PayPal Finally Got Me, This May Be the End

[tozert]

I got an email from Paypal today. After 17 years, they discovered I sell pipes (and more recently tobacco), and gave me seven days to comply with their legal requirements and $500 merchant gateway fee, and I won't be able to. Pipes are now considered "tobacco products", and even if I take down my tobacco tin page, they still won't support the pipe side of things.

There is no other gateway merchant that supports this specific industry without going through the legal hoops. I've looked into WorldPay, Sage, TransferWise, Skrill, and a dozen others. This is just a hobby for me, and it's not worth the expense to legally set myself up to sell at a hobby level.

With no way to accept payments, I'm fearful this is the end of the road for my pipe making and consignment tin hobby. I would happy hear your thoughts if you have any ideas of how I can continue on.

-Paul Hubartt from Larrysson Pipes

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

There are numerous alternative methods for electronic payments these days. Set up a stripe account for example. Square is another. There are also alternatives to Paypal, can't remember the names, and electronic transfer is so easy. Hate to see you stop making pipes Paul, you're one of the best.

 

[BROBS]

VenMo?
Telegraph/Moneycorp?

 

[tozert]

Yes, true, but not for an e-commerce site like mine to integrate into my shopping cart system. I use shopify, and they have dozens of gateway merchants, none of which support tobacco related products. Paypal was the only one, and now they are wise to me!

 

[BROBS]

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[mikethompson]

In Canada you can just do direct deposit into your bank account. There must be something similar in the states.

 

[FurCoat]

I would opt for direct depoit into a business account

 

[Mr.Pink]

I would opt for direct depoit into a business account

Yeah. Should be like here. any bank will open a business account and integrate payments. I owned a cleaning company and had chase bank. they gave me a handheld payment machine and access to an online interface for credit cards.

 

[shanez]

CashApp?

 

[Mr.Pink]

look into this. I gave it a once over. I dont know the "hook" High-risk payment gateways | Tips | Merchant account advice - https://taskerpaymentgateways.com/

 

[kschatey]

There is a Shopify discussion titled "Am I allowed to sell tobacco products?" from 2017 that may be of interest since it is exactly about this topic; there are recent updates to it from July 2020 because others are having the problem as other payment gateways have changed their policies. You may want to watch the discussion for updates, but the better option may be to start looking for a new platform and payment portal although this issue for tobacco may become more and more commonplace. Ideally, you will probably need to setup an independent site with direct payment options (e.g. credit card, funds transfer) without using a third party payments processor.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I would list my product as Carved Wood Art. Set up a personal account at PayPal and take payments as friends and family only. There's many, many ways to work this out.

 

[jhowell]

Back in the day sellers of herb pipes used to get around the prohibition by advertising their pipes as "tobacco" pipes - just flip the script and list your pipes as "herb" pipes...

Or... "replacement stems with demonstration bowl..."

 

[Casual]

I foresee the global financial system tightening in the future. Many think that cryptocurrency will be the answer, although I fear that by the time it gets really successful with regular folks, that will just bring down the hammer on it. Crypto will work now, but it’s fiddly and beyond many people.

I don’t see any easy way to get around financial system or government moralizing. Let us know if you find anything.

 

[kola]

I use postal money orders. And I don't do Paypal

 

[mikestanley]

VenMo?
Telegraph/Moneycorp?

You essentially have to know AND trust the buyer or seller when you use Venmo. I was a Detective for a long time and Venmo was an easy vehicle for fraud with little in the way of "give a crap" from them.

Mike S.

 

[BROBS]

In Canada you can just do direct deposit into your bank account. There must be something similar in the states.

He’s in the UK

 

[Mr.Mike]

What other legal requirements are there? I can't afford artisan pipes but would be happy to donate 10 bucks towards the 500 fee to keep a Carver going and getting pipes out there. Is it a one time fee or annual?

 

[warren]

This is just a hobby for me, and it's not worth the expense to legally set myself up to sell at a hobby level.

You've already discovered the answer to your situation. Maybe it's time to consider operating your "hobby" in the clear. Get a business license, keep records, pay taxes, and etc. so you can pay for your "hobby" as a vendor of tobacco and pipes.

 

[STP]

Bitcoin... yeah, maybe not yet. Venmo, or similar...