

Hi there,

This is my first post out of desperation so apologies if it's not in the right section. I've been thinking about selling odd items at home occasionally - not run a business or anything, and have been looking throughout the Paypal site and just can't seem to find any straight answers. It's driving me mad and has been putting me off selling anything for quite a while now.

I have a personal account and don't really want to go to a premier account unnecessarily if I'm just selling odd things now and again to clear stuff out. I found it's like getting blood out of a stone to get comprehensive information on personal account stuff. I've used websites and telephone banking, bought stuff etc online for years without any problems. I've always liked to research things thoroughly so have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing before committing to things, but after several attempts at finding information on the Paypal site over the years, have just ended up feeling I was going round in circles.

All I really want to know is exactly where I stand with Paypal personal account.

I've surfed the net a bit and seen other people have had similar problems. I tried to follow some Paypal instructions and went to 'account overview' but there is nowhere with a 'view limits' option which they referred to in the Help section and several other people noticed this problem as well. I even looked at the terms and conditions bit to get a bit more information. I just don't feel confident selling anything if I don't really have all the information to know if I'm going to cause a mess up and I have a 100% feedback at the moment from buying on ebay.

I would really like to know the following things:

How much can I receive each year from someone using their bank balance funded Paypal account?

Can I transfer the money to my bank account or does it have to stay on the paypal account for me to use for future purchases?

If I put Paypal on for an item I'm selling on ebay, do I have to accept credit card funded payments as well as bank account funded Paypal payments? (as I know credit card payments are limited with personal accounts).

What are the limits for receiving credit card payments through Paypal?

If I did decide to upgrade toa  Premier Account is it just that they take out a sum for each transaction, or is there a monthly amount to pay? I've heard people referring to monthly fees regarding this, but was wondering if it's just that the total sums to pay for each transaction is done monthly, rather than a monthly fee just for having a Premier Account. I was thinking regarding this that I might only sell an odd thing once every couple of months you see (after getting rid of a few items I have hanging around at the moment)

Is there any other information I should know about with regards to Premier accounts or Personal accounts?

Sorry for such a long list of questions, its just until I know what I am doing I won't be selling anything which is a real pain when I have stuff home here. The ebay site is very good for information I think - almost too good, as in some ways it goes to the other extreme of having pages and pages of information you can hardly take in on selling! Still I'd rather have too much than too little. 

Many thanks for your help!

Stars 1408

'Slightly stressed Paypal user'

[PayPal_AdrianO]

Hey there,

If you haven’t yet lifted your Receiving Limit then you can receive £1,900 within a 12 month period before we limit your account and request you lift your limits.

Any funds you receive can be withdrawn to your bank account if you wish. You do this by clicking on the ‘Withdraw’ tab and following the instructions

Yes, you will receive all payment types through PayPal; PayPal balance, Instant Bank Transfer, Debit/Credit card payments and eCheque.

Fees on Premier and Personal accounts are the same. The general fee we charge to receive a payment is 3.4% + 20p for each transaction. These fees are separate to eBay’s listing fees and more information can be found by clicking ‘Fees’ at the bottom of any PayPal page.

I hope this answers all your queries and good luck selling

[stars1408]

Many thanks for your quick response - that is very helpful indeed!

The only things I was still wondering about  (and as you know about these things it makes sense to ask you - I hope you don't mind) is there a limit on receiving money from people paying through Paypal via credit card, for a Personal account? I'd heard that there could be but couldn't get more info as to what it was.

Also wanted to check regarding monthly fees for Personal accounts (I  have checked the fees bit you mentioned before), this is to cover only any actual transactions and are paid monthly, so if I had a couple of months of not selling anything I wouldn't have to make any payments during that time?

Sorry I'm not sure about lifting a Receiving Limit - but read something that made me think, is this to do with being verified, as I have been verified for a couple of years. As a seller I wouldn't have to get extra verification etc? If the above  is all ok then I don't have to worry about going over £1900 receiving money on a Personal Account?

Sorry to bombard you with questions - this is where I've been struggling to find the information. I should think I wouldn't go over a few hundred in a year really (can't imagine getting near to £1900!) It's nice to know for reassurance though.

So basically there won't be any differences or problems for me as an occasional seller (if I'm right on all the above) by staying with a Personal Account?

Thank you so much for your help, sorry about the extra questions - it's nice to be able to find answers to some of the things I was concerned about, as because I have 100% feedback I didn't want to put my foot in it by making a silly mistake due to lack of knowledge on the system!

Best wishes and thanks again

Stars1408

[PayPal_AdrianO]

Hey again,

There is no limit on receiving funds by credit card through PayPal. There is just the £1,900 limit which applies to all payments received unless lifted. To lift your receiving limit you need to follow the steps below and complete them all;

1. Log in to your PayPal account at www.paypal.co.uk
2. Click the link 'View Limits'.
3. Check the boxes for the limits you wish to lift and click 'Lift Limits'.
4. Follow the instructions provided.

You only pay a PayPal fee when you receive a payment and pay it per transaction. We do not charge monthly fees and eBay only charge fees when you are actively listing items.

You would need to upgrade your account to a Premier if you want to sell as Personal accounts do have a limit of 5 or so transactions received a year. To upgrade your account to a Premier follow these steps;

1. Log in to your account at www.paypal.co.uk
2. On your Account Overview page, click the ‘Upgrade’ link underneath your name, near the top of the page.
3. Click ‘Upgrade Now’.
4. Choose Premier or Business account.
5. If you select Premier account, click ‘Continue’ to upgrade your account immediately.
6. If you select Business account, click ‘Continue’, and enter the requested information.
• Business type - if you are not a Business you can select 'Individual' from the drop down menu. If you only use PayPal to make online payments please select 'I only send money or pay with PayPal', enter your date of birth and click 'Save'
7. Click ‘Submit’.

[stars1408]

Hi there - thanks again for your help!

That was what I was looking for but  couldn't seem find out re: Personal Accounts. Only 5 transactions a year for selling. There is mention of selling limits for Personal A/C's on the website but I just could not find any more details about it, didn't seem to have any more information telling you what they were.

Sorry I've looked in account overview before after logging in, but there is nowhere with a 'lift limits' option. I'd found those instructions before and tried them but couldn't see the option, then I checked on the internet and there was someone else saying they couldn't find the 'lift limits' option as well. I wondered afterwards if its only there if you've not been verified, and I am verified which could explain why I can't see it.

Thanks for the instructions regarding Premier A/C, if there is 5 transactions a year I will try to open a Premier account for selling, as well as keeping the Personal account I have (as I think you are allowed 2 accounts), thanks also for confirming about the monthly fees.

Thank you again very much for all your help, as I feel a lot more confident and will go and try to open a Premier Account now!

Best wishes to you

Ann