I make many purchases on eBay, and I’m thinking about opening a PayPal account. Is PayPal a secure payment method?
Yes. PayPal is one of the most secure methods of payment for items purchased on eBay. In fact, eBay recommends that you make all your transactions through PayPal. What makes PayPal more secure is the fact that you are only giving your credit card information to one party, rather that giving that sacred information to multifarious sellers.
PayPal users will complete their eBay purchases via their PayPal account. Using a payment service is more secure and more expedient than providing financial information to numerous sites of individual sellers. Every time you provide your financial information to a site you increase your odds of a breech of privacy occurring.
The reason PayPal can offer you such security is because they keep all your information in encrypted form. This data is stored on computers that are not connected to the internet. The only people who can view your information are the employees who complete your transactions for you.
Additionally there are other benefits to using PayPal. Part of the PayPal user agreement provides for a buyer protection plan. The plan guarantees $1000 of coverage against fraud on each qualified eBay purchase. Another perk that may decrease your eBay shopping stress is that PayPal agrees not to sell your information to third parties. You can relax and feel safe that your inbox will not be stuffed with ads prompting you to get to know “Amber” (or another equally as exotic person) better.
This is the last column in a series devoted to America’s new favorite pastime – buying on eBay. Hopefully, by following some of the tips mentioned in the series, potential eBay purchases can be safe and successful.
This article appears in August 5 • 2005.