I am new to mystery shopping full time and have signed up with 15 companies. I use to only work with 5 however I recently decided to become a full time shopper. I was wondering what do other shoppers prefer - being paid by check or being paid by Paypal. Is there a longer wait on getting paid by check and more issues getting paid this way? Thank you for the advise

I haven’t gotten a check from any MSC since I dropped Sinclair Service Assessments years ago. I’m very happy with PayPal. Also two of the MSCs for which I work pay by direct deposit. I’m glad to not deal with a paper check.

But if a company has work I like, it would be okay to get a check if that’s the only way they pay.

Personally I don't care how they pay as long as they pay. Now, given the choice I would prefer PayPal over Direct Deposit over paper check, but most don't give you a choice and I don't let how they pay me dictate who I work for.

My preference is direct deposit, paypal then check and this is only because PayPal charges a fee for me to receive money, direct deposit and paper checks are free, I use an online bank so I can send an E-Deposit to my bank so paper check is really not bad anymore.

I have 2 companies I work with that issue a paper check.

O.o

Why does PayPal charge you a fee for receiving money? I receive money from my other business and several MSCs both without paying a fee.

bgriffin Wrote:
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> Why does PayPal charge you a fee for receiving
> money? I receive money from my other business and
> several MSCs both without paying a fee.

If you upgraded to a Premier account to get the debit card they charge you a fee on every transaction. Stupid, but that's what they do.

Most companies prefer PayPal because it cuts down their payroll expenses. I pay the $1.50 to have a PayPal check sent directly to me, once I have accumulate a few hundred dollars in that account. You can avoid a fee by linking a credit card to your PayPal account, but there have been documented "hacks" to these accounts. PayPal denies this. I don't know whether PayPal offers direct deposit to a checking account at no fee, but there is no way that I would go in that direction. About 1/3rd of the companies that I work for still pay by direct check.

For me, Direct Desposit is best, but PayPal is certainly OK too. And I must confess there's nothing like getting checks in the mail. That;s fun. Most of my other non-MSC companies still pay that way. The only one I dislike, only because I never use that account, is PayQuicker.

If you buy items on line you usually have a PayPal option to pay for the stuff. I do this to avoid the fees. I prefer Direct Deposit first, check second and PayPal third. I won't work for anyone that pays by PayQuicker or the various debit cards. Too many issues with them for me. Fee to load, fee to get cash if you don't have that financial institution nearby and use someone else's ATM, etc. Some people love them, I don't. What ever will work for your lifestyle is the way to go. I have also set up a separate checking account for PayPal to have it deposited there. I do some eBay selling and it is just safer to keep that account separate in case it does get hacked.

I thought PayQuicker was pretty much the same as PayPal, and you did not have to use PayQuicker's card if you didn't want it.

check the Oct 2 thread payquicker for a discussion on peoples thoughts on this. some good, some bad.

I like PayPal best, checks second, and direct deposit third. All three of these are completely acceptable to me. Like cindy55, I don't like the debit cards and won't sign up with PayQuicker. I haven't heard anything bad about PayQuicker in a while, so I may change my mind on that one someday......but not today! ......

DrSquash Wrote:
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> bgriffin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Why does PayPal charge you a fee for receiving
> > money? I receive money from my other business
> and
> > several MSCs both without paying a fee.
>
> If you upgraded to a Premier account to get the
> debit card they charge you a fee on every
> transaction. Stupid, but that's what they do.


Not true at all. I have 2 accounts, one personal, one business, both have debit cards, neither have a per transaction fee or a fee for receiving money.

I prefer direct deposit. PayPal is OK, but your money disappears into some black hole between when you request it withdrawn to your bank account and it actually shows up there! PayPal tries to tell you it's your bank, but I notice that when I need to pay for something and don't have enough in my PP account, they make an "immediate" withdrawal from my checking account. It shows up within seconds! So, when you take money out of PP, it takes days to make it into your bank account, but when you give money to them out of that same account, they have it immediately?

I have a business account with PP, but the MSCs must have their payments set up differently or something, because I've never been charged to receive a payment. But I sure get charged if a customer sends me a payment for merchandise!!!!!

I like PayPal, but I'm a little confused on timelines - one company stated that they pay on the 15th, but it hasn't shown in my account yet - not sure if that means they schedule it for the 15th and it takes longer for PayPal to send it to me, or what. I'm just recently back to shopping after a few years' hiatus, so it will take me a little while to get back into the pay cycles I guess! lol.

LA

I prefer Direct deposit, then PayPal, PayQuicker, then check. I have had absolutely no problems with either PayPal or PayQuicker other than the fact that when I withdraw my money it takes 3/4 days to show up in my account. Neither company charges me anything. I do not have debit cards with either PP or PQ, nor do I have a credit card with them. Most of the MSCs that I work for do the DD so not much goes into the other accounts. Only one MSC that I work for does the PQ thing so when they pay me I just immediately withdraw the funds.

I don't understand either why it takes so long to show up. I have a credit union account and credit card. When I transfer funds from my checking to the credit card to pay the cc bill it takes about 3 days before I see it. I once asked my credit union about that and was told they could "see" the transfer from their end immediately. In this day and age of computers I find that to be weird!

Direct deposit, paper check, paypal - in that order.

PayPal then direct deposit. Cheques gave you away at the bank, but I do not have a choice by a couple MSC.

