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So, paypal (commission related info)
10 years ago
According to foxwolfie in the comments, this information is incorrect! So I jumped the gun. That said, I'm still going to be more careful, so everything I said I'm going to do still applies. Sorry for any confusion!
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So apparently Paypal has a new rule where if they find out someone's circumventing their fees by receiving payments as gifts instead of goods and services they will fine the recipient $2,500.
That said, from now on, if anyone commissioning me ever sends me a payment as a gift I will be refunding it immediately and asking them to send it again, correctly. Prior to this, my commissioners know that I try and make sure everyone sends payments the correct way (I include instructions on how exactly a payment should be sent in every commission note), but if they've done it wrong I very rarely say anything. But, now that I could potentially get fucked hard if someone misses that step, I'm gonna have to be MUCH more strict about it.
Just throwing that out there! This is especially relevant to those of you who send payment as gifts intentionally, which I know there are a few of you out there that do. Don't! Because you could potentially RUIN somebody.
That's all! Thanks for reading.
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So apparently Paypal has a new rule where if they find out someone's circumventing their fees by receiving payments as gifts instead of goods and services they will fine the recipient $2,500.
That said, from now on, if anyone commissioning me ever sends me a payment as a gift I will be refunding it immediately and asking them to send it again, correctly. Prior to this, my commissioners know that I try and make sure everyone sends payments the correct way (I include instructions on how exactly a payment should be sent in every commission note), but if they've done it wrong I very rarely say anything. But, now that I could potentially get fucked hard if someone misses that step, I'm gonna have to be MUCH more strict about it.
Just throwing that out there! This is especially relevant to those of you who send payment as gifts intentionally, which I know there are a few of you out there that do. Don't! Because you could potentially RUIN somebody.
That's all! Thanks for reading.
You are liable to PayPal for the amount of damages caused by a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy. That is considered to be a minimum of $2,500.00 USD per violation.
However, using the gift (personal payment) option is not a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy. It is only a violation of the User Agreement. The user agreement says this about personal payments (which is what the gift option is):
4. Receiving Money.
4.1 Receiving Personal Payments. If you are selling goods or services, you may not ask the buyer to send you a Personal Payment for the purchase. If you do so, PayPal may remove your ability to accept Personal Payments.
This rule has not changed. If you abuse the gift option, they will usually just block the option for you. If it appears, from your past actions, that you are intentionally abusing the option, they might temporarily freeze your account. The $2,500 fine is only for activities that specifically violate the Acceptable Use Policy. That's for stuff like dealing with narcotics, stolen goods, ammunition, firearms, money laundering, terrorism, etc. The gift option does not violate that one. Even so, if you don't want the risk of having your account frozen, or having your receiving options reduced, don't abuse the gift option.
For anyone who is not aware, commissions are always considered to be business transactions. Gifts are personal transactions. There is no overlap. Never select personal/gift when paying for a commission. The gift option is for things like sending money to your mother for her birthday, or other personal things, where nothing is expected in return.
It is not a problem if a buyer happens to mention DA, FA, IB, etc. It is not a problem if a buyer mentions art, commissions or the word furry. It is a problem when a buyer reveals that they are buying porn or adult stuff.
When giving your PayPal address to any buyer, It's a good idea to remind them to not use the gift option, and to not mention adult/porn topics in a PayPal note. If someone does either of those, just refuse the payment, and tell the person why.