2checkout vs Paypal?

I really hate paypal. They have screwed me over. I usually use Alertpay but have no experience with 2checkout.

Paypal is the simple answer for me. I hear a lot of bad stories about them though, but so far (after around 4 or 5 years) they still treat me with respect.

-Omar

@OP
If you're living in a country where PayPal is not supported, 2co is the best and only option for you to receive PayPal payments.

If you're living in a country where PayPal is officially supported but you're afraid of 'Hey, your account is limited because you washed your car twice today' type of emails (that doesn't make any sense) from them use 2co

I choose 2checkout. It accepts every card and also you do not need to worry about account closure.

I have never had a problem with PayPal, and have been using it for several years.

I would take paypal over 2checkout anyday, i think a lot of people would.

2 checkout is a much better option. Paypal tend to screw over many people and therefore i left Paypal to use 2checkout and haven't had a single problem.

I always hate Paypal, sometimes they email me, your account is limited, don't know why, the best news is: if anyone open a new paypal acount, your received funds will be temporary hold up to 21 days for security reason, what a news!!
I support Alertpay or Google Checkout, they are more simple than Paypal. Otherwise 2checkout is good enough for receiving multiple payments.

Paypal limit my account way too often it's annoying. I now use 2checkout.

No. There is absolutely no reason. In fact if you are asking this question there is no reason to consider 2checkout because it means you can use PayPal.

The only time you should consider 2checkout is when you cannot get a PayPal account or merchant account.

Here is why:

2checkout is more likely than PayPal to deny processing or even shut down your account due to pressures on them from their aquirer due to pressures from the card brands on aquirers for small third party processors to regulate what types of products or services they sell due to what they consider as high risk.

2checkout is not truly a third party processor like PayPal but rather they are a "reseller" of your product like click bank. As such they can review your offer deny your ability to sell it, limit the price range you can sell products and services at, and they can arbitrarily refund or reverse transactions on a whim if they consider it potentially fraudulent. This means you have little control and cannot deploy offers as easily and quickly.

Their fees are almost twice that of PayPal. This means you will be handing over an additional 2%+ of your bottom line.

They are not a well recognized and trusted brand like PayPal and there is the potential that their checkout process could reduce conversion rates. You should always take this into consideration when deciding what checkout process to offer.

They are integrated with less ecommerce solutions than PayPal and merchant accounts and their system is not as flexible as PayPal and merchant gateways when integrating with third party ecommerce solutions. so if you go with 2checkout you will have less integration options and less features.

2checkout is great if you have no other option for processing. If you can get a PayPal account and Merchant account you should have both.

Ignore this advice and you leave money and growth on the table.

I've heard all the stories. People come to me for ecommerce and merchant account advice all the time. I have clients around the globe who process anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of transactions a year... Thats transactions not just dollars ;-)

Don't rely on PayPal alone. Have a backup. Preferably a merchant account or two. A 2checkout account if nothing else is available to you...

Now there is a caveat to this... IF you are planning to sell subscriptions you should use a merchant account if possible. Definitely not 2checkout and not PayPal if it can be avoided. You also should use an ecommerce solution that provides you the ability to quickly and seemlessly migrate to a different merchant gateway if an issue arises. If your subscriptions are locked in PayPal or 2co and you are shut down you are screwed. When you use an ecommerce solution that can seemlessly swap between gateways you at least have options if something goes wrong with on of your merchant account providers.

There is a bunch of bad advice in this thread. Be wise.

It is true that 2CO is more expensive and has stricter policies regarding what type of business and products they will associate with. Sometimes they will reverse a charge without you having anything to say about it if they consider the transaction a "high risk transaction" but they will also never limit or freeze your account and will always protect you in a dispute.

I have been using both 2CO and paypal for different projects, both have their pros and cons and should be evaluated on a per-project basis.

Alex.

They don't charge a monthly fee, do they?? I'm actually planning to use 2CO, just because I don't want to rely solely on Paypal.

Zuberr,

2CO has no monthly fee, only a $50 per account (first account, $39 per additional accounts) fee. However each account is linked to one specific URL (referrer) and any sales from another domain will get your account restricted after 3rd strike. They are very strict about this.

Alex.

Ok twice now people have posted to this thread saying 2checkout will never limit or freeze your account...

Well seeing as how 2checkout does without warning close accounts, deauthorize products they previously authorized after further review...

Again... This thread is filled with bad advice...

I understand that people who give bad advice do it out of false assumptions and a genuine desire to help...

But sometimes it's better to not try and help rather than to misinform.

Still Paypal because everybody uses it. I will switch if the number of users will drop considerably.

Current 2Checkout pricing:

Rate: 3.99%
Per Transaction Fee: $0.45
Monthly Fee: $10.99
Apply by May 31, 2012 to get the 3.99% promotional rate

https://www.2checkout.com/pricing/



Andrew

I looked at 2Checkout's application and there were a few vaguely worded "prohibited items/services" that I thought could lead to problems down the road. Actually, there was nothing vague about it, but take a look at the ones I listed below. I think the last one will be subject to interpretation....

Straight from their website:

Offering a Free Gift, Prize or Contest/Sweepstakes entry as an inducement to purchase their product or service

Direct Marketing- Subscription Merchants

"Up-Sell" Merchants

"Get-rich-quick" schemes

I think PayPal always gets the upper hand because they are the giant.

When most people think about online payments they think PayPal, they have been around the longest, and people seem to associate them with being the best and most secure because of this.

Haven't tried 2checkout but so far I don't have any major problems with PayPal.

2co is very thorough with their application process and I guess one of the advantages is that once you are approved, you are in the green. Even if they change their policies and refuse to do business with you, they will notify you a month or two before.

They have a $49 one time application fee. Their rates are a bit higher than paypal's. I would say that 2co is more suited for big businesses where flexible credit card options are a significant plus point. For me, it is pretty compatible, especially due to 2co being linked directly to Payoneer. Apparently there are two fee structures because I have never been charged a monthly fee.

Paypal is clearly a giant but I am happy with 2co. It is a very convenient option, especially in countries where Paypal is not available or has limited facilities. Like the limitations on Indian Paypal accounts really suck. You can't have more than $500 in your account at a time! That is like communism; a government telling you how much you can earn? :[

Take care, spike your hair
-Shadab

What details do 2checkout need, for you opening a new account and starting up?

your name, address, website?

what are their requirements that they ask for ?

I'm happy with PayPal. I've been using the service for many years. No problems so far.

Thanks to everyone for the great tips!

My conclusion is: I'm starting with Paypal, and later on I'll back it up with 2CO.

I confirm that 2CO has a monthly fee of $10.99, https://www.2checkout.com/pricing/

Thanks again!

I was a victim of paypal once (frozen account), and I had to wait about 6 months to get my funds back. But I still use it today, as that's what my customers prefer.