I just love the fact that the two MSC's I do banks for pay me by checks, which I then deposit into bank accounts at the banks they shop. :/

KathyC Wrote:
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...
> You can avoid a fee by linking a credit card to
> your PayPal account, but there have been
> documented "hacks" to these accounts. PayPal
> denies this.

> I don't know whether PayPal offers
> direct deposit to a checking account at no fee,
> but there is no way that I would go in that
> direction. ...


What is the risk of connecting PayPal account with a bank account?
If I understand correctly PayPal offers free deposit to the bank account, so linking PayPal with the bank account looks like a good solution. But, I am new here and just opened PayPal. I already have some payments there from a few MSC and wander what is the best way to get that - shell I ask for a check or deposit that into my bank account?

I prefer PayPal. I've had PayPal long before I started mystery shopping, so using it is basically second nature to me. I dislike paper checks with a burning passion. Might be a generational thing though.

As for the fee that PayPal charges. I believe there is a normal processing fee for PayPal to transfer money from the MSC to the shopper's account. I think some MSCs account for that fee when they pay shoppers, while other MSCs give shoppers the option of paying that fee themselves or using an alternative payment method.

I am a Paypal fan. That being said, I prefer Paper Check, Paypal, other variety in that order. I love to get "good" mail.

I have two paypal accounts, each linked to at least one bank account and to a credit card. Never have had either account hacked (you have to know which e-mails aren't legit, though). And I do get charged when money is sent to me from people who buy things off my selling sites. Unless I get money sent to me as a gift, there's a fee deducted by PayPal. But I don't get charged a fee when I get a payment from an MSC into my PP account. I don't know why--maybe payment for goods incur a fee and payment for services don't? Or the MSCs have something set up with PP so that the shopper doesn't get hit with the fee....

I like checks the best! I agree with others that say it's fun getting mail money! Also, I like to support the postal service which doesn't have nearly the mail volume they used to because of things like PayPal and Direct Deposit. That being said, very few of the companies I have worked for allow a paper check option.

Direct deposit is my favorite because it is the fastest and there is no muss, no fuss. PayPal always get transferred to my bank account because it is so much easier for my records and it is fast, never the 3 to 5 days they say it may take. If you are doubting them it is time to talk to your bank. Some banks actually do take longer to credit those deposits. While rare, I have actually had PayPal transfers show up the next day if the transfer was initiated early in the morning. Most of the time it is the second business day.

Same for me, 2 days usually, next day if I do it REALLY early.

First Choice: Direct deposit. My money is there, no fee taken, and I can use it immediately.
Second Choice: Paypal. If I transfer more than $150 from it to my chequing account it is free. Less than that is $0.50/transaction.
Third Choice: Paper Cheques. I love finding them in my mailbox but when they are U.S. funds from U.S. banks my bank will hold the cheque for 15 business days if the amount is over $100. The funds are in my account, and taunt me when I check my account online but I can't access the money. For Canadian shoppers, this means an extra three weeks to the regular delay in payment. Fortunately, most of the companies I work with use PayPal.
But hey, money is money!

I like paypal and use it when it is an option. I have never had to pay a fee to get money transferred to my checking account. I can go into my account and look back a month or more to see what payments I have gotten and from whom. As for hacking and safety, I generally take my money out regularly and have it sent to my checking acct so it does not sit long. I think my mailbox which sits on the fence around my front yard is much more open to hacking than my paypal account. Should someone walk down the street and decide to reach into my mailbox it would cause countless hours to get that check reissued again from the msc. My checking account is in a major bank that will not give me access to online unless I go completely paperless so I don't find out who paid me for up to 45 days! when I finally get the paper statement I prefer. With so many emails every day I don't want important things like account info falling into my email account and getting lost under what seems like 5000 emails from msc and stores I am signed up with per day during the holiday season.

Sandy - Why would you not go paperless. I am set up electronically to pay bills, view my accounts, view my transactions, etc. AND as for statements l- if I want them I just print them out. To me, that's far safer than a paper statement in my mailbox for anyone to steal.

MSmichelle Wrote:
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> As for the fee that PayPal charges. I believe
> there is a normal processing fee for PayPal to
> transfer money from the MSC to the shopper's
> account. I think some MSCs account for that fee
> when they pay shoppers, while other MSCs give
> shoppers the option of paying that fee themselves
> or using an alternative payment method.

I just got my first payment by PayPal. I was assuming that there would be a PP commission. I know a while back I did a fundraising campaign via PayPal and there was a small amount deducted from each deposit for this. However, this time there was no deduction. I assume that the MSC is paying the commission. I haven't tried to transfer the money to my bank account yet, though. I will have to see if there is a charge there.

PayPal is the best for me, especially since the US$ exchange rate has improved here and the company I have been doing assignments for pays in US$. So, I can transfer the money into my US bank account and then take the money out here with my ATM card. My bank refunds any fees for taking the money out here.

However, I just signed up with some new companies today. One has an office here and doesn't work with PayPal. They only work with specific banks for direct deposit. The other option is to go to one of their bank branches and pick up what is called a Vale Vista here. it is kind of hard to explain, I guess it is sort of like a money order or something. You can cash it at the same bank once they give it to you. Fortunately, there is a branch of that bank near my house that is never very busy.

And, yes, I have read about those scams about companies sending money orders or cashiers checks prior to a project. I am sure that isn't the issue here since this is for payment after the work is done. Also, in Chile, those documents are a common payment because it is difficult for many people to get a checking account.