eBay

[spacechimp]

Could somebody explain the payment methods on eBay to me?

If an item is listed as "PayPal accepted" and no other payment method is mentioned, do you -have- to pay with PayPal? Nothing on the eBay site actually explains this properly. Would you have to e-mail the seller beforehand? And how about with "PayPal preferred"?

[Ethel]

If only PayPal is mentioned, you have to pay by PayPal, and this gives the buyer more protection than any other payment method.
If the listing states 'PaPal preferred' the other payment options should be listed too. Never pay by Western Union or similar methods.

[spacechimp]

All right, it's just that with some listings, if you click to bid, then it says "PayPal required" or something similar, whereas other listings having only PayPal given as a method do not present this warning. Why is this?

[Ethel]

Because there are millions of sellers on eBay and they each choose the style of listing.

Some want immediate payment, others only accept PayPal but don't want immediate payment - they will wait a day or two

[spacechimp]

Ah, that explains it. Thanks.