Paypal processing?

I'm hearing lots of rumbly's about Paypal payments that haven't gone through in over 2 weeks. I am only at 4 business days, but since it's quite a large sum to me (I tend to save up and cash out once a month) and billing has provided no help, nor has Second Life Answers, or anyone in world - is there any residents who have gotten an answer on this issue?

~Seola~

Took a week but mine went through.

How long ago was it for you that it took a week?

last one I had was requested on 11th sept, went through on 18th sept

It almost always takes a week (business days) for me to get mine.

usually only takes 1-3 days but this time around it was 10 Spet - 18 Sept. Technically 6 working days.

Thanks for the info guys. Usually for me it was only 1 full day and so when the rumors started, I didn't want my money lost in cyber space forever!

I am not sure how reliable this site is, but after I read some of the stuff in it I wouldn't touch paypal with a ten meters prim
http://paypalsucks.com

Also, check your payment settings. I had trouble with credits that weren't processing, and I had my payment preference set to Paypal. That won't work. It needs to be a debit or credit card with an address attached, they told me.

I have never really figured out why paypal is so popular, and why all the alternatives are not.

Paypal's got a really dodgy reputation. A lot of people (myself included) have set up new bank accounts, isolated from all other finances, just to limit the potential damage paypal can do.

I'm really think there's a reason behind paypal's reputation. None of the poker sites I play at accept paypal, even though it would be in their interest to do so. Neteller seems to be highly recommended. The times where I've heard something go wrong were resolved by phone.

One quick litmus test on how customer-friendly any company is, is to see how easy it is to reach them by phone. Paypal, for instance, has one phone number in Nebraska that's open during some hours of the week. Neteller on the other hand has over 20 toll free numbers internationally.

Oh, and as for Lindex - I don't know what's going on - LL used to be pretty good about doing processing your paypal next business day. I've been waiting on them for 6 days now.

It's not that the poker sites don't *want* to use paypal - more the case that paypal won't let them. Paypal insists that anybody running a gambling operation has to block access to players from the U.S.

"PayPal prohibits the use of PayPal for Gambling Activities by any person (whether as user, operator or in any other capacity) if such a person is located in the United States ("U.S." or any other jurisdiction in which Gambling Activities are illegal. Operators who wish to become approved by PayPal will need to demonstrate to PayPal’s satisfaction that they have the ability to block the participation of their Gambling Activities by persons accessing the PayPal service in the U.S. and any other jurisdiction where the operator’s Gambling Activities are illegal. Further, as no one under the age of 18 is permitted to use the PayPal service, regardless of the jurisdiction, under no circumstances shall the use of PayPal be permitted by persons under the age of 18 for Gambling Activities."

...so, I'm guessing that the sites you frequent value their (illegal) US players more than they value paypal processing

This raises some interesting questions about paypal's relationship to SL though... Basically, If you earn money in SL from a gambling operation, then cash out through paypal, you're in violation of paypal's TOS.

Shep K

It came in early this morning finally, so 'technically' it's only 5 full business days since I processed at like 10am on one and it was in before today's started. So beware, they aren't processing as fast anymore.

As for paypal horror stories, I've played on poker sites that accept them.

I looked over that site and alot of it is hearsay, and if you look up registration, that site is being promoted by the book writers. Hell, if we were to legitimately look up 1/2 the sites out there, I'd be willing to bet they are tied into other 'sales' tactics. In fact, that site lists things that are quite out there and don't tell the full story. Just by taking the first point:



Is quite misleading. The protection laws, don't fall under disputes of illegal charges. This falls under, If you make a purchase knowingly and pay someone, then something happens, pay pal does NOT have to reimburse you. Which is just like you knowingly handing over a check to a shady organization. There ARE other channels to use, but your bank doesn't have to investigate, they leave it to police. So it's like pay pal saying, you knowingly gave out money, so from there you can do a dispute through a bank or credit company as opposed to them doing the invesitgation.

And as for customer support, one telephone number can hold 100 lines. I've worked at a business that had one 800 number, but also had 50 lines. (Ask anyone who's worked customer service at a call center.) And considering the amount of business paypal does on a daily basis, you're gonna find pist off people. Rememebering a quote but I can't remember where from: The most vocal critics are people who get ripped off by their own stupidity. (Such as the Nigerian scams... they are the ones trashing their banks.)

As for locking accounts, yes they can do that. Because it's THEIR service you are using and if you are involved in a scam (whether or not you know) they freeze assests. JUST LIKE BANKS.

