Payments Stuck in PayPal

PayPal
PayPal describes itself as a digital wallet. With a PayPal account, you can pre-enter all the information for various payment methods, such as credit cards and bank accounts. That way, when you want to make a purchase, you don't have to reenter all the information every time -- you can just enter a username and password. You can also setup PayPal for automatic payments, such as for subscriptions or bills. Because your information is specially encrypted, it is well protected from hackers. In addition, the website offers some insurance in case a transaction falls through. For example, if you buy an item, but it never shows up, PayPal can help resolve the issue and give you a refund.
Payment Holds
With a PayPal account, you can receive payments from practically anyone, whether they are for a job or the sale of an item. You can then transfer these funds to a bank account if you wish. However, PayPal may sometimes put the payments on temporary hold, which means that you can't withdraw to a bank account or spend them them until they are released. PayPal can hold the pending funds for up to 21 days, though they can be released sooner at the company's discretion.
Why This Happens
PayPal states that it puts payments on hold to ensure that you, the seller, have sufficient funds to refund buyers if they are dissatisfied with your product. This delay is meant to protect buyers. The website only does this to accounts that it deems risky, but you don't have to be a shady business dealer to qualify as risky. While a high number of customer disputes and refunds are a surefire way to get your account put on hold, other factors such as a limited selling history, negative feedback, inconsistent activity, inaccurate account information and selling high-risk goods can all lead to a payment hold.
How to Avoid Holds
You can take several proactive measures to avoid payment holds. First, make sure that all of your account information is correct and up-to-date, including your address, phone numbers and credit card data. Second, work to improve your seller rating by processing orders speedily, communicating effectively with your buyers, uploading tracking information and avoiding any disputes. If you do not sell often, even one dispute can give you a "risky" ratio of disputes to total transactions, so you would need to complete several undisputed transactions to balance that one issue.

How to Get PayPal Icons

1. Navigate to the PayPal Online Logo Center website (paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/general/OnlineLogoCenter-outside). The site's homepage contains three links that lead to pages that contain PayPal icons: Acceptance Mark, Solution Graphics and Additional Options. Descriptions below the links explain the types of icons on the associated pages. Icons on the Acceptance Mark page, for example, let users know that you accept PayPal.
2. Read the descriptions below the three links and click one of the links. A new webpage opens and displays one or more PayPal icons.
3. Read the Usage Agreement at the top of the page and then review the icons that appear at the bottom of the page. These icons have different sizes. Their dimensions appear above the icons. For instance, one icon's size may be 150 x 174 pixels, while another icon's dimensions may be 50 x 34 pixels. Text boxes appear below each icon. These text boxes contain the HTML code needed to embed the respective icon on your webpage.
4. Copy the code from one of the text boxes using your mouse. Windows stores the text on its clipboard.
5. Launch your HTML editor or Notepad, and open one of your webpage documents.
6. Locate the document's body section. Decide where you want your PayPal icon to appear in the body section. Paste the contents of the Windows clipboard into that location.
7. Save your document and view it in a browser. The PayPal icon you added appears on your webpage.

How Do I Add PayPal to My Site?

1. Create a PayPal account if you don't have one. Visit the PayPal website and click on the 'Sign up' link in the upper left-hand panel.
2. Log in to PayPal using your user name and password, then click on the 'Merchant Services' tab.
3. Click on the desired service button you wish to use on your website. For example, selecting the 'Buy Now' button will allow visitors to buy items from your website.
4. Assign an item name and unique ID to item that is being sold via the 'Buy Now' button.
5. Assign a currency and price for the item being sold. For example, AUD for Australian dollars. Leave the dialog field blank to create a drop-down menu for multiple currencies.
6. Assign a shipping price and tax rate for the item being sold and click 'Create Button' to complete the process.
7. Copy the generated code and paste it on your website where you want the button to appear.
8. Follow the provided instructions to create other buttons to add to your site, such as 'Donate,' 'Shopping Cart' or 'Gift Certificates' buttons, among many others.

How Does PayPal eCheck Work?

