PayPal is the internet's most popular method of paying for goods and services online. It makes paying for things as easy as signing in and sending an e-mail. If you trade in Buy & Sell, you will find that the majority of users accept of prefer PayPal as a payment service.

This FAQ post will cover some of the most basic questions about PayPal. For additional help, PayPal's own Help Center is very easy to use, and usually provides good answers.

Signup Requirements
- Must be 18 years of age
- Must be a citizen of one of the following countries: Anguilla, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom.
- Must have a valid e-mail address.

Signing Up For A New Account
Signing up for a PayPal account is easy, and is relativly hassle-free. The account can be cancelled later on if you ever decide you don't want it anymore.

- Go to the PayPal homepage: http://www.paypal.com
- Click the yellow "Sign Up For A New Accout Box".
- On the next screen, select your country under the PERSONAL ACCOUNT button and click continue. Business accounts are useful for people who make a living trading online, but not to the average user. There are extra fees involved with business accounts.
- Fill in all of your personal info. PayPal is secure and does not give it away. If you fill in fake information, this will make things incredibly complicated when you buy and sell online.
- When you get to the e-mail step, MAKE SURE YOU USE A VALID E-MAIL. Free accounts like hotmail are allowed.
- When choosing a password, MAKE IT UNIQUE. Do NOT make it the same as your Xbox-Scene password, or your e-mail account password, for example. Use at LEAST 7 digits: numbers and letters, punctuation, and varying upper and lower case. Write this password down and store it somewhere safe in your own home if you can't remember it.
- Choose good secret answer questions. Try and pick the ones that people are least likely to know about you.
- Click "No" for "would you like this to be a premier account". You can always change this later. Read more about it on PayPal's Help Center.
- Accept both agreements, but I strongly reccomend reading them. They are summarized in the post below.
- Enter your security code and sign up.

Activating Your Account
Within a few minutes or a few hours you will recieve a confrimation letter in your e-mail. Click the link to finish signing up.

IMPORTANT: A genuine PayPal link will always begin with https://www.paypal.com/. Do NOT accidentally give your signin info to another site!!

Signing into your account
- go to the PayPal homepage.
- Type your e-mail address and PayPal account password in the boxes on the left hand side of the page.
- There is always some sort of "greeter" ad when you sign in - usually you can just click the "Go To My Account" button. When you have a new account, some of these greeter messages can be important, so it doesn't hurt to read them.
- When signed it, PayPal displays your current account balance. It also displays all recent activity at the bottom. Navigate through the menus at the top and read all the different options.

More Stuff you should do
- Add a credit card or a bank account. An account without a debit or credit card confirmed to it can only RECEIVE money. All countries can add credit cards but not all can add debit cards.
- Confirm your credit card or bank account. PayPal has numberous prompts for this that are hard to miss when signing in, so I won't explain them.

Sending Money
- Log into your account
- Click the "Send Money" tab at the top of the page.
- Enter the recipients PayPal e-mail address.
- Enter the amount of money to send, as well as the currency (USD, CAD, etc). It should be noted that most people who use PayPal deal in US funds. Make sure you know how much to pay, and in what currency before you send money.
- Select what you are paying for. Usually "Goods".
- IMPORTANT: PayPal does NOT support trading of MODCHIPS through their service. If you decide to enter a description, use something vague like "Xbox parts" or "Computer chip".
- Click "continue"
- The next screen is the final screen you will see before the money is sent. Review the information carefully. PayPal will tell you WHERE the funds are being sent from.
- If you are purchasing something that is not physical, and will be traded via e-mail (like an EEPROM or an Xbox Live Subscription) you can click "No shipping address required".
- If everything looks fine, click Send Money. ONLY CLICK IT ONCE, or you might be charged twice!



I don't know what other kind of information people want me to post here.. so if you have an account question, POST IT IN THIS THREAD (no PMs please) and I will answer it. Also try using PayPal's help service.

PayPal's most important points from thier policy. If you decide not to read the whole policy.. please at least read these points:

This agreement is taken from PayPal's Terms of Service which was last updated on February 13, 2004.

If you do not agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement, please do not use or access our Services.

By accepting this Agreement, you also agree that your use of other PayPal websites and Services will be governed by the terms and conditions posted on those websites.

1. Eligibility. Service is not available to minors (under 18), persons who are suspended from our Service, or to persons who present an unacceptable level of credit risk.

2. The Legal Relationship between You and PayPal.

You acknowledge that (i) PayPal is not a bank and the Service is a payment processing service rather than a banking service, and (ii) PayPal is not acting as a trustee, fiduciary or escrow with respect to your funds, but is acting only as an agent and custodian.