And one is an outright lie. Paypal has no fees for non-credit card funds for individuals. In fact, the money I leave in there from SL GAINS money at 5%. I've never paid a dime in fees to have money from SL in there, or money taken from my bank, OR money put back in my bank. And in the case there are fees, there's a reason and frankly for anyone to say that they are spending no money in these transactions has to be an idiot. What's more, I don't care if they did. What pays for the technology to process all this money? Who's taking care of the technology? There are costs to do business.

What's funny is in that lawsuit that's linked, if you read through it, these people complained of a lengthy ToS to read through. Screw being thorough, they want streamline! That lawsuit is the basis for the ToS, and when you read it, not only do they complain of a long ToS, they complain of being able to accept without reading it. (Although you do have to checkmark a box stating you read it.) Now tell me, how many of you have sat and read ANY ToS full through? Credit card companies send offers with ToS... how many read those? And you can't take them to court for NOT reading it? It's your own fault. Did you also know that majority of business owners and home owners out there have the same arbitration laws? Pulte homes, you can't buy one unless you sign an arbitration clause. Also, in that lawsuit... one dude wasn't even a customer. He sued in a class action on BEHALF of others. And the chick... didn't like that she had an insufficient funds fee put on her when she paid for something and she thought she could 'float' when her check was due in 2 days....

Everyone wants money... whether is a corporation or people going after stupid lawsuits.

ETA: clarity in a paragraph.

I'd multiply all typical Linden response times by a factor of three or four currently, as all hands on deck were called in to deal with the security breach, resetting of passwords, and fallout.

Regards,

-Flip

I thought about that, but wouldn't these types of things be automatic? Or is there an authorization button for someone to push?

I have read that the fouder of EBAY is a significant backer of SL. That would be your PAYPAL connection. PAYPAL is also much more popular then any other payment processing system because of EBAY. It does have its problems, but most online sites of its size do, along with bad customer service.

My advice as a long time PAYPAL user. Cash out and deposit your money as soon as you can. Do not leave large sums of money in the PAYPAL account because if there is any shady activity PAYPAL will freeze it pending an investigation.

Very good advice. I always keep a 0.00 balance. While my trust of banks isn't 100% either (not even close), it's not as low as Paypal's. Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, is a backer of Linden Lab, but I doubt he had much input into the decision. LL has had just as many problems as anyone with Paypal, but I'm sure they reason they stick with it is that it is far and away the most popular service of it's kind, as you mention. Not having Paypal as an option would akin to now having a Microsoft client for SL.

Paypal cash outs are actually not automatic, they are reviewed by a human and pushed through.

Regards,

-Flip

The question is... where is the proof that this guy is a huge 'backer of SL' outside of the fact that they use paypal?

And I agree, the size of their company, leaves an awful lot out there who are satisfied. I can't remember where I read once, but having a 90% approval is a good thing.. considering we are only hearing from (even exaggerated guess) 5000 people with problems, and over like 80 million accounts? I'd say 8 mil could have a problem and it's still good business...

You can't please all of the people all of the time...

BTW, I've had an account and so has my father for about 5 years now... not a single problem and my issues were resolved instantly from eBay. *shrugs* But I don't deal in shady dealings either, I don't buy from people with a less than stellar record and I don't sell unless they have X amount of purchases.

From Business Week

The proof is in the articles (One I see just posted by Lorelei Patel). Not only is Pierre M. Omidyar backing them, but Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com is as well, he even has an avatar. In fact, Amazon.com is owrking on a project to link their stores with Second Life...I am sure Yahoo will follow suit if they are successful. I wouldn't be surprised if Google Earth merged at some point. Since these guys kicked in 11 million in venture capital Second Life went from 120,000 users to over 700,000.

The intention is to make this fun for those who want to hang out, and profitable for those who want to do business at the same time. Not sure if they can pull it off, but they have the right people backing them. I know I am on board with my businesses and having fun at the same time...Hopefully the profits will follow...

Lorelei, thanks for the link. I hope you don't think I was mean in asking. I just wanted some proof. I'm sure you've seen people make tons of opinions without any fact on these forums. Makes for a good read.

Ridge, As for the users deal, that's quite misleading. Since the unverifieds, the amount of accounts more than doubled. I'd say that has more to do with alts rather than money, they also do not remove from those numbers the amount of banned or user deleted accounts. Not to mention the ungodly amount of mainstream press this year, which in general is free and usually through Ed pieces, or random techie writings.

Oh heck no. I'm all about finding and quoting sources