Prius Shop is a problem

[ctbering]

I wanted to order a Shark antennae for my SPM Prius. I was unable to pay with a credit card. I have sent Prius shop e-mails they do not respond to and I have no idea what the status of my order is...why is Prius Chat even advertise here? Why are they not able to take credit cards? It is unbelievable....

[mrblaise]

They may not take credit cards because it's easier dealing with Paypal. What's so unbelievable about that? Many if not most Ebay sellers are the same way. To my understanding Hybridutopia.com goes through the Priuschat shop and does take credit cards. I would suggest finding out how long it may take to get your special order sharkfin antennae before ordering it. Otherwise, I would imagine we'll see another post from you here shortly.

[Prius 07]

It seems that they do good service for some and not for others. I tried to get a Scangauge but got no response either when I asked about shipping. Guess what I ordered it elsewhere and got good quick service.

I would still like to get a sharkfin and perhaps other item(s) from Prius shop but do I want to waste time with such non service?

Good luck,
Gabe

[Shawn Clark]

Paypal and eBay? ugghhh...talk about venues of last resort.

[efusco]

There are even small businesses that would rather use PayPal than deal with credit card agencies. You are making a special request and are likely to be dealt with as a lower priority since you fall outside their usual business practices.

I've had a small business and had a credit card service and it could be a PITA, and the smaller the business the more a pain it is b/c they charge high service charges on credit cards.

I know some people have had bad experiences w/PayPal, but I've done several hundred transactions with them and had no issues at all.

[Sheepdog]

me too Doc. Many PayPal transactions and never a mis step so far. I find the Prius Shop to be good people to work with.

[Danny]

Like I've said many times, if anyone ever has troubles getting in touch with the Shop, please PM me your questions. I can handle you lickity-split.

And we will be taking credit cards... soon. I can take them over the phone now if you'd like to provide me with your number (via PM).

[mingoglia]

I've been part of hundreds of paypal transactions both as a buyer and seller and only had a problem one time. But that one time, when it happens to you will make you bitter about paypal. When something goes wrong, it's tough to get anything resolved. The transaction I had a problem with was a color laser printer toner for my business. I never got it and the guy I bought it from didn't respond to emails. After about a month Paypal finally deposited around $20 in my account (I paid around $125). They said they could only give me whatever the guy had in his paypal account. In this case if the guy had zero, I would have gotten zero. If he had the full amount, I would have gotten the full amount. For those that are planning on scamming people I doubt they're going to have the "full amount" in their account to cover "charge backs".

How can you recover your additional money? You really can't. If you use your credit card through paypal your credit card company is just really populating your paypal account..and your paypal account is paying the merchant. Because paypal is a middle man, you're not covered by your normal fraud protection guarantees of your credit card.

With all this I still conduct some business through paypal when I have to... but typically on smaller items and only with more established merchants to limit my risk.

I think consumers should demand being able to use their credit card instead of Paypal. If we as consumers refuse to do business with paypal, then it will force these businesses to accept credit cards. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a hypocrite in advocating this since I still use Paypal.

Businesses like Paypal because of the lower fees and because there isn't a chance of charge backs like with credit cards. I've had many merchant accounts over the years. I used to do about a million dollars per month in merchant account processing. It's not really a big deal if you have a good product and aren't out to scam anyone. People that are out to scam people are more likely to use Paypal since there's little recourse that Paypal will take.... merchant accounts will flag you for the rest of your existence.

[ctbering]

Originally Posted by Danny

Like I've said many times, if anyone ever has troubles getting in touch with the Shop, please PM me your questions. I can handle you lickity-split.

And we will be taking credit cards... soon. I can take them over the phone now if you'd like to provide me with your number (via PM).

Danny,
I LEFT YOU A PRIVATE MESSAGE TO YOU SO I COULD BUY THE SHARK FIN.
CAN YOU LEAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER IN A MESSAGE TO ME AND I WILL CALL YOU. I WOULD PREFER TO NOT USE THE FORUM TO CONDUCT BUSINESS. THANKS, TERRY

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by mingoglia

How can you recover your additional money? You really can't. If you use your credit card through paypal your credit card company is just really populating your paypal account..and your paypal account is paying the merchant. Because paypal is a middle man, you're not covered by your normal fraud protection guarantees of your credit card.

Exactly. That's why I avoid it. I read the horror stories in the early days and quickly decided it was not for me. I've never gotten stiffed on a credit card transaction because disputing it quickly returned the money to its rightful owner (me.)