I work for lots of different companies that pay me via PayPal.

For the first time I am dealing with a company that is charging me a fee for pay me via PayPal even though they don’t offer any other method of payment. I was charged a $0.49USD fee on $5USD. I rechecked my agreement but fees were never mentioned. They won’t answer any of my emails or messages. Has this happened to anyone?

On a similar topic using a new to me MSC app I decided to take a little job to see how it all works. They list all their jobs with payments. So I accepted a little job for $3USD (as I didn’t have to leave my house) and they paid me $2.26USD. When I asked them about the difference they stated since I live in Canada they will only pay me the equivalent to $3 Canadian not $3USD, even though they list all their fees in USD. Is this common practice? I usually love working for companies that pay $USD because it’s worth more to me in Canada.

I am sometimes charged a fee, but it's 1%. The $0.49 is practically 10%.

And the company that paid in Canadian?

Heck....leave 'em both in the dust. You're obviously an experienced shopper with many more options.

Yep, it happened to me the last time I did a shop for Skilcheck. A paper check mailed to you was free, but they did deduct a Paypal fee if you went that route. This was last year, so hopefully things have changed. I was surprised, as I had never seen an MSC charge for PayPal payments like that. I’m in the U.S.

I have seen the PayPal fee charged to the shopper before and I have seen odd PayPal amounts when MSCs tried to guesstimate how much extra they would need to send in order for me to get the fee promised. If what you receive is enough to justify the job (regardless of what you originally thought you would receive) it may make sense to continue with the company and just adjust your records of fees accordingly.

Many accountants evidently still don't know what to do with a PayPal fee. They are perfectly happy expensing stamps, envelopes and check blanks. They understand that having checks cut is either done by a salaried person or an outside vendor, so they know where those expenses go. But some of them can't figure out what to do with the fee. I have seen a 1099 where the PayPal fee was passed along to me as if it was money paid to me. Would they ever have the thought of charging me for the stamp, envelope or check for a payment by mail? I suspect currency exchange fees are also a mystery to many accountants.

There is little hope in persuading an MSC that their handling payment is erroneous. What you will hear is, "That is how my accountant told me to do it." They certainly won't appreciate the suggestion that they find a competent accountant. So time to give a shoulder shrug and given the circumstances, is continuing to work for the MSC interesting?

I recently did a pizza shop where the flat fee gave me a few bucks left over (not much, but I wanted the pizza, anyway). The MSC deducted the PayPal fee from my fee, which surprised me because I don't recall them doing that before. (Maybe they have, but I don't remember.). In any event, I won't do that shop again unless there's a bonus. As little as the PP fee was, it put enough of a dent in the meager profit that the job wasn't worth it.

Wasn't it Second to None that charged $1 to pay you by Paypal? (hope I have the company name correct)

Paypal fees are tricky and not in a good way.

PayPal charges a 1% fee for same day transfers.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

PayPal charges a 1% fee for same day transfers.

This was not a same day transfer fee. This was a 10% PayPal fee grrr

I did make the argument with the company that they get to save all kinds of money by contracting work out to Gig Economy workers instead of paying employee benefits and such. I stated for the hundreds of companies for whom I do work that his is the only one that ever has charged me to pay me. So him putting the PayPal payment on to me definitely is not industry standard. They do not offer any other means of payment so i have to accept PayPal and have been told i will be the one to eat the charge. When I said the company makes far more off the task than I (making only $5) so why would they pass the charge on to me, I was told that I made more than the company did on that task (which in my opinion is total BS.) I "argued" eloquently enough that the charge is being compensated to me. But I won't work for them again with having to pay to get my pay. Ridiculous.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2019 06:28PM by middleclassmom.

@Flash wrote:

Many accountants evidently still don't know what to do with a PayPal fee. They are perfectly happy expensing stamps, envelopes and check blanks. They understand that having checks cut is either done by a salaried person or an outside vendor, so they know where those expenses go. But some of them can't figure out what to do with the fee. I have seen a 1099 where the PayPal fee was passed along to me as if it was money paid to me. Would they ever have the thought of charging me for the stamp, envelope or check for a payment by mail? I suspect currency exchange fees are also a mystery to many accountants.

I expense it as a bank fee

@middleclassmom wrote:

I expense it as a bank fee

It is precisely that. I've done it as that for years.

I still think the MSC should take responsibility for it however, if they offer just one way to pay. That's just a small time, short sighted move. Especially if the ICA does not state this will happen. It's basically just theft. Take it to small claims (if it's worth it to you) or report it to the DA.

Not sure if this is still the case but a few years ago when I opened up my account incorrectly as a business instead of an individual the fee was a combination of a smallish flat amount plus a percentage. Since I was collecting fees of only $5 from the members of my group the flat fee part was 10%. They advised me to change to an individual personal acct since I was way below the minimum transactions per year to qualify as a business account. So bottom line, a small fee will get a much larger deduction percentage wise than a large fee.
The msc may not have even thought this out and only looked at the fees as a percentage of everything they pay out. But as Flash recommends you need to decide if it is still worth it to you to do the job for the lower net fee.

