What's the difference and why do some people prefer one over the other?
What's the difference and why do some people prefer one over the other?
Paypal is free and secure and online and for the most part anonymous.
Western union costs money, reveals your full name, and is in person only.
The only reason people use wu is because it can be turned into real money super easy, whereas paypal must be attached to a bank account to turn into cash.
PayPal is quicker and incurs no fees, where Western Union has 10%+ fees but you receive it in cash. PayPal is used for it's ease and no/minimal fees but you can chargeback on it, which is why for larger sales most sellers request Western Union
J_L_K_64 rules you.
Does paypal really allow charge backs on gifts?
I thought the reason they made it free was because you forfeit all security?
You can chargeback on paypal but you can't with WU. This is why most sellers prefer WU. I'm sure if you ask, they(seller) will eat the WU fee (;
You can't be chargebacked while gifting; a chargeback is when the buyer claims they never received the item, which requires the money to be sent for 'Goods and Services'. Since virtual goods aren't covered by PayPal you have no defense. However, sellers have successfully forged shipping receipts to win these .
You can claim that the transaction was not authorized on a gift, and the only way you won't lose this is if PayPal finds out it is a false claim; I've never had one happen, so maybe someone else can give insight on that .
J_L_K_64 rules you.
You can get CBed even for a paypal personal payment. The user can just dispute the transaction (and come up with some crap reason). Or they could say they never authorized the payment.
You can't CB for WU.
Wait. WU's only in person?
So I can't do it over the computer?
You can get a chargeback from a gift payment thru PayPal.
Western Union can be sent online (it's a pain tho) and can either be sent to the persons bank account or they can pick it up in person. The fees are ridiculous so most people only use it for large purchases. You CAN get a chargeback via WU but only if they chargeback before you pick it up. So of someone sends you WU, make sure you have the cash in-hand before you give them the item.