Letting buyers pay with credit cards or PayPal

Dan asked: Have you thought about letting buyers pay for the units with their credit cards or PayPal accounts?

Travis responded: Yes, we have thought about it; however, at this time, our attorneys feel that it's in everyone's best interest for the actual sale to take place at the storage facility. If the storage facility wants to accept a credit card or an alternate method of payment, that's entirely up to them.

In the future, once more states modify their lien laws, this may change.

UsedItNew responded: That makes sense for lien auctions. What about allowing those payment methods for private sales?


Travis responded: Offering online payment options for private sales would definitely be a convenience. The site is currently equipped to handle these transactions; however, the feature is disabled.

Private storage auctions are a new concept and we're doing our best to make them as safe and effective as possible. We have very little data about private sales and we're definitely learning and changing as we go.

Although we hope everyone will use our site honestly, there are always concerns about fraud. At this time though, we feel it's in everyone best interest for the financial transactions to take place in person. In the future, we would like to offer buyers the option to pay using Paypal. This will be the safest option for everyone.

Until then, you always have the option of using PayPal privately, although we do recommend that buyers inspect the unit thoroughly before making payment to ensure that it was accurately described.

Accepting Credit Cards with a mobile app like Square would be a good tool, but, do see the security risk from thieves or people calling the credit card companies to prevent payment.  Square does not have a withdrawal limit that I am aware of.

The downside that I have found with using Paypal is their fraud department.  If Paypal makes a decision it is final and there is no real cooperation or communication to work with the customers and the Paypal Account Holder.

Meeting in person and cash is always king in my opinion.

Sincerely,

JC