@middleclassmom wrote:

So him putting the PayPal payment on to me definitely is not industry standard.

The key words here are Industry Standard. No other MSC that I know of passes the Paypal fees off to the shopper, and it's not our problem if they haven't negotiated enough profit in the deal to make that work.

They should disclose in advance if this is the case, and agreed...it's ridiculous. Same with a US company paying you the Canadian equivalent. That's just BS.

Put them on the 10-meter pole list!...or is it just a 3.48 meter pole like we have here?

@SteveSoCal wrote:

They should disclose in advance if this is the case, and agreed...it's ridiculous. Same with a US company paying you the Canadian equivalent. That's just BS.

Agreed!

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Put them on the 10-meter pole list!...or is it just a 3.48 meter pole like we have here?

haha

I would not just rule out a company because they haven't worked out the angles. A number of companies are very small--perhaps one person at their kitchen table. Those gals/guys are often splendid to work with (and occasionally I can't get my sneakers tied quickly enough to run away from). This is all part of the 'art' of mystery shopping. You learn what does and doesn't work for you, whether it is pay, personalities, persnicketies or interest of shops.

@Flash wrote:

This is all part of the 'art' of mystery shopping. You learn what does and doesn't work for you, whether it is pay, personalities, persnicketies or interest of shops.

insightful. thanks

Good points @Flash, and the Paypal debacle could be attributed to a lack of understanding, and it sounds like the MSC was willing to make up the difference.

The payment in CAD when the job was quoted in USD would not be excusable to me, however, but sounds like that might be a different MSC.

@middleclassmom wrote:

I did make the argument with the company that they get to save all kinds of money by contracting work out to Gig Economy workers instead of paying employee benefits and such.

So, you make an effort to tell companies that they should avoid paying benefits like health insurance. Sounds like the race to the bottom. Don’t you think people deserve traditional ‘middle class’ benefits for working hard for 40 hours a week?

Book inquires--Don’t you think people deserve traditional ‘middle class’ benefits for working hard for 40 hours a week?

Bob replies--No, as it applies to self-employed independent contractors. As to employees, as my last was the U.S. Navy from which I was discharged in Oct. of 1963, I am unable to objectively answer that question.

@Book wrote:

So, you make an effort to tell companies that they should avoid paying benefits like health insurance. Sounds like the race to the bottom. Don’t you think people deserve traditional ‘middle class’ benefits for working hard for 40 hours a week?

I believe the OP is in Canada so the health insurance benefit would not be an issue.

The other point with the gig economy is that a majority of shoppers like me have medical coverage from our main jobs, and MSing is our side gig, side hustle...whatever you want to call it.

Whenever I explain it to people and they ask if it pays well, my standard answer now is, "Better than Uber!"

This is kind of off-topic, but also an interesting point; MSing in 2019 and the associated payment style, has become somewhat standard for the current economy. I can recall conversations here from probably 9 years ago where this style of employment had many (including me) outraged at it, as it seemed unfair. Flash always seemed to have a better understanding of the economic trends and definitely helped me understand how MSing fits in to earnings, taxes and the like.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The other point with the gig economy is that a majority of shoppers like me have medical coverage from our main jobs, and MSing is our side gig, side hustle...whatever you want to call it

@SteveSoCal you make some good points. Sorry for going off topic.

The trend is more ‘gig’ work and less stability in employment. I understand some people like the flexibility but for most people a regular pay check and benefits works best.

Of course, having both a full time job and side income revenue streams is ideal for a lot of people.

@Book; My understanding of MSing is that it was initially designed to supplement income, or be a part-time job for stay-at-home parents. I personally think that's how it works best. It was far ahead of the gig economy in offering piece work and electronic payments. I started when the economy was booming and saw a lot of changes through the recession a decade ago.

There are some who make it work full-time I have a lot of respect for them. I tried it long ago and could not get by on shopping alone, and pay was better back then...even if rates were the same. $15 went a lot further in 2002.....

@Book wrote:

@middleclassmom wrote:

I did make the argument with the company that they get to save all kinds of money by contracting work out to Gig Economy workers instead of paying employee benefits and such.

So, you make an effort to tell companies that they should avoid paying benefits like health insurance. Sounds like the race to the bottom. Don’t you think people deserve traditional ‘middle class’ benefits for working hard for 40 hours a week?

My point was that since the company is enjoying the economic benefit of using Gig Workers at significant cost savings versus hired employees that at least he could do was to pick up the $0.50 tab to pay his Gig Workers instead of being a cheap a$$. (Of course I did not say it in those terms but it was essentially my point lol.) I would like to see the look on his face if every time a company for whom he provided services charged him $0.50 to send him a cheque/etransfer as I’m sure he would be none too pleased.

All that being said the company sent me back the payment fee. I am $0.49USD richer tonight, folks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2019 05:09AM by middleclassmom.

Name these companies charging a PayPal fee.

Skilcheck did last year. I found out when I received payment.

Second to None deducts $1 "from the total monthly payment" for shoppers choosing PayPal. So it sounds like if you do more than one job for them during a single pay period, they charge you just the $1, but I've rarely ever done more than one shop in a month, so I'm better off switching to direct deposit with them.