Hmm, well actually PayPal, in some instances, is a free service but most times it acts just like a credit card. And those free services are paid for by the services that charge a fee.
You the consumer may not see the fee but most transactions cost the accepting business about 3% + a flat transaction fee. Credit cards and PayPal are a convenience but do have costs. The business can eat the cost but many times passes that on to the consumer. All merchant accounts (credit card processing) works this way. Not saying it is right or wrong but to say it doesn't cost anything is not true. The real question is if disruptive competitors and/or payment models (Square, Bitcoin, etc.) can charge a lower fee and survive financially. Time will tell. I like PayPal but they could be more aggressive in their fee structure.
this. The fees are a cost of doing business. Those are paid by the company and are paid for out of their funding source: revenue from their customers. eBay is the same, and paying PayPal the fees is paid for out of their revenue stream which comes from you, the consumer. Hidden costs, but real and paid nonetheless.
i was actually beginning to enjoy appleinsider again without the "writing" from Daniel Eran Dilger, i thought , well i wished he would've retired or got fired from appleinisder. but sighhh, sadly he is back
Comments
Hmm, well actually PayPal, in some instances, is a free service but most times it acts just like a credit card. And those free services are paid for by the services that charge a fee.
You the consumer may not see the fee but most transactions cost the accepting business about 3% + a flat transaction fee. Credit cards and PayPal are a convenience but do have costs. The business can eat the cost but many times passes that on to the consumer. All merchant accounts (credit card processing) works this way. Not saying it is right or wrong but to say it doesn't cost anything is not true. The real question is if disruptive competitors and/or payment models (Square, Bitcoin, etc.) can charge a lower fee and survive financially. Time will tell. I like PayPal but they could be more aggressive in their fee structure.
this. The fees are a cost of doing business. Those are paid by the company and are paid for out of their funding source: revenue from their customers. eBay is the same, and paying PayPal the fees is paid for out of their revenue stream which comes from you, the consumer. Hidden costs, but real and paid nonetheless.
Overhead is always factored into pricing.