yo guys whats up?
im looking into selling some drum kits and loops online, and i noticed most stores require a business paypal account and does not accept personal paypal accounts.
so before going ahead and converting my personal paypal to business, i ask you guys from your experience/knowledge -

is there any risk involved in converting to a business account rather than personal?
anything i should be aware of?
anyone had a bad experience after converting to business account?

looking forward to hear what you guys have to say, thanks!

 

@vuuru_keg One thing you must be aware when using Paypal is that for any reason it can withhold your funds for up to 180 days. Paypal seems to favor the buyer. Also be aware of its reserve policy. PayPal uses three types of reserves: rolling reserves, minimum reserves and jumpstart reserves. An account reserve is an amount of money that is held in your PayPal account to cover potential financial risk such as payment reversals you may receive like charge backs and claims. Dont expect all your money to be available right away. You need to make sure that all your info is legit, including addresses, names, etc. Any false info is going to cause problems. In other words, if you dont have a registerd business dont come up with any name as if it is a registered business. Paypal will ask you down the line for documentation. It is common practice for Paypal to allow you to open a business account, wait for you to make deposits into it and then, start "reviewing" your account. You can verify your account and Paypal will do its "review". While the review is going on your account is restricted. It will ask you for return policy. It will ask you for examples of sales receipts. Paypal is a freaking nightmare.

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/paypal-is-holding-my-funds-for-180-days-is-this-legal.743395/

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2497130

https://www.aspkin.com/forums/paypal-talk/105548-paypal-holding-my-75k-indefinitely-suggestion.html

https://www.alternet.org/2011/12/ho...unfair_and_likely_illegal_business_practices/

 

Last edited: Jun 11, 2019

No downfall "converting to a business account rather than personal."

I've had a business account for years with zero issues whatsoever.

 

@The Pirate hmm could you elaborate on that?
i saw in the sign up page that i should enter a busniess name like it appears on my bank account - but i dont have an actual business setup or registered, what should i do then? maybe write my own name?

 

Last edited: Jun 11, 2019

Your own name. If you try to get fancy and enter some made up name sooner or later Paypal is going to say that they need to review your business and guess what? That is when the shit hits the fan. Paypal will ask and check if the business is registered, the address, everything. I have gone through that crap on 6 different times. Moreover, you must be careful with accounts linked to your Paypal. Let us say you have an account that is personal (your name) and your Paypal account is Vuuru Loops (but Vuruu Loops does not exist). If for any reason Paypal closes your account they issue a check to Vuuru Loops. They will not issue that to you personally unless the business name on Paypal account is yours. Then, how are you going to cash that check? Paypal is designed to screw you if it can. Paypal is not here to help anyone. As soon as you get money in, pull it out. Dont keep it in your Paypal account. Read some of the stories in those links, I posted.

 

fees are quite high and payments can be held for months,
PayPal is great for buyer, but quite hostile for seller

 

100% correct. As I said earlier, it favors the buyer.

 

@The Pirate yea ive read those nightmare posts.. looks like a shitty situation to be in. however it seems like Paypal is the only option where im from (Stripe not available)

and so my question now is - if i setup a store and lets say its called 'Vuuru Kits' and the online store (Payhip/Sellfy/Shopify etc) sends receipts under that name - yet in Paypal i setup my business name as my own personal name, is that going to conflict if they ask for receipts and stuff?

I want to create the business account on the official email (let call it [email protected]) rather than turning my personal into a business - should i link them for any reason?
what would you do/suggest doing in my situation?

also thanks for helping i really really appreciate that, thank you

 

@vuuru_keg If you can incorporate your business do it. As I explained, it will avoid conflicts sooner or later. You can have a business account under your name. That is not a problem but with Paypal the best way to proceed is with a legit business entity. Vuuru kits is the business entity. Vuuru Kits is the payee. There is a commercial bank account under Vuuru Kits. The commercial bank account is connected to your Paypal business account. If Paypal asks for paperwork, you have all your bases covered. If Paypal closes your account you can transfer the money to the commercial bank account or receive a check that you can cash or deposit. Whatever you do, what you need to avoid is using a business name for an entity that does NOT exist outside your head.

 

This is the first thing to be aware of.
First have your business running, then use Paypal as a "service" to your (future) customers.

I've been running my own business for more than 20 years, 12 years with Paypal and without major problem.
And yes, Paypal cover the customer more than the seller. (it's quite undestandable by the way.)
Moreover, depending on your country, your administration (vat - taxes) can use Paypal to control what you're doing.

Wish you good luk for your project.

 

What im gathering from this is: just register your business and apply for an EIN. It's not hard. In my state you have to fill out a form that takes 5 minutes and send $125 to the department of state. Could save you a lot of headache and maybe money in ecommerce. Most of companies involved in the exchange of money smartly make it difficult to do business as "Jon's bathtub whiskey" because its a liability if the consumer gets boned somewhere down the line

 

Firstly, pardon my ignorance on this topic. I just have two questions on this subject out of curiosity and for future reference...

1) Is it not possible to just use your personal account for your checkout basket?

2) What are the alternate sites to paypal for such a venture?

Good luck with your business btw

 

The OP stated that the stores where he will sell his merchandise require a Paypal Business account.

Depends on the store. There are dozens of eCommerce payment methods.