Is only accepting paypal a disadvantage?

[#1]

I know the summer is a slow time and my shop is pretty new with not tons of items but I am wondering if also only accepting paypal and no other methods is hurting my sale potential?

I am just wondering why I have only sold one thing so far and getting a bit discouraged sometimes.

[Former_Member]

I've heard DC is the default payment option so most customers may not even know that PayPal is an option, which may be why so many people are using DC. I only offer PayPal because it's reliable for me and I can transfer money to and from different bank accounts. Customers don't have to have a PayPal account to check out with PayPal - I state that in my policies.

[Former_Member]

I didn't go through and read everyone's responses but here's what I do and why:

Paypal and DC (not "other," money orders or checks)

I don't accept "other" because I've heard horror stories about customers buying something, selecting "other" payment method and basically waiting until they actually have money to pay for the item. So they use it as a kind of hold. I don't do holds.

I don't accept checks or money order because, let's face it, if you don't have Paypal or a credit card, you're kind of behind the times. I don't want to monkey with checks or money orders... all that wait time; too much hassle for me.

I accept Paypal and DC. I've noticed repeat customers who once paid via Paypal are now coming back and using DC because it's more convenient for them. I have LOTS of new customers using DC. I would say that since offering it, the majority of my sales are DC. I like Paypal because it's secure and it keeps a nice little bit of funds built up for me to use when I make my own online purchases.

[Former_Member]

i can say personally i think it is a disadvantage especially for older folks on the internet and foreign transactions. i personally prefer to pay with a credit card rather than paypal when shopping on etsy for my own personal use because i only use paypal for business transactions. also i have noticed that i not only make more sales now that i accept direct checkout, i also see that clients spend more money on orders. so, yeah, i think it is a disadvantage.

[Former_Member]

July - good month
August - dropping off
September - dead so far

I believe maybe those who offer DC are getting higher rankings in relevancy search or something.

Looks like Etsy might be a poor option for non-US sellers now

(I'm in the UK BTW)

[elainesgems]

Half my sales are from DC. I have a friend who wanted to buy something from me (before Etsy offered DC) and she refused to use Paypal, she wanted to use her bank card.

[RunkPockDesigns]

I think someone stated this already but, you don't have to have a paypal account to check out using paypal.

Paypal just processes the card as a third party vendor (thus you never see their personal info). You can still use any credit or debit card, it's exactly the same thing as DC really. With DC, Etsy is processing their cards and with Paypal, Paypal is processing their cards. You don't have to sign up for paypal to purchase something using paypal. Really the only difference is which company is processing their transaction.

[Former_Member]

Personally, right now I'll only accept Paypal.

With the Paypal gateway I can also accept credit cards.

I've looked closely at the Etsy Direct Checkout and with the number of problems that have been occurring and the lack of support for the product, I'm not going to even think about setting it up for the shop.

Etsy DC has been known to make double deposits, have problems with processing refunds. There is also no way to do split invoicing for a layaway or a custom item purchase. This I can do in Paypal very easily.

My sales for September have already surpassed the 200 unit mark.

As for relevancy ranking, my buyers tell me that they find my shop through google, bing and Yahoo! searches extremely easily and also that for those who are looking on Etsy I'm rather easy to find.

If someone wishes to pay via Money Order I'll accept a USPS money order but won't ship until the MO has been cashed at the post office. I don't mind waiting at all.

I am extremely leary of letting Etsy do anything with my funds. I saw the fiasco when Etsy had auto bill payment available and it was nothing short of a nightmare for many shops.