Now that Paypal has become the largest online company for 3rd party transactions you almost have to offer paypal as a payment option on your website. Even huge companies like GoDaddy and Yahoo offer payment using paypal.

We would like to say pageBuzz is the only shopping cart with paypal built into the payment options, but thats not true. Almost every serious online system is using paypal.

So, why should you use or not use paypal on your own website.

Pro's

1.) There are no monthly fees. So if you don't sell anything, you don't have any base cost. All merchant accounts require monthly fees sometimes as much as $100/month. If you are a large retailer, it's not a big deal. But for the small business $1200.00/year is too much to deal with.

2.) No sales limiters. Paypal does not limit purchases and gives you flexibility for growth and sales. Most merchant accounts have monthly limits and average sale limits. If you exceed your monthly limit, your account could shut down. If you have a large sale that is out our your average sale range, your account could shut down.

If you have a monthly limit of $5,000.00 and someone wants to buy $3,000.00, you would be getting calls from your merchant services provider asking questions and possibly declining the sale based on your own credit. Paypal does not have the same policy and you can sell sell sell!

3.) You do not need to qualify or have a high credit rating to use paypal. Most merchant services will not even issue you an account until you are checked out and qualify. They often require you to put up your personal credit even if the account is for a business. Anyone that has applied for a merchant account knows it is as difficult as borrowing money to buy a house. Paypal is simple and easy and fast to set up.

4.) Paypal not only collects credit cards, they also collect checks and transfers within their own accounts. This gives customers alternate options for payment if they do not have credit cards.

Con's

1.) You do not deal directly with Visa/Master Card. If someone refuses to pay, you have little control over the outcome.

2.) Paypal is not always as concerned about your business as a bank would be. You can always reach your merchant provider by toll free number, paypal is difficult to reach and often unproductive.

3.) Paypal is Sooo Big that they are a constant target of fraud, phishing and spam scams. Even if you do not use paypal you likely get mails saying your account has been suspended. Many people login to scammer sites and unknowingly provide the crooks with their account information. This makes fraud high and the system vulnerable to charge backs and bad transactions.

Summary

There are good and bad point to using any payment system but you should not be afraid to use Paypal or any payment system for that matter. Paypal is huge and stable. It's true you could get caught up in a scam, but that is the case in any business even with cash. Paypal has too many good points to avoid. But just as in every aspect of business, you need to use caution and good judgment.