PayPal To Regretsy: Sorry About Denying Donations

PayPal, known for making giving as easy as a click of a button, tried to stop a group of donors from adding charity to their online shopping carts this week.

PayPal demanded that Regretsy, an Etsy parody site, return its recent donations garnered to provide Christmas presents for disadvantaged kids. Though Regretsy functions primarily as a humor blog that mocks unfortunate-looking items on the craft site Etsy, it also allows Etsy sellers to donate their products to charity -- and even to other sellers in need.

PayPal froze the fund, saying the money was generated using a "Donate" button and not the "Buy Now" or "Shopping Cart" buttons.

The Internet payment platform requires users accepting donations to provide documentation of nonprofit status and proof that money is going to benefit an actual charity.

But the Internet quickly unleashed its fury, with people posting comments on PayPal's Facebook page stating that they were deleting their account "ASAP."

PayPal released a statement Monday, saying it was working with Regretsy on fixing the issue and would even donate to the kids' Christmas fund:

Though we can’t comment specifically on the account due to our privacy policy, we can confirm that the funds have been released and we are working directly with the account holder on this matter. Just like anyone else, we believe strongly in helping those in need, especially around the holiday season. We are working with Regretsy to make a donation to help their cause, and we’re truly sorry this occurred.

However, April Winchell, who runs Regretsy, said that PayPal hasn't actually contacted her yet:

In the meantime, Paypal has issued a statement saying they have made a donation and they are working with me, but I have not spoken to anyone yet. I will let you know when I do.

And I would also like to say that I did not expect this kind of global outpouring of support, and I truly believe that had you not all made your voices heard, no one from Paypal would have ever felt compelled to make this right. There is no real support or appreciation for the consumer anymore. The customer is always wrong.

http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/06/breaking-news/

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Comments

[John Dillingerr]

05:36 PM on 12/09/2011

all the losers on here crying about paypal and ebay ripping them off are failed bay sellers.

they cant sell their junk anywhere else but ebay,and that is just too doggone bad.

without ebay and paypal you could not supplement your welfare check

now go try to pawn your junk in the driveway,losers.

[Alexander Muniz]

01:20 PM on 12/21/2011

You tell them how it is... This one is definitely gonna earn you a big bonus... you are a PR genius

[lily]

10:24 AM on 12/08/2011

PayPal is one of the most evil companies on the face of the earth.

[John Dillingerr]

06:17 PM on 12/09/2011

let me guess.you got caught running a scam

[Alexander Muniz]

01:19 PM on 12/21/2011

I see top management material in you

[Morgan Stubblefield]

04:17 PM on 12/07/2011

I sold clothes on ebay for years and supported myself through college with it, until ebay bought paypal. Suddenly there were huge rules on what titles could be- what you could and couldn't sell, and TRIPLE fees. That means for the seller there's a listing fee, a final value fee of the item, AND a Paypal fee based on how much the item sells for. So ebay makes 3 fees per item, and now you have to use paypal. I lost so much money with them, and suddenly I owe them money and you can't fight it.

[John Dillingerr]

06:18 PM on 12/09/2011

Amazon has been charging just as much for years.

pay your fees,deadbeat

[Alexander Muniz]

01:18 PM on 12/21/2011

Great response.... this one is sure to earn you a promotion

[paid trawler]

01:45 PM on 12/07/2011

paypal is a felonious crooked thieving organization

[John Dillingerr]

06:18 PM on 12/09/2011

prove it.

[jvabevofox]

05:45 AM on 12/10/2011

Prove they ain't!

[Joe Mando]

08:45 AM on 12/07/2011

BEWARE of PayPal -- They are NOT YOUR "PAL".

If you are making high dollar transactions you can lose your item AND your money. Unless you have EXTENSIVE proof that you shipped, and buyer received, you can be taken advantage of in almost any & every transaction situation. Here's how:

If the buyer claims they paid for an item they did not receive -- they can simply go to the online PayPal "Dispute" form and stake their claim against you. Even if they did receive said item!!

Unless you have every requirement of proof to send to PayPal in defense of your case, YOUR MONEY IS GONE (as well as the item you shipped). Once the dispute claim is filed, and the very short amount of time for you to respond expires, PayPal TAKES YOUR MONEY FROM YOUR ACCOUNT without any human contact.

If you're making high value transactions via PayPal -- send registered mail and/or get written proof of shipping/receiving. Otherwise you'll go to your PayPal account one day and find your money was refunded to the snake who wrongfully & willfully disputed the otherwise honest transaction on your part.

My loss was merely a $55 value -- by a guy who gave 'Positive Feedback' on eBay -- and disputed the transaction and won!

BTW: "Human Contact" with the dispute department at PayPal is only possible via a lawyer or similar authority. Consider yourself warned.

[John Dillingerr]

06:10 PM on 12/09/2011

you are a liar.
you can call paypal,the 800 number is right on the website.

[Alexander Muniz]

01:18 PM on 12/21/2011

you are doing great

[John Dillingerr]

06:19 PM on 12/09/2011

it says right in their rules that you need to get a "signature confirmation" of delivery if the purchase is over $250.

if you didn't,then it's your problem.

[Alexander Muniz]

01:17 PM on 12/21/2011

Wow... keep going... you are doing great buddy... don't let anything like "customer service" get in the way...

Wow... I guess you must be with PayPal's Public Relation and Customer Resolution­s department­... no wonder they treat people like crap.

