Setting Up Your PayPal Account and Profile
You start setting up your PayPal profile during the process of registering for a PayPal account. Open up your browser and type www.paypal.com into the Address Bar. The PayPal home page has multiple links that let you sign up for your free account. You can find one Sign Up link in the upper-right corner of the screen, and the other can be found in the middle of the screen.
Opening a Personal account
You can open a Personal account in just a few steps; the entire process doesn't usually take more than five minutes. Here's how:
1. At the PayPal Account Sign Up page, make sure the Personal Account option is selected.
If you're wondering what happened to the Premier account, just hang on. You have the option of upgrading a Personal account to a Premier account later on.
2. Select your country from the list and click the Continue button.
3. Start building a PayPal profile by filling in the fields shown on the Account Sign Up page.
The information you need to give PayPal includes
• Your first name, last name, and full address, including city, state, zip code, and country. PayPal requires a zip code for U.S. accounts, but may not require one if you create an International PayPal account.
• Your home telephone number for verification purposes; you have the option of entering a work number.
• Your e-mail address. You need to enter this twice so PayPal can ensure you didn't mistype it the first time.
• A password to use with your PayPal account.
• This password must be at least eight characters long and is case-sensitive. (This means you need to pay attention to whether you use uppercase and/or lowercase characters when you create your password. PayPal won't accept PASSWORD123 as a valid password if you typed password123 as your password when you created your account.) Just as you did when you entered your e-mail address, you need to type your password a second time. Picking a password that you don't use with other accounts you may have is also important. If you pick your e-mail password to use as your PayPal password and your e-mail password is compromised, you may find someone making unauthorized use of your funds! It's better to be safe and think up a unique password.
• You are asked to pick two questions from a list of four security questions. The answers you give to these questions are used to verify your identity if you lose or forget your password.
• Deciding whether you want to open a Personal or Premier account. The big advantage of having a Premier account is that you can accept credit card payments from people who don't have or use a PayPal account.
• You need to read and accept the PayPal User Agreement and Privacy Policy, or you won't be able to open your account. It's vital that you read both documents before checking the Yes option, indicating that you agree to the terms. Knowing what can or may happen to your account is important before transferring your money into the account.
• PayPal also asks you to indicate that you understand your rights with regard to the arbitration of claims as outlined in the Legal Disputes section of the User Agreement. A link is provided to the document, which describes how legal disputes should be handled in the event that there are problems between you and PayPal. As with any legal document, you should read the whole thing before signing and contact a lawyer if you're unsure as to what the document means.
• You have one final security step to go through before the account opens. PayPal displays a sequence of characters in a box with a boxed background. You must type in the characters, exactly as shown, in a text box to the right of the sequence. This step is to prevent automated programs from trying to sign up for PayPal accounts. Although a program can fill out the fields on the Account Sign Up page, it can't read the sequence and type it into the box.
• If you are visually impaired, you can still type the correct character sequence into the box, even if you can't read the characters as shown against the background. Click the Help link displayed at the end of the "Security Measure" paragraph to open the PayPal Registration Security Help page. At the end of the page is a listen to the security characters link. Click the link to hear an audio clip that says the characters aloud. You can then type the characters into the box correctly to finish the registration process. In the case of these security characters, it doesn't matter whether you type in the letters as uppercase or lowercase, as long as you get the letters and numbers in the correct sequence.
4. Click the Sign Up link at the bottom of the page to submit your registration information.
After filling out the registration form, you're taken to a page that tells you the process is almost complete except for the confirmation of your e-mail address. After you click the Sign Up link from the previous screen, PayPal sends you an e-mail.
5. Open your e-mail program and look for an e-mail from PayPal.
If your e-mail inbox is anything like mine, you have to search hard to find the PayPal e-mail amidst all the spam. Look for an e-mail from service@paypal.com with a subject heading of "Activate Your PayPal Account!"
6. Click the Click here to activate your account link, which can be found in the body of the e-mail. (Alternatively, you can copy the link and paste it into the address bar of your browser.)
Clicking the link takes you to a page where you are prompted to enter the password you designated when you registered for the account.
7. Type your password and click the Confirm button.
Congratulations! You just opened your PayPal account.
Updating your profile
After you open a PayPal account, keeping your user profile up-to-date is very important. To update your profile, log on to your account and click the Profile link under the My Account tab. You have the option of updating any of the following:
- Account Information: You can update your basic contact information (e-mail, address, password, time zone, and so on).
- Financial Information: You can change the credit cards or bank accounts associated with your PayPal account, set up online bill paying, see your account balances, redeem gift certificates, and more. The options that are available are dependent upon the type of account that you have.
