Paypal no longer allowing me to use credit card without creating a payapal account.
I never want another Paypal account in my life and I've bought many stamps here without being forced to create a Paypal account. Why are they being allowed to block sales between sellers and customers here in this manner?
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Both the 'Pay with a Debit or Credit Card' or login option lead only to an endpoint where "create an account" is the only exit. I see no "guest checkout" no matter how I navigate the Paypal environment.
I appreciate the helpful suggestions, Yes, I activated my card. I added a number of items to my cart , after 2 days about half have responded. I'll likely have to look elsewhere for these unpurchasable stamps since paypal won't allow me to use their system without creating a account.
Any suggestions on where to look for stamps online where paypal doesn't destroy the opportunity for sellers and buyers to commerce?
You can arrange for alternate payment methods with some sellers (like using Zelle, or bank transfer, cheque, ). But the seller has to agree/have the capability to do it.
Credit Cards on the "micro payment" world are difficult because of the nature of those systems, and requirements for merchant accounts. PayPal enables the use of the credit card for sales as a "clearing house" for card transactions, essentially making it possible for anyone to accept a credit card payment. That process creates it's own set of challenges, but it does work (pretty smoothly) once it's in place as well. It's been a "defacto" payment system for online transactions for over 20 years.
Now, I'm not fan of PayPal, but until the internet adopts a different "default", it's likely where these payments will remain.
Your reluctance to create a PayPal account is solely your choice. You may be able to arrange different payment options directly with those you have bought from.
That said, this does look like a seller by seller issue. When I've contacted some of the sellers I've tried to do business with, now all of a sudden I have the option with paypal to check out as a guest. Others it will only take me to the "pay with paypal" entry point even if I've said I want to pay with a card.
Yikes!