[TriLUG] (OT) Paypal/eBay Payment Thoughts

[Jeremy P]

On Sun, 17 Mar 2002, Bill Vinson wrote:

> Just wondering what people's thoughts were on either of these services.  
> I know there is a decent set of people both for and against paypal.  
> This is on my mind as I won an auction at eBay for 2 16MB SPARC IPX 
> SIMMs.  The seller wants $0.30 extra if I pay with either of these 
> services (which seems fair), but I am unsure as to the safety/security 
> concerns.  I would use a VISA so I have some protection, but is one more 
> secure than the other?

I would try out PayPal; they seem to have a good reputation; I've used
them myself and haven't had any problems. However, you should be aware
that they are basically a bank, but they're operating outside of the realm
of federal and state banking laws.  They are facing stiff legal challenges
from several states.  I wouldn't be surprised if they totally shut down
one day without warning -- taking all your money with them.  Since they
aren't a bank, there's no FDIC insurance, etc.

--Jeremy