Identification
ECheck is a payment sent directly from your bank account to another PayPal account, according to PayPal. If you want to purchase goods online, send money to a friend or relative over the Internet or pay for service rendered, you can send an eCheck. When you send an eCheck, it generally takes three to five days to clear. Upon clearing, the money is debited from your account and the recipient sees the money in his PayPal account, according to PayPal.
Sending an Echeck
You must have a PayPal account to send an eCheck. To sign up for a PayPal account, visit the PayPal website and click on 'Sign Up' at the top of the page. Then, choose the type of account that is appropriate for you --- Personal, Premier or Business. After that, fill out the required information and read the terms and conditions. Once you have an account, you must link your bank account to your PayPal account. To do so, go to the 'Add or Edit Bank Account' menu under the 'Profile' tab, add your bank information and follow the instructions. Once your bank account is linked to your PayPal account, send an eCheck by clicking on 'Send Money,' entering the sender's information and pressing 'Continue.' Change the payment method, select 'eCheck,' press 'Continue' and review all of the information, then confirm that you wish to send the eCheck.
Receiving an eCheck
If you receive an eCheck, you have a few options on what you want to do with the funds in your PayPal account. You can apply for a PayPal debit card, which is a MasterCard that allows you to make offline purchases and withdraw money from ATMs. You can also withdraw the funds from your PayPal account and place theminto your bank account. You can also send the funds to another PayPal account, or make online purchases.
ECheck Safety and Refunds
Because the recipient cannot view any of your banking information, eCheck is a relatively safe transaction, as long as you are doing business with ethical entities. If you decide prior to the eCheck's clearing that you do not want to send it, PayPal will issue a refund. Although PayPal asserts that transactions are relatively safe, PayPal is not a bank, and therefore is not secured with FDIC deposit insurance or other protection consumers often receive from traditional financial institutions. According to the FDIC, normal deposit insurance coverage is $250,000 per account owner. PayPal does not offer the level of security that an FDIC-insured bank offers.

How to Get a PayPal Email Account

1. Choose your email address. You may already have an email account through your Internet service provider, such as Road Runner or AOL, or you may already have an account through one of the free online email providers. If you do, you can use your existing email address as your PayPal email address. If you do not, then you can sign up for a free email account on one of the many free email providers including Gmail, Yahoo or Microsoft.
2. Go to the PayPal website at www.paypal.com. This is the main page of the PayPal website and will allow you to create your PayPal account and thus create your PayPal email address.
3. Select the option "New to PayPal? Sign up," which is displayed on the left hand side of the screen. You will be taken to a screen in which you are asked to select whether to open a personal account, a premier account or a business account. A personal account allows you to send money online, but it limits the amount of money you can receive to $500 per month, so if you need more than that, you will need to sign up for a premier account. Finally, a business account allows you to create an account if you use a business name. Select the right option, along with your language and country.
4. Fill in the required information including your name, address, phone number and email. The phone number will be used to confirm your identity. The email you use will become your official PayPal email. You can then log into your account with that email. If someone needs to send you money, they can send the money to that email address, and you will receive it in your account.
5. Confirm your email address by clicking the link in the confirmation email PayPal sends you. This is done to verify that the email address is, in fact, correct.

How to Sell With PayPal

Selling with PayPal on eBay
1. List your item for sale on eBay following their prompts. Upload photos, provide a description and choose shipping options and return policies.
2. Select the option that allows buyers to pay with PayPal.
3. Wait for the auction to end and PayPal to send you confirmation that you have received money. Confirm that it is the correct amount, and send the winning bidder the item(s) they have purchased.
Selling with PayPal on a Website
4. Follow PayPal's instructions to set up a merchant account, and install a PayPal button of your choice on your website.
5. Explain your selling policies to potential customers in detail on your website. Make sure to include any shipping and handling costs, as well as return policies.
6. Select a virtual shopping cart vendor who has partnered with PayPal if your website will feature a large number of goods and/or services for sale. These sites differ from one another in their implementation but may be a good option for online stores with many items for sale.

How to Buy Food Online With a PayPal Account

Paypal Debit Card
The easiest way to make a food purchase online is by using your Paypal debit card. You can apply for the card after you open your initial Paypal account. The card works just like any bank debit card and allows you to make fee-free purchases online and cash withdrawals at most ATM's.
Using Funds in Your Paypal Account
Many online food merchants accept Paypal as a form of payment. When you are done making your purchase, simply choose Paypal at checkout, log into your account, choose to pay using funds in your Paypal account, confirm your purchase, and you're done.
Using Paypal To Access Funds From Other Sources
When you initially set up your Paypal account, you have the option to link the account to your regular checking, savings or credit card account. If you want to use one of these account to pay for food purchases online, simply choose Paypal at checkout, log into your account, select the account you wish to use for payment, and confirm your purchase.