I don't keep funds in my PP account. Should I? I fund payments straight from a checking account that I use just for PP or I fund it with a CC they have attached. As a seller, what clears the funds to you, the fastest?
If it's cash into your acct you can withdraw immediately upon payment...if you acct is over 90 days since you opened it. I would imagine cc would be immediate too but any electronic checks have to clear from buyers acct before funds are available.
I'm linked to a bank account that is NOT my primary account; I created it for online use through PayPal and keep a smallish amount in it (enough to pay for any "Return for Refund" cases). I'm also linked to a credit card that is NOT my primary card; I created it for online use through PayPal. I pay for everything through the cc so that I have not only eBay/PayPal protection but also through the cc company. And I purposely keep the cc max low in case the card gets hacked.
Either way clears fast for me. If you only have a checking account linked with no credit catd, then payments you send are considered an echeck, which can take several days to clear. If you have a credit card as a backup and pay by checking account, then they clear your checking account payment immediately knowing you have a cc as a backup. I have only had one person pay me by echeck, and it took several days to receive the cleared funds. As a seller, you don't really have the choice if it's through Paypal.
That is exactly what I have been doing for many years. Great security. I can tell you have been doing this for a while. Thanks. Makes me feel good about the way I have things set up. Most of the time I already have the coin and I want the dealer to have clear funds as quick as possible.
When I was selling high-value or high-volume stuff, I retained everything as a PayPal balance -- because PayPal was paying more than 5% interest on balances, and that was better than I could get locally. I quit selling once the buyer/seller protection balance shifted so heavily in favor of buyers, in the wake of a particularly memorable fraud attempt. In the last five years, I've sold maybe five items, none for more than $100, and I always spend the balance too quickly to deliberate over where to put it. If I start selling a lot again, I'd like to think that I'll use @ldhair and @kanga's approach, but inertia can be pretty hard to overcome...
I maintain a zero balance with PayPal by transferring the funds to my bank account when recording each sale. PayPal sources funds for all purchases from my credit card, which I pay off with a check at month's end. The only downside is refunding for a return. When I issue a refund my PayPal account sits negative for 3 days waiting for the funds to clear my bank (this is the electronic age, is it not?). Until that time, my account goes on hold . . . fortunately, I've only had 3 or 4 items returned in 7 years time. On the upside, I accumulate plenty of points on my credit card, am reminded to be very disciplined about my cash flow being positive (card is AMEX), and keeping my PayPal balance at zero will not attract the attention of a PayPal insider looking for a way to put his feet up (I'm sure someday we'll read about some genius at PayPal running off with millions of OPM).
I always make sure my Paypal balance is $0 when making purchases too. Get those credit card points rolling in! Lol
