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Micro payment (PayPal)

GrahamGraham
in Everything Else Vote Up0Vote Down
I have been looking into this but am confused. Hopefully someone can help?

I have read (here) that you need 2 PayPal accounts, one "normal" the other for micropayments. On PayPal website it says that if your account is approved to receive micropayments, that your fees would automatically switch to the least expensive fee - so you only need one account.

It also states micropayments are ONLY for digital goods which would then ipso facto exclude physical goods. Am I missing something or is everyone just ignoring that?

Thanks in advance

Comments

  • 15 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Area 51 BricksArea 51 Bricks
    edited March 2021 Vote Up0Vote Down
    I didn't think that it was only for digital goods... but it is just an extension of your PayPal account, you don't need a separate one.
    Its supposed to be for smaller value orders which is why its called micropayments, lol.
  • EpkBrickEpkBrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Graham Pay no attention to what PayPal's site states about the virtual goods. Here is how I went about it and it works.

    Assuming you already have a PayPal account "A" that uses the 2.9%+.30(USD) Fees. Create a new PayPal account "B" and convert it to a business account. Call 1 (888) 221-1161 speak to a representative and state which account you want to set up for Micropayments. They will have you all set up within 24-48 hours.

    Go into the payments section and add a maximum order amount and the correct API key for the micropayment account "B"

    I have the same $.$$+0.01 for a minimum order amount on my "A" account just in case. I have not had a problem yet with this setup.

    I set my amounts at:

    Account "A" = minimum order of $11.21 (2.9%+0.30 fees)
    Account "B" = maximum order of $11.20 (5% fees)
  • Colorado BricksColorado Bricks
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @EpkBrick US cut off is $12, micro payments charges 5% + 5c
  • EpkBrickEpkBrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    I believe the break even point for the fees is around $11.29 or $11.30 where you are not saving any money in fees between the two structures. You can google a table for a break down if you need, but these are the values I use for both BO and BL.

    Only downside is, you now have two accounts you receive money on and send shipments from. It was a bit of a pain in the beginning, but not a big deal once you are accustomed to having both accounts.
  • EpkBrickEpkBrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Colorado Bricks Thank you my mistake on the $0.05
  • GrahamGraham
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Ok thanks much @EpkBrick
  • CalibrickCalibrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Hi all! PayPal now has dynamic micropayments (since August 2021), where you only need ONE business account. The system automatically looks at the order value and applies fees as a micropayment or a normal payment (with the higher fees).

    Has anyone tried this yet? Is it working well for you?
  • CalibrickCalibrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Also, BTW, if you converted to DYNAMIC micropayments, did you have an API changes you had to make with BO?
  • Jay37Jay37
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Calibrick Are you using the Dynamic Micropayments system yet? I tried to get PayPal to switch me onto it, but they didn't seem to know anything about it. I suspect it is currently only available in the US at the moment - I found something on the PayPal support forum that seems to back this theory up.
  • CalibrickCalibrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    I used PayPal's message system to request they contact me on how to convert my account to this, but they never got back to me... and then, I confess, I totally forgot, lol. Thank you to Epkbrick for posting the phone number, I will try that during business hours this week!
  • Gaston.La.BrickGaston.La.Brick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Jay37 , I think the dynamic micropayments is available exclusively for US customers.

    For EU PayPal accounts, you need to create a second account and ask PayPal to turn it into a micropayments account. After that step, you should configure the cutoff price (which you need to decide on your own) to have BO switch between the one or the other PayPal account.
  • Jay37Jay37
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Gaston.La.Brick I currently have my PayPal account set to Micropayments (switched it a couple of years back), but was told I could only have one business account, so any orders that went over a certain amount - I think it's about £10 - I would not benefit from. If I remember correctly Brick Owl needs you to have a business PayPal account, and PayPal have told me I can only have one, so how can I set up a second? Any help gratefully received!
  • White Horse BricksWhite Horse Bricks
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Jay37 Just register a second email with Gmail or whoever and set up the second Paypal account with that. If having emails to check is a pain, you can always set it to forward everything to the first one.
  • Jay37Jay37
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    @White Horse Bricks thanks for the help, I'll look into doing that
  • Gaston.La.BrickGaston.La.Brick
    edited April 2022 Vote Up0Vote Down
    @Jay37 like @White Horse Bricks mentioned: just create one with a second email address.

    Did you know: when you have a Gmail address like [email protected], you can use as many variants or aliases for it by appending a plus sign the first part, followed by anything else? So all the email addresses below are considered unique for systems like PayPal, but for Gmail systems it actually come down to one mailbox. Try it by sending an email to your gmail address, but with "+anything" after the prefix.
    So you have one mailbox to check, but unlimited (unique) email addresses you can use.

    Main address: [email protected]
    Variations:
    * [email protected]
    * [email protected]
    * [email protected]
    * [email protected]
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