When I first had Paypal, I thought I could shop anywhere I like online and use PayPal. The first time I experienced that I couldn't use PayPal was with Amazon. I was so confused until I figured out why. I believe it is because PayPal is owned by eBay. I love amazon and getting Kindle books there. Then again I like ebay too. Is Amazon the only company that views ebay as such a big competitor that they will refuse to let their customers use PayPal as an option?
There's a way around that! Get a Paypal debit card or prepay card. It will allow you to use your paypal funds ANYWHERE that accepts mastercard. If you get the debit card, you even get cash back rewards for all credit or signature purchases.
I can only do minimal shopping with Paypal since it is not widely accepted here. Credit cards are more accepted here in most online shops than Paypal. So what I do is to withdraw the balance in cash that I can use for personal purchases. However, I am not an online shopper since I only purchase items online once in a long while.
No amazon.com is not the only company that doesn't use paypal. It's company discretion where they'll have money transactions done. Just as much as there are different banks that people choose from so does businesses have choices of money transactions. I like paypal myself and their debit mastercard is great!
I think part of the reason why is because Paypal is also very choosy with who they partner with. I've seen a lot of online sites that look less reputable or they may be in a kind of shady industry so Paypal doesn't offer their services to be used in conjunction with theirs. Fortunately, most of these stores have other options for payment methods, but I've been seeing less and less of those other options recently.
PayPal is a payment system and companies don't have to use it, just as some companies don't accept American Express. Some may prefer debit and credit cards only and it amazes me that people expect everywhere to accept PayPal. What people don't know, sometimes companies only accept PayPal that is from the country of origin, for example Walgreens only accepts PayPal from US accounts, so it's not as universal as people think.
Another reason why some retailers don't accept Paypal is because the transaction fees are much higher [compared to other online payment systems that is]. Others might be terrified of having money frozen in their accounts should someone who buys anything from them decide to dispute a transaction. No one wants their money held somewhere indefinitely for any reason whatsoever. As for Amazon, they have their own Payment system [Amazon payments] which is probably the reason why they won't allow their customers to use Paypal.
Are you sure Paypal is owned by eBay??? I think they have their own founders. In fact, Paypal is not getting involved with EbAY transactions at this time. Those of us who use paypal extensively were notified of this. I haven't purchased anything on eBay but I am considering buying a computer in a little while. I think it is from a verified seller and I feel comfortable with the purchase.
Yeah I wish you could shop anywhere with the balance. That would be really cool! I have not decided on which PayPal card to get yet. I was waiting until I saved up a lot of money, and then get the card. I really thought I seen on Amazon in the past, there was a PayPal balance option. When I mentioned it though, my brother did not remember it. I could have sworn I seen it in the past though.
I have on of those Paypal debit cards, and have had one for quite some time now. A couple of years at the least. But for some reason I am not able to use it in stores. Now I am not sure if that is what its purpose is.
It's not the problem of Paypal but depends upon the website you are shopping from. Some companies haven't Paypal friendly policy, though they must have that. I'm one of Paypal fans.
I agree. It is definitely up to the company. I do usertesting for websites sometimes, and if I go on a website that does not have Paypal as a payment option, and just had Visa or credit card, then I always mention that what would improve the website would be if Paypal became an option, as it is popular, most people trust it, and it is convenient and quick.
Amazon is Ebay's competitor, so no wonder they won't accept Paypal. I agree with the Paypal debit card option though, I can also buy stuff there if I use the debit card of my local GSM provider.
Oh my God. I have only just realized that Amazon does not accept Paypal lol. I got there in the end lol. I just never really ever thought about it. But thinking about it now, it seems really odd that the biggest retail store online and possibly in the world does not use paypal to let customers pay.
@DreekLass, Well even if they don't accept Paypal many people still buy there using their credit or debit card, so it is still a success even without the option of paying using Paypal. I actually have never bought anything at Amazon yet although my debit card is compatible with Amazon.
I only recently discovered Amazon does not accept PayPal, as well as Old Navy. There are websites where you can purchase Amazon or other gift cards using your PayPal account, and then use the gift card at Amazon or another site that does not accept PayPal, however, I have not found a website yet that has decent reviews from users. So far the websites I have seen which allow you to use PayPal to purchase gift cards seem to be scams. Does anyone know of any such websites that are reliable to buy Amazon gift cards with PayPal?
Exactly. I have always associated the success of online retailer stores with them having Paypal as a payment option, so I am a little startled over the fact that I did not realize that Amazon did not use paypal. On top of that they are the number one online retailer, as far as I am aware too.
@DreekLass, In Amazon though the international shipping isn't always free since the sellers are usually from America, while in Ebay lots of Chinese sellers offer free shipping. So I would prefer buying from Ebay since the shipping is free.
I like using paypal, but ever since it got hacked I've been hesitant about it. But they were pretty good about refunding the money I didn't spend. So I give them that. I haven't completely lost my faith in them, just the security of the internet.
Amazons not accepting PayPal is very annoying to me, specially as I earn most of my money via PayPal. I've come across plenty of other retailers that prefer to stick to credit and debit cards and do not accept PayPal. I guess many of them are afraid of PayPal's way of dealing with people making charge backs. PayPal sides with the buyer almost by default.