You agree that you will not receive interest or other earnings on the funds that PayPal handles as your agent.

By initiating and sending payments through the Service or adding funds to your balance, you appoint PayPal as your agent to obtain the funds on your behalf and to transfer the funds to the recipient that you designate or to a Pooled Account, subject to the terms and restrictions of this Agreement.

By receiving payments through the Service, you appoint PayPal as your agent to cause the funds to be deposited on your behalf in the Pooled Accounts until you further instruct PayPal with respect to the transmission of your funds.

2.2 We do not have any control over the products or services that are paid for with our Service. We cannot ensure that a buyer or a seller you are dealing with will actually complete the transaction.

2.3 Identity Authentication. We use many techniques to identify our users when they register on our site. Verification of Users is only an indication of increased likelihood that a User's identity is correct. You authorize PayPal, directly or through third parties, to make any inquiries we consider necessary to validate your registration. This may include ordering a credit report and performing other credit checks or verifying the information you provide against third party databases. PayPal cannot and does not guarantee any user's identity.

2.4 Release. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more users, you release PayPal (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from any and all claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. (if someone scams you, PayPal is NOT responsible)

2.5 No Warranty. PayPal shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that requests for electronic debits and credits involving bank accounts, credit cards, and check issuances are processed in a timely manner and but we make no representations or warranties regarding the amount of time needed to complete processing because our

2.6 Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, EMPLOYEES OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH OUR WEB SITE, OUR SERVICE, OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE). Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS LIMITED TO THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF DIRECT DAMAGES.

2.7 Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold PayPal, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors and employees harmless from any claim or demand (including attorneys' fees) made or incurred by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of this Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party relating to your use of the Service.

Non-U.S. Users in some countries may not use the Service to receive payments, and may only use the Service to send payments. These countries are designated on the PayPal Non-U.S. Accounts page. If you are an Non-U.S. User, you warrant that you are violating no law or regulation by your use of PayPal.

5. Receiving Payments.

5.1 Credit Card Funded Payments. The only accounts that can receive credit card funded payments are Premier and Business Accounts. Personal Accounts that receive credit card funded payments may accept the payment by upgrading to a Premier or Business Account, or they will have to deny the payment. Personal Accounts may receive non-credit card funded payments for free.

5.3 Withdrawals. In order to withdraw money from your PayPal account we require you to provide PayPal with a number of forms of identification as further described and protected in our Privacy Policy. We require this information to authenticate your identity and to determine how much you may withdraw from your account per month. We may limit withdrawals and require additional information from you depending upon your location (U.S. or international), credit rating, and other factors.

6. Sending Payments.

6.1 Sending Payments. In order to send payments through our Service we require you to provide PayPal with a number of forms of identification as further described and protected in our Privacy Policy. We require this information to authenticate your identity and to determine how much you may send with your account.

6.4 Electronic Transfers. When you make a payment through PayPal that is funded with Instant Transfer or eCheck, and when you initiate an "Add Funds" transaction you are requesting an electronic transfer from your bank account. Upon such request, PayPal will make electronic transfers via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system from your U.S. bank account in the amount you specify. You agree that such requests constitute your authorization for such transfers. PayPal will never make transfers from your bank account without your authorization. PayPal provides you protection against unauthorized withdrawals from your bank account under the terms of the Electronic Fund Transfer Rights and Error Resolution Policy below.

7. Your Information and Restricted Activities

7.1 Definition. "Your Information" is defined as any information you provide to us or other users in the registration, payment process, stores or other features of our Service. You are solely responsible for Your Information, as we act as a passive conduit for your online distribution and publication of Your Information.

7.2 Restricted Activities. (summary: if you fuck around, you will be fucked yourself. Read the whole thing at PayPal.com)

7.3 PayPal will use and protect Your Information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.


9. Privacy and Security. Our current Privacy Policy is available at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p...privacy-outside. If you object to your information being transferred or used in this way, please do not use our Services.

10. Termination or Closing Your Account. You may close your account at any time by clicking the "Close Account" link in your Profile on the PayPal website. Upon closure of an account, any pending transactions will be cancelled and any balances associated with Redemption Codes (for points programs such as eBay Anything Points) will be forfeited. Any funds that we are holding in custody for you at the time of closure, less any applicable fees, will be paid to you by check, assuming all withdrawal related authentication requirements have been fulfilled (for example, you may not use closure of your account as a means of evading withdrawal limits on new Unverified users).

11. Remedies and PayPal's Right to Collect From You. (summary: if there is proof that you are abusing your account, PayPal reserves the right to TAKE FROM YOUR ACCOUNT without your permission. This can include charging your bank or credit card. Read more about it in the full policy).