I'm considering firing Paypal as a payment processor, because of ONE webpage

[DexSinister]

I like Paypal. I've been using them as a payment processor on my websites for over a year now.

BUT, I've become aware that I'm losing more in sales per month than it would cost me to get a merchant account, because of Paypal's insistence on putting a single confusing webpage in the way of my customer's credit card payments.

Usually, I just lose sales - as someone who is confused and scared away by this webpage generally loses interest and momentum in the sale and is no longer interested in the purchase.

Because my website gathers sales info before transferring to Paypal, I can tell the sales I lose to Paypal. I get a notice of sale, and then "Payment completed: No". When I contact them and ask, the answer is always exactly the same:

"There was no option to pay by credit card, only by Paypal, and I don't have a Paypal account, so I didn't complete the sale."

What do customers mean when they say that? They mean that they've gotten to this screen, and been confused by the obvious obfuscation in the design of the page:

Yes, I'm aware that there is tiny text, with an even tinier link that says "Don't have a Paypal account? Use your credit card or bank balance (where available) Continue".

But, time, after time, after time, paying customers, who are attempting to buy from me and generate fees for Paypal only see this as a part of the "Paypal is the swellest company in the universe" verbiage, utterly fail to see the tiny 8-character link, and stop the payment process cold because they do not possess a Paypal account.

Just this evening, I received an email from a customer - a journalist for a major newspaper - who wrote me:

"I tried to order, but PayPal was the only way offered to pay for it. 

I'd rather just send a money order, if that would work.  Otherwise I need to use a credit card.  Please let me know if a money order will do."

Frankly, I don't care if Paypal thinks it needs to tell people that they can "use their creditcard without exposing your credit card number to merchants" - because Paypal can't do that if it confuses the customers and fails to collect the card number in the first place.

Since there is no place, as far as I can tell, where someone can sign up for Paypal on that page, if that page confuses customers and scares them away, it is totally useless. And it is costing me upwards of $50-$100 in lost sales each and every month!

What do I want the page where my customers land, intending to enter their credit card information (or to sign into Paypal if they have an account) to look like? That's easy! I want it to look like the exact screen that they actually get to if and only if they get past the one that they obviously don't read and which confuses them.

I want them to land on the screen that results from clicking the "continue" link! This one:

Why is this difficult? If the statement "Paypal securely processes Payments for X Corp. You can finish your payment in a few clicks" is important, it would easily fit on that page. That one statement is the only thing that is not accessible on the second page, which is on the first.

Please fix this, and stop chasing away customers who are trying to make payments that earn Paypal its revenue!

[ebfinster]

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@the-gourmet wrote:

I also offer them the option of either calling me on the phone (talk about old school!) or emailing their c.c. Information. 

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WOW!

NEVER have someone email you their credit card info.  And don't let your merchant account vendor ever find out you're doing it.

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[the-gourmet]

"NEVER have someone email you their credit card info." 

Why?

"And don't let your merchant account vendor ever find out you're doing it."

Who, and Why?

When I spoke with the folks at PayPal who set up my virtual terminal they told me to use it as if we were a brick and mortar store.  People who would call in the past now find it easier to fire off an email.

Unless I'm missing something, when I go to the virtual terminal sales page, it asks for the same information paypal does when transaction a sale.

Since no one is trying to avoid any fees I don't see what the problems are. 

[DexSinister]

Emails cross the web unencrypted, bounce all over the planet, and are theoretically easily interceptable. Therefore, a single email with all the customer's CC info leaves the customer vulnerable to having it stolen.

So while your virtual terminal uses a secure encrypted connection, the email with the information doesn't at all.

Just another example of Paypal pushing people to do cumbersome and less than secure things in order to avoid problems created by Paypal's own obtuse insistence on confusing customers

[the-gourmet]

Although I do agree with you, that email is not the most secure way to go, I have found that sometimes customers are more comfortable with email than being called on the phone.  I suppose that psychologically customers aren't accustomed to speaking with real live people when they shop over the web!

Since we are not a brick and mortar store, speaking with customers is always my first choice.

As far as PayPal's "extra" page - I don't suspect that will change anytime soon, so I'm going to continue being "revolutionary" and talking to customers.

[Phoenix50]

And the beat goes on...

[Phoenix50]

You pretty much wrote my experience in detail so I won't go into the entire thing. However, I will say, over the past 2 years I went from a person with a good job, good benefits, medical insurance, etc., became disabled and quailfy for assistance with my utilities bills...I tell you this because, as you may be thinking right now, I struggle and the $50 unauthorized charge Paypal would not assist me with left me stressed to no end because I could not affort the $35 per day my bank would charge me if I became overdrawn. I explained all of this to them. The don't give a rat's a__. Too bad!

[yankeegirl77]

paypal takes money out of my  bank account as soon as i authorize them too ...but doesnt credit into my pay pal account for days when they feel like doing it so when i  buy on ebay an item  the sellers get upset with me because theyre not recieving their payment...wtf

[DexSinister]

Well, this has nothing to do with sellers being annoyed with PP for confusing customers by taking them to webpages that they don't understand....

...However, if you PAY for your purchases by allowing PP to debit the money from your checking account, instead of TRANSFERRING money to your PP account from your checking account and then paying from it, you won't have this problem. You can keep a PP balance - you don't HAVE to have money in your PP account to make a eBay purchase funded from your checking account or debit card associated with it.

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yankeegirl77 wrote:

paypal takes money out of my  bank account as soon as i authorize them too ...but doesnt credit into my pay pal account for days when they feel like doing it so when i  buy on ebay an item  the sellers get upset with me because theyre not recieving their payment...wtf

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[1968hans]

then who needs paypal to ?????? at all

[yesthemoma]

I used the proceed to checkout button, to bring me to the paypal checkout page.  I think maybe you should make a note on your web site that paypal has the option, on the left side of the page, and that a paypal account is not required. (Make it visible on your web site)

 I have only used the credit card option once and I am having problems with that now. It was a card with a limit on it and I threw the card away after I used it.  

I really trust paypal, and prefer this method of payment. I tend to look for merchants that have this option to pay. I really feel that I can trust the merchant who allows this as a payment option.