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Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

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Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#61
post #59

Hey, I'm the CEO at Paddle.com (mentioned in your initial post). Wondering what we can be doing to make withdrawing your Paddle earnings easier. We opperate in a very similar way to Fastspring - in that you sell your products wholesale to us and we become the merchant of record (and it seems you're already familiar with us). Would love to see how we can help you out (we're a little cheaper than FS too if that's a dec…

I'll email you on Monday, first thing.

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#62
post #58
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the answer. Ouch, that makes sense and it is probably something similar in Europe. Do you have any idea for how to ensure that the person has the funds when we need to charge the card? And do you know how vendors like Airbnb handles this?

Do you have any idea for how to ensure that the person has the funds when we need to charge the card? You preauthorise the card for the amount at purchase, then complete the transaction on shipment.

Would you not preauthorize the card again right before shipment? What if their card is no longer valid, closed, or is past their credit limit?

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#63
post #61
post #59

Hey, I'm the CEO at Paddle.com (mentioned in your initial post). Wondering what we can be doing to make withdrawing your Paddle earnings easier. We opperate in a very similar way to Fastspring - in that you sell your products wholesale to us and we become the merchant of record (and it seems you're already familiar with us). Would love to see how we can help you out (we're a little cheaper than FS too if that's a dec…

I'll email you on Monday, first thing.

Awesome! christian@paddle.com to get me directly.

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#64
post #5

For European businesses Paymill might be an alternative. It works pretty much exactly the same as Stripe, just available in more/different countries. http://www.paymill.com

Meh. My application with paymill has been in the works for over a month now (following google wallet digital goods shut down). Requests for updates are ignored. Documentation isn't great. It is a shame as on paper they do seem quite good...

Hey. I'm in charge of Developer Relations at PAYMILL. I'm sorry to read that you are having difficulties with the service.

What do you mean with "Requests for updates are ignored"?

The current documentation has been around for a while and is currently being entirely updated. I would be happy to hear your thoughts to ensure the new version will be satisfying for our users.

Feel free to contact me, I'll help you with that.

yann.irbah[at]paymill.com

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#65
post #58
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the answer. Ouch, that makes sense and it is probably something similar in Europe. Do you have any idea for how to ensure that the person has the funds when we need to charge the card? And do you know how vendors like Airbnb handles this?

Do you have any idea for how to ensure that the person has the funds when we need to charge the card? You preauthorise the card for the amount at purchase, then complete the transaction on shipment.

But that would still leave you with a risk that the card is closed or that the payment will get rejected, right?

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#66
post #58
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the answer. Ouch, that makes sense and it is probably something similar in Europe. Do you have any idea for how to ensure that the person has the funds when we need to charge the card? And do you know how vendors like Airbnb handles this?

Do you have any idea for how to ensure that the person has the funds when we need to charge the card? You preauthorise the card for the amount at purchase, then complete the transaction on shipment.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#68

I recommend Fastspring ( http://www.fastspring.com ). Yes, it's more expensive than others but it has a lot of features that make it worth it. The main selling point for us was that essential you sell your product wholesale to Fastspring and they become the seller. This makes accounting and taxes much easier, especially for EU customers.

Love FastSpring. Easy store manager and great tech support. Plus, I don't have to worry about anything because they handle all the invoices, VAT and other boring stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#69
post #59

Hey, I'm the CEO at Paddle.com (mentioned in your initial post). Wondering what we can be doing to make withdrawing your Paddle earnings easier. We opperate in a very similar way to Fastspring - in that you sell your products wholesale to us and we become the merchant of record (and it seems you're already familiar with us). Would love to see how we can help you out (we're a little cheaper than FS too if that's a dec…

Competition is always great. So here are my problems with Paddle:

1. Too much hidden information. The main page should specify the pricing because that's the first thing we all look at. Yes, I know about the pricing page. But a click away is one too many. And I couldn't find a list of supported countries. If I don't know the cost and if I can get it, I'm not going to waste time asking.

2. You're cheaper than FastSpring now. But when FastSpring started it was a lot cheaper and more dynamic. You're competing with PayPal, not FastSpring. And PayPal is charging 2.9% + $0.30. So start where FastSpring started, not where it is after a couple years of growth. A bonus would be to find cost-effective ways to handle different price points. A 5% fee is ok for a $5 sale, but for a $1000 sale it's a bit too much.

3. Not sure how to say this in a more diplomatic way, but your store forms look spammy. Maybe the cluttered elements, maybe the asymmetrical design. You should talk with a designer and create something cleaner and nicer. The purchase forms are the last step of a sale. If they are not perfect, the client can easily change his mind. At least this is how I feel as a seller.

Good luck. And find ways to do things better. Innovation always attract people.

Re: Ask HN: Paypal alternatives for vendors outside the US?

#70
post #69
post #59

Hey, I'm the CEO at Paddle.com (mentioned in your initial post). Wondering what we can be doing to make withdrawing your Paddle earnings easier. We opperate in a very similar way to Fastspring - in that you sell your products wholesale to us and we become the merchant of record (and it seems you're already familiar with us). Would love to see how we can help you out (we're a little cheaper than FS too if that's a dec…

Competition is always great. So here are my problems with Paddle: 1. Too much hidden information. The main page should specify the pricing because that's the first thing we all look at. Yes, I know about the pricing page. But a click away is one too many. And I couldn't find a list of supported countries. If I don't know the cost and if I can get it, I'm not going to waste time asking. 2. You're cheaper than FastSpri…

Hey, thanks for the feedback.

1. Interesting, we don't usually get that, and maintain a fairly detailed pricing page + FAQ (https://www.paddle.com/pricing) perhaps we should link to this from the homepage.

2. I don't agree that we're trying to compete with PayPal on price. Paddle is intended to be a premium product (and thus we charge a premium over PayPal for example). Paddle handles: VAT/ Tax collection + remittance, digital product delivery and all order-related customer support for you (plus a bunch of other features and tools). We don't aim to compete with PayPal, however there is a crossover in our services. In terms of the pricing aspect, we're flexible/ open to different pricing scenarios. While a $1,000 transaction size is certainly uncommon, I do agree that this requires a little more thought on the pricing front.

3. On the checkout side of things, I find that incredibly surprising! :) We're typically told how beautiful our checkout process is (and it typically converts 2-3x higher than a usual checkout page). Could you ping over a purchase form that you're looking at? (or email me: christian@paddle.com) as I'd love to get a slightly more detailed critique.

Feedback can only make us better.

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