Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 10:29:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Larry Moss <moss@balloonhq.com>
To: RkyMtnTrls@aol.com
Subject: Re: Using PayPal.com for Bookings?

On Wed, 18 Apr 2001 RkyMtnTrls@aol.com wrote:

> When booking for balloon twisting / face painting / pony rides, etc .... has 
> anyone used PayPal.com or things like that?   It was reccommended to me a 
> few  weeks ago (thanks for the tip!) and I've heard it's easy and 
> inexpensive to  use. 

We've had some pretty extensive discussions about PayPal here in the past.
Finding them is easy.  Go to http://www.PayPal.com.  Signing up is just as
easy.  It costs nothing to sign up, but I encourage you to create a
personal account and not a business account.  They want you to take the
business account since the personal account is free and you pay for a
business account.  You can upgrade to business any time you want so there's
nothing to lose by trying the personal account and seeing if it's
sufficient for you.

> I'm wondering what the success / downfalls are for an entertainer like us to 
> use it?  And if you would - someone's who's using something like that - 
> would  you email to me the contact info?  I can't find 'em and I'm probably 
> looking  in the wrong place!  (sheepish grin) 

I've never had any problems with it.  An advantage over credit cards is
that there's no initial cost to you.  A disadvantage is that you can't use
it to collect money unless the person you're collecting from also has a
paypal account.  They can sign up at the time they go to pay you, but they
do have to sign up.  So, convincing a potential client to do this if they
aren't already a paypal user isn't always easy. I've had very little
trouble with this, but since I take credit cards, I simply ask if they
prefer paypal or credit card and don't get into discussions with them about
it.  It might not be a big deal these days.  

Both an advantage and disadvantage is that the person paying you has to
send the money to you via paypal.  They can't give you a credit card number
and have you do the processing.  You can go to paypal and request money
from them, but they have to complete the transaction.  It's good because
it's more secure for them.  They just have to trust one company (paypal)
for many transactions rather than trusting the little entertainer that they
don't know and you dont' have to worry about securely holding credit card
numbers.  and since they initiate the transaction there can't be an
argument later over you charging them.  They sent the money to you, which
is as good as having a signature.  You can't get a signature over the phone
when they give a credit card number.

Basically, there's no harm in trying paypal.  It just gives a client one
more option for paying.  I've found credit cards to still be better for my
needs, but that's also a lot more expensive to set up.

Larry Moss
BalloonHQ.com