Most of us use Paypal in microphone-related transactions, whether it's paying for an eBay purchase, a repair, parts, a private sale, or shipping.
The secret of Paypal's continued success: make it incredibly easy and convenient when immediate transaction or instant gratification is wanted. Because it's such an abstract money transaction, we push aside rational thinking that would make us thoroughly and calmly question Paypal's stiff fees:
And the company's mantra of "2.9% + 30 cents" translates to considerably more when small amounts are sent. I recently had to ask a client to pay the UPS pickup charge). Though it was only a measly $12 I requested, Paypal took a whopping 5.7% of that amount in fees.
It took former Paypal/eBay boss and billionaire Meg Whitman's $160 million investment in the 2010 California Governor's race for me to realize what a money machine Paypal really is. And it made me mad that I too had been too lazy all along to search for alternatives of remote, convenient forms of money transactions.
Instead of Paypal, I am now using "Dwolla". It securely transfers money between sender's and recipient's bank accounts for a mere 25 cents per transaction, regardless of the amount. (Sending money up to $10 is free).
The difference in fees can be staggering on, say, a $11,000.- U47 purchase: Paypal's are 127,720% higher than Dwolla's!
