PistolPay sort of like Paypal

[mndang]

Hi All,
 
Sounds like a good idea that maybe some could use here. I don't work for this company and am not affiliated at all.  Maybe Ryan can get on this companies FFL list.
 
http://pistolpay.com
 
http://www.guns.com/buying-guns-online-10239.html
 
 

[alexrex20]

Nice concept, but I don't think it will catch on. I like to buy everything local with cash.

[Shipwreck]

What was the last one that went broke - gearpay, or something like that? These things take so much initial capital and are risky in the beginning...

[Jeb_66]

Paypal wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for Ebay.  Maybe they should get hooked up with GunBroker or something. 

[Shipwreck]

Well, and ebay forces you to use paypal pretty much now. I think ebay lost some traffic after they started that.

[Gilgondorin]

Last guys I remember hearing about were GunPal.

They didn't make it and ripped a lot of people off towards the end when they couldn't process the payment. You'll pardon me if I don't go rushing out to use this new service too.

[Shipwreck]

Last guys I remember hearing about were GunPal.

They didn't make it and ripped a lot of people off towards the end when they couldn't process the payment. You'll pardon me if I don't go rushing out to use this new service too.

Yea, that's the one I am referring to - but I thought it was called Gearpay... Whatever it was called, I do remember people telling stories of waiting weeks for their money. I'm not jumping on that either.

I have seen so many horror stories of people's bank acct being frozen or cleared out by Paypal, though.

When I sold those GI Joe toys recently, the guy insisted on paying with paypal. I hooked my bank acct to it for like 2 weeks, and then removed my bank acct right afterwards. I had issues getting a money order sent to me, as my credit card bills are mailed to a PO Box, and paypal wants a physical address (not a PO Box) to send the money order (which must match your credit card billing address). What a pain...

[Domineaux]

Yeah GunPay was the previous version that flopped.
PayPal was big well before joining Ebay but the success of Ebay was a big part of the success of PayPal even then.

[Gilgondorin]

I have seen so many horror stories of people's bank acct being frozen or cleared out by Paypal, though.

They are frozen because hard-headed people don't read or don't care about the terms of service. I see gun ads posted on craigslist against their TOS routinely, and that scares me because it isn't hard to fake an identity in a FTF transaction. "Stop flagging my post, because I'll just keep re-posting it!!"

It says specifically you aren't allowed to use PayPal's service to pay for gun-related items (in addition to a bunch of other things), and I haven't once heard of someone randomly getting their account shut down that wasn't in connection with going against their TOS. As far as I'm concerned, if you still did it anyway and got screwed over then that's your own fault; you're the reason they put "Warning: May contain nuts" labels on bags of airline peanuts!!

[Shipwreck]

Yes, that happens. However, when I was admin for HandgunForum - the site owner had his bank acct cleaned out. He had some serious issues, as he had bills to pay. It was like over $1k from his checkbook. He got it back, but it took 2-3 weeks, as paypal makes it very hard to deal with them - no way to actually call anyone.

I can't remember - I think it was something like his acct got hacked - or maybe a password stolen, not sure... ANyway, after that happened to him, I swore never to have my main acct hooked to Paypal. If I ever need to, I'll hook a new savings acct with like a $25 balance or something... I have seen a few stories after that with similiar scenarios... This was not related to a gun related purchase.

But even those people that do buy gun stuff - paypal freezing your entire bank acct for up to 6 months (not just the money that's in their system) is NOT right.

[Gilgondorin]

I can't remember - I think it was something like his acct got hacked - or maybe a password stolen, not sure... ANyway, after that happened to him, I swore never to have my main acct hooked to Paypal.

Which is a commendable decision. HOWEVER, I fail to see how it is the fault of paypal for his account getting hacked by a spam-bot, some guy in china with a password cracker, or even the guy in the seat next to you using ARP poisoning (I've personally seen this -- it's REALLY cool!) to redirect your packet traffic. If you ask me, this is just another risk associated with the internet you take when you first start using it -- would you blame Yahoo! for your personal email getting hacked by a Canadian online pharmacy, or yourself for not having good password/file attachment hygiene?

But even those people that do buy gun stuff - paypal freezing your entire bank acct for up to 6 months (not just the money that's in their system) is NOT right.

No, it is NOT right. But, they have THE "right" -- it's in their TOS. Because this causes a problem with some people (myself included) I will either not use it and be done with it, or accept the risk and tie it to an "internet" bank account (like you did).

Either way, I haven't personally had a problem with them yet and I've funded a gun purchase, several ammo purchases, and other gear through paypal... It's not hard unless the guy you're dealing with is a dink and is like "O HEY LOL THANX 4 THE MONEY I'LL GET UR GUN IN THE MAIL ON TUESDAY".

[alexrex20]

I have a checking account specifically for PayPal. I only transfer money into it when I plan on using PayPal. I can do everything from my phone, so no hassle.

I had an issue yesterday where PayPal Balance Manager tried to add funds from that checking account, sending it into overdraft and I got charged $35 from Bank of America. I called PayPal, got a real person on the phone (in AZ) and he took care of everything. He "taught" me about the quirks of Balance Manager and credited 2x $35 to my PayPal account, to cover my bank's overdraft fees.

I couldn't be happier with PayPal, but I know better than buying anything gun-related with it. I use an unasociated credit or debit card, or pay cash when possible.

[Gilgondorin]

I had an issue yesterday where PayPal Balance Manager tried to add funds from that checking account, sending it into overdraft and I got charged $35 from Bank of America.

I would check with BOA. I'm not sure it happens at all banks (especially the big ones that need the money) but it might be possible to turn overdraft protection off; I know you can at RBFCU. If the money ain't there, the balance gets denied and no charge is incurred, simple as that.

[Ceejmo]

My Paypal account is linked to a credit/debit card that is linked to my checking account. If there is a charge to my bank account from Paypal it goes through the credit card process. Using your debit card as if it were a credit card gives you the same protection as if it were a Visa or Mastercard. If I didn't make the charge I call the bank and they credit the amount in dispute until it is resolved.