Any Ebayers Out there? Paypal Question

[KaiCee]

Does anyone know how Paypal works for sending money to someone? Here is my dilema. I have a childhood friend who has sent me the entire series of Nancy Drew mysteries in all versions (the ones published in the 1930's and the more recent versions). She has always refused to take money for the books...or even for the postage! She is on a very limited income. I crocheted her a blanket once as some sort of payment...but that's not nearly enough to really convey my appreciation.

Anyway, she sells stuff on ebay so I decide in my infinite wisdom to bid on one of her books for sale (a vintage edition of The Christmas Carol...cool, huh?). My plan was to bid a lot...really step up the bidding and if I won the item that would be nice. If someone outbid me that would be okay. My main goal was to get some cash into my childhood friends pocket anyway.

Unfortunately, I forgot that I had given my friend my ebay name years ago. So as soon as she saw my bid, she took the book off the auction and sent it to me for free!! This was definitely not my intention!

So, I want to send her money - in a form that she can't refuse. I don't want to put cash in the mail though. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Igotalife]

Get her paypal ID if you can and all you have to do is go into Paypal.com and send money to her ID from your bank account or credit card. Do you know what her paypal ID might be?

[J.D.]

Get her paypal ID if you can and all you have to do is go into Paypal.com and send money to her ID from your bank account or credit card. Do you know what her paypal ID might be?

What I first thought of was that paypal is just an anonymous bank account - I'll bet even with her screen name you could send it, or there are all kinds of ways to go "private". I'm sure where money coming in, they'll be glad to help. Or you could re-register using a new screen name.

[John]

You can send money through PayPal to any e-mail address, whether or not they have an account. The problem is getting the money out. That person would have to create an account, and verify their bank account, to withdraw the money.

[KaiCee]

You can send money through PayPal to any e-mail address, whether or not they have an account. The problem is getting the money out. That person would have to create an account, and verify their bank account, to withdraw the money.

Thanks everyone. I have a Paypal account and I assume she does too, since she sells on ebay and accepts Paypal. I didn't realize you could send money to an email account, John. I will check that out...hopefully they won't charge her a big fee to receive it.

The second Ebay screen name is a good idea too...next time she auctions something off I could use that name and have her ship it to my daughter's house or something. That would keep me pretty annonymous.

[keemameelia]

She could also cancel or refuse the payment once she sees it's from you.

What about sending her a gift certificate to a store or home improvement center? Like a gift for a gift? She may be more willing to accept that.

[phat32]

If you know where she likes to shop, why not purchase a gift card/gift certificate in a fair amount, write a thank-you note, and slip the gift card into the thank-you card?

If she returns that, too, then I would simply not make too much more of it. Just keep the items and say "Thank you" again. Just my two cents.

[Edited to say: I just saw the response above mine. Great minds think alike, I guess. ]

[keemameelia]

Thank you very much for the props. Love the Peeps. And as long as we're at it, good idea on just dropping it with a "Thanks so much" if she doesn't accept the certificate.

[Marleybone]

Paypal charges a fee for accepting payment unless you have a basic account which has some restrictions. Most people who sell on ebay have the premier accounts which charge the fees, otherwise you can't accept credit cards and you can only accept up to $100 at a time. Keemameelia is right too, she can decline to accept the payment so your best bet might be to just drop her something in the mail.

[applesauce]

I may be wrong but if you send money through paypal, your name will show up at some point whether it's on a statement or something. Wouldn't it? Have you thought about send an American Express gift card. They can be ordered online at their website and sent directly to the recipient. The only problem is that since it is in the form of a credit card with their name on it, there is a fee of $25.00 or so to get one made....but I don't think there is a fee with the AMEX gift cheques. Just a thought. Good luck with helping your friend KaiCee.