[darcysark]

08:33 AM on 12/07/2011

People are so stupid. If it's right there in black and white..."The Internet payment platform requires users accepting donations to provide documentation of nonprofit status and proof that money is going to benefit an actual charity"...why think they're above the law or policy? Seems like a no-brainer.

[finette]

09:40 AM on 12/07/2011

Yes, it's right there in black and white...in an erroneous Huffington Post article. PayPal confirmed to April yesterday that you do NOT need to be a registered nonprofit in order to use the Donate button, and that they were only suspicious in the first place because of the rate at which donations were coming in.

[Mickey7]

09:19 AM on 12/08/2011

If this is an actual policy, which no one can seem to verify as they say different things in different sections of their own policy, they are awfully selective in enforcement.

The really creepy thing is that they kept all the transaction fees on the original donations and charged a fee for processing the returns. After telling the site they needed to use the shopping cart feature instead of donate, they then disputed (selectively) the nature of the items available to add to the cart, telling them that 'mystery gifts' were not acceptable--at least not for Regretsy, everyone else can sell them. They forced the site to return all of those purchases, as well and charged fees on both ends of the transaction--again. They made a bunch of money by denying charitable gifts to poor kids. Then they froze Regretsy's account.

This is SOP for them, its just that this time they pulled their shenanigans on someone who had the ability to mobilize an online counterattack. April heard from execs at PayPal (who claimed a single rep had misunderstood the policy) only because this case started making headlines. Wonder who runs their PR department. Snidely Whiplash?

[dframpton93]

08:22 AM on 12/07/2011

EVERYONE, PLEASE DELETE YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNTS! IM 19 AND HAVE HAD OVER $200 STOLEN FROM ME BY PAYPAL AS THEYVE FROZEN MY ACCOUNTS WITH EBAY FOR NO REASON!

SELL ON AMAZON.COM
YOU MAY GET $3 LESS BUCKS ON YOUR SALE BUT YOU'LL BE SUPPORTING A FAIR WEBSITE!

[John Dillingerr]

06:11 PM on 12/09/2011

give it a break.
it's your fault you didnt document your transaction properly

quit blaming paypal because youre a lazy ebay seller..

[Alexander Muniz]

01:16 PM on 12/21/2011

Wow... I guess you must be with PayPal's Public Relation and Customer Resolutions department... no wonder they treat people like crap.

[jvabevofox]

07:48 AM on 12/07/2011

It slays me to watch ebay commercials. Need a new phone buy it now on ebay it is quick and easy and then wait 1 or 2 weeks to get your phone. Ebays paypal only policy should be illegal. I sold for years on ebay and never had one problem with getting paid. Then they started there paypal only payments I decided enough was enough. By the time you pay the ebay fees then the paypal fees and the fact they can freeze your account any time they feel like it is just to much to deal with. Paypal will use any lame excuse they can to hold your money as long as they can.

[John Dillingerr]

06:14 PM on 12/09/2011

quit using ebay and paypal as an excuse for you being a bad seller

also,you can accept money orders and checks from buyers on ebay,as long as they ask you.

dont listen to these whiners.

most of them got kicked off of ebay because they were bad sellers.

[jvabevofox]

05:48 AM on 12/10/2011

Does your daddy own paypal and you get your allowance from him?

[Alexander Muniz]

01:22 PM on 12/21/2011

Yes, you are better than us... and you know it!

Yeah, they must be thieves... I will listen to you... what else should be think or feel?

[jvabevofox]

07:35 AM on 12/07/2011

Paypal is a huge scam they have a fee for anything and everything and needs STIFF regulations.

[Jecca Vee]

06:45 AM on 12/07/2011

Problem is, according to Paypal's own policies... you *don't* need to have nonprofit status. Paypal allows you to use it to collect for charitable causes, not just charitable organizations. Site owners use donate buttons to collect money to cover their bandwidth, and people use them to collect money to help pay for veterinary bills, among other things... none of which are attached to an actual nonprofit.

[cccoyote]

03:25 AM on 12/07/2011

Oh Calcutta - the trials and tribulations of outsourced "US" companies.

[Sorenson]

02:29 AM on 12/07/2011

Is it any coincidence that Paypal's CEO also happens to be a raging hardcore Libertarian? I think not.

[mutopis]

02:19 AM on 12/07/2011

PayPal froze the fund, saying the money was generated using a "Donate" button and not the "Buy Now" or "Shopping Cart" buttons.

Let me guess, PayPal is run by Mr. Grinch and its VP is Mr. Scrooge.

[eliteproxy]

01:39 AM on 12/07/2011

PayPal has zero regulations. They are not like a bank, so they can pretty much tell you, sorry we are freezing your money.

We sell products online, we used PayPal Payment Pro to process the orders within the first 2 weeks we had about 80,000 in our account when we tried to transfer paypal locked the account for 6 months! even though we showed proof all items delivered etc.. caused a huge issue with our supplier.

the convenience is not even close to worth the risk with PayPal

[John Dillingerr]

06:15 PM on 12/09/2011

you got caught doing something wrong.

[Alexander Muniz]

01:23 PM on 12/21/2011

Yeah that is why... Oh PayPal superior master, please show us the way

[mikesw]

12:34 AM on 12/07/2011

Have they stopped their blockade of Wikileaks too?

[smoker]

08:43 AM on 12/07/2011

No. Because they claim that the State Dept has declared WIkileaks is illegal. The State Dept has not, only suggested that it is and no one from Wikileaks has yet been charged. Yet, they'll happily collect on behalf of News Corp, which has admitted to illegal acts, their officers are in jail and their owner is wringing his hands, crying and saying "sorry".