[villagetinker]

I sent a message to the owners of ToTV and they informed me that they use PayPal for the paid classified ads, so since I have never done this I have a few questions.
First, I have a PayPal account that I use for payments TO me, this is not linked to a bank account, but I can manually transfer funds from PayPal to the bank.
So, if I chose to pay a bill via PayPal, how does this work? Do I need to 'deposit' the funds in advance, do I need to make the transfer AFTER getting a message from PayPal, do I need to setup a link from PayPal to a bank account so it is automatically paid?
Finally, has anyone had problems with UNAUTHORIZED withdrawals by PayPal?

Thank you in advance.

[MarshBendLover]

Initially we did the "load it" way so if the funds weren't in the account, the purchase would not go through. But over the years, we linked it since it is safe based on several factors. One being they will refund you if you get scammed from one of "their" vendors.

This was years ago, but basically you can look at Paypal and see all the companies they do business with. If it's on the list, then you are protected. We have never had an issue and use Paypal probably 10-20 times a week up to hundred's of dollars per item. Been great for years. Never known anyone with an issue either. You can monitor your purchase immediately on Paypal site if you think you forgot to click the BUY button. Log on and see if it went through. If not, go back and buy it. It's the only thing I use more than my debit cards or credit cards or cash.

[CarlR33]

I just looked at mine to make sure and you can link to a bank card (cc) or a bank account (using your routing transfer numbers) so auto link anytime you pay, etc. I have never had issues. It’s just another form of payment like Venmo, etc. Hope this helps.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I sent a message to the owners of ToTV and they informed me that they use PayPal for the paid classified ads, so since I have never done this I have a few questions.
First, I have a PayPal account that I use for payments TO me, this is not linked to a bank account, but I can manually transfer funds from PayPal to the bank.
So, if I chose to pay a bill via PayPal, how does this work? Do I need to 'deposit' the funds in advance, do I need to make the transfer AFTER getting a message from PayPal, do I need to setup a link from PayPal to a bank account so it is automatically paid?
Finally, has anyone had problems with UNAUTHORIZED withdrawals by PayPal?

Thank you in advance.

The only think I can add is on a regular basis people send me messages that try to con me with sending money to people I do not know.

[villagetinker]

OK, thank you very much for replies, I will try the preload some funds and see how that works.

[Topspinmo]

We don’t do it through bank account but through CC payment, never had problem, plus we get 2 or three transaction warnings on every transaction. IMO only way to do online transactions that don’t link bank account directly.

[retiredguy123]

I don't have a PayPal account. But when I have had to pay for something through Pay Pal, they have always given me the option of paying with a credit card without opening a PayPal account.

[Rzepecki]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

OK, thank you very much for replies, I will try the preload some funds and see how that works.

I use PayPal for online purchases. I have a credit card linked to my PayPal account from which they take funds. That way I have the protections provided by PayPal and the credit card company. I also have notifications setup on my credit card so that I get an email every time there is a charge to my credit card. Several layers of protection.

[jimkerr]

When I had PayPal, I never preloaded any funds. I just had connected to my bank and if I needed to buy something, it would take it out of my bank and then if I needed to deposit funds, I would go to PayPal and just tell it to deposit the funds and automatically transfer those to my bank account

I canceled my PayPal account a few years ago when their CEO went crazy and said that he was going to start fining people if he disagreed with content, they posted online.

[seecapecod]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I sent a message to the owners of ToTV and they informed me that they use PayPal for the paid classified ads, so since I have never done this I have a few questions.
First, I have a PayPal account that I use for payments TO me, this is not linked to a bank account, but I can manually transfer funds from PayPal to the bank.
So, if I chose to pay a bill via PayPal, how does this work? Do I need to 'deposit' the funds in advance, do I need to make the transfer AFTER getting a message from PayPal, do I need to setup a link from PayPal to a bank account so it is automatically paid?
Finally, has anyone had problems with UNAUTHORIZED withdrawals by PayPal?

Thank you in advance.

In my experience, digital wallets, like PayPal, Venmo all work on a real time basis. In other words, the funds must be in your checking account real time or the app will notify you the bank denied the request. It’s happened to me before, so I just go over to my banking app move the money into my checking account and use the PayPal or Venmo process again and it works fine all in real time. Hope this helps!

[msilagy]

I would never load funds in PayPal. Link your credit card instead. The big BENEFIT is that when using PayPal to buy something the seller never sees your credit card number. That is a HUGE benefit in my eyes. (these previous responses are so complicated and off base)

[Nancy@Pinellas]

I use PayPal often. I have one credit card that I exclusively use to make internet payments. I linked it to my PayPal account and PayPal uses it for payments. I’ve been doing this for over 15 years with no problems.

[coleprice]

Apple started billing/collecting from me on PayPal without my authorization. It took several months to get PayPal to stop paying Apple and PayPal wouldn't refund the amount of unauthorized payments made to Apple so I closed my PayPal account.

[Ken D.]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

OK, thank you very much for replies, I will try the preload some funds and see how that works.

I would link it to a credit card, much safer.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Rzepecki

I use PayPal for online purchases. I have a credit card linked to my PayPal account from which they take funds. That way I have the protections provided by PayPal and the credit card company. I also have notifications setup on my credit card so that I get an email every time there is a charge to my credit card. Several layers of protection.

I would just point out that, when you use a PayPal account, you are not dealing directly with the merchant. So, you may have protections that the credit card provides, but you are not protected by the Federal credit card protection law. For example, if you want to dispute the purchase because of a product defect or for non-delivery, your dispute is handled by PayPal and your credit card company and they are not required to comply with the Federal credit card dispute law. Some merchants require payment by PayPal because they don't want to deal directly with their customers, and they don't want to have a credit card charge automatically removed by the bank, which the Federal law requires when a cardholder files a timely dispute.