Do you have a product that you want to market online but don't have a payment solution? then use PayPal to create a payment button! Its pretty simple: 1. Log into your PayPal account 2. Click on the Merchant Services tab 3. Click on the "Buy Now" button in the top left hand corner (please note that you may want to change the button type to "Add to Cart", "Donation", or "Subscription" after you start to create it) 4. Fill in the required information and create the button 5. Take the code and copy and paste it into your website Please note that the last step will require you to be familiar with HTML, or you will need to know where to paste it on your website. Some website design tools have an "Insert HTML Block" option, while others require you to go into the source code of the website and insert the HTML there. Also, if you want the button to function correctly, make sure that you have a Premier or Business account. Also be sure that you have a confirmed email address and bank account and or credit or debit card linked to the PayPal account. Just thought I'd include this information here in the event you might be wondering how this works. Its actually easier than you think...assuming you have the "building the website" part figured out!
Here is a video for those who still don't understand this process. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebyf3QSEjAw
Theres an even easier way to create paypal payment buttons, and thats with a piece of software called paylock generator, and it can be found for sale at any good downloads store.
It all depends on your familiarity with web design. I would agree that third party shopping carts are a better way to go if you know nothing about web design or where to paste the HTML code for the PayPal button. However, the method I described above takes about 30 seconds, so its pretty simple for most people.
For those who know how to quickly set up a pay now button it is pretty easy but for someone new who has no clue, it can be very hard and challenging. I had no clue a few years ago but now it is so simple.
Yes - Paypal is not something to be frightened of. It is definitely the simplest and quickest solution, especially if you are starting out, and they provide very good instructions. It also means you don't have to set up anything like a separate merchant account.
Agree with Mountainmom, if I can do it anyone can do it. I used paypal to get my first ebook up online and fast generating immediate income.
Just a quick edit to one of the steps above since PayPal sometimes changes the layout of your account. For most US based PayPal accounts, Step 3 should read as follows: Step 3: Click on Create Payment Buttons. The default layout will be a Buy Now button, but you can use the drop down menu to change it to an Add to Cart, Donation, or Subscription button. One other thing I will mention here is that if you need to email someone a payment link, or use a text link for your website, or a payment link for Facebook, look above the button code for two tabs. One says "Website", and the other one says "Email". You will see the email link code under the email tab. However, the email link will not be displayed if you use any customizations, such as drop down menus. Additionally, the email link code will not be available for Add to Cart buttons.
This is a very great guide but I think it's a;ways wise to stay away from paypal disputes by not selling directly through them. I prefer the third party payment websites, paypal can bbe nasty sometimes
You aren't ever going to get away from disputes or the possibility of a dispute when accepting credit cards online. A customer can always go back to their credit card company to dispute a charge, even if they legitimately made a purchase. Furthermore, fraud on the internet is HUGE, and there are crooks out there who steal credit card numbers to buy stuff online, and the owner of the credit card has the right to dispute unauthorized charges. No matter who your payment processor is, you are always going to have to be prepared for both disputes and chargebacks unless you can find a way to accept cash online. At least PayPal offers Seller Protection for physical products. Digital goods is a different story, of course, but you always have to leave a certain margin open for disputes, because they WILL happen, especially when dealing with digital goods.