- Selling Preferences: Here you can set up preferences for setting up auctions, registering your Web site as a PayPal shop, setting shipping preferences, setting up invoice templates, and so on. The options available depend upon the type of PayPal account you have.
eBay Glossary
About Me page
A page that an eBay member creates to tell other eBay members about them and their eBay business.
eBay Glossary
announcement boards
Online pages where eBay posts information about new features, promotions, and policy changes, as well as information about system problems and general announcements.
eBay Glossary
AOL; America Online
An Internet service and media company that provides a semi-closed online community for millions of subscribers.
eBay Glossary
B2B; business-to-business
A type of transaction where the buyer has a resale number and purchases merchandise from another business.
eBay Glossary
bid cancellation
The cancellation of a bid by the seller during an eBay auction.
eBay Glossary
bidder
An eBay member who bids on an auction item. Each bid enters that bidder into a binding contract.
eBay Glossary
blog; blogging
Short for weblog; a Web site chronicle that is regularly updated by an individual or group.
eBay Glossary
browser
A software program, usually free, that lets your computer download content from the Internet.
eBay Glossary
Business account
A PayPal account that allows an eBay seller to accept credit or debit card payments from customers. It offers controlled multi-user access so that multiple employees can serve customers, and it gives the seller unlimited use of eBay Tools and Merchant Services.
eBay Glossary
Buy It Now
An optional eBay feature that allows a buyer to immediately purchase an item at a set price before the auction ends.
eBay Glossary
buySAFE
A program that enables eBay sellers to present a credibility seal and financially protect their online auction transactions with surety bonds.
eBay Glossary
chargeback
The withdrawal of money from a seller’s account by a payment service or merchant account after a transaction has occurred. This can happen when a buyer disputes the sale.
eBay Glossary
chat room
An online area where eBay members can communicate directly with each other.
eBay Glossary
comma-delimited
A way to format table or database information, in which commas separate what would be different columns, that allows data to be transferred from one application to another.
eBay Glossary
cookie
A data packet sent from an Internet server to your browser; a cookie is used to identify the user and track their activities on the server.
eBay Glossary
discussion boards
Online pages where eBay members can post messages, ask questions, share tips, and communicate with other eBay members.
eBay Glossary
DNS; domain name system
The system that is used to track and regulate domain names and addresses on the Internet.
eBay Glossary
dpi; dots per inch
A measure of resolution often used for a computer screen or printer.
eBay Glossary
drop-ship service
A business that stocks merchandise and sells the merchandise to a reseller, but ships it directly to the customer.
eBay Glossary
DSL; Digital Subscriber Line
A method of transferring digital data to allow high-speed Internet access over phone lines.
eBay Glossary
DSR; Detailed Seller Ratings
A ratings system that allows an eBay buyer to rate a seller based on the accuracy of the item description, quality of communication, shipping speed, and shipping and handling charges.
eBay Glossary
Dutch auction
A multiple-item auction in which the seller can list as many identical items as they’d like, and bidders can bid on as many items as they’d like. The final item price is set by the lowest successful bid at the time the auction closes.
eBay Glossary
eBay Groups
A group of eBay buyers and sellers who have a common interest.
eBay Glossary
eBay Store
An eBay page that displays all of the items offered by an individual store seller.
eBay Glossary
eBay Time
The official eBay time of day, based on the eBay headquarters location in San Jose, California, in the United States; eBay time is the same as the Pacific Time Zone.
eBay Glossary
eCheck; electronic funds transfer
A computer-based system that allows users to conduct financial transactions electronically.
eBay Glossary
EOA; end-of-auction e-mail
An e-mail notice that eBay sends out to the buyer and seller when an auction has ended.
eBay Glossary
Escrow.com
eBay’s official escrow service; this is an online service that offers protection to buyers with transactions over $2,000, which is the upper limit for PayPal buyer protection.
eBay Glossary
feedback
A rating from a buyer or a seller, made after a transaction. The rating can be positive, negative, or neutral, and can include a short comment. Ratings are used to determine an eBay member’s Feedback Scores.
eBay Glossary
Feedback Star
A colored star indicating that an eBay seller has a particular Feedback Score. For example, a yellow star means that the seller has 10-49 Feedback points.
eBay Glossary
Final Value Fee; FVF
The fee that eBay charges to the seller when a listing ends. It is based on the sale price or the closing bid. The fee is not charged to items that didn’t have any bids or to items that didn’t meet the reserve price set by the seller.
eBay Glossary
fixed-price listing; fixed-sale price
An item listing where an eBay member can buy the item at a set price without auction-style bidding.
eBay Glossary
FTP; file transfer protocol
A standard protocol that allows users to exchange files over a network.
eBay Glossary
ID verified
An icon indicating that the identity of an eBay seller has been confirmed in order to give buyers a measure of security.
eBay Glossary
Member Profile
A profile created by an eBay member. The member has a password and user ID to access their My eBay page; they can track what they are buying and selling, leave feedback, and update their profile.
eBay Glossary
My eBay page
A collection of Web pages held together with links that gives an eBay member complete control of everything they are doing on eBay. The My eBay page contains My Summary, All Buying, All Selling, My Messages, All Favorites, and My Account pages.
eBay Glossary
My Summary page
A page that gives an eBay member a snapshot of their current eBay business.
eBay Glossary
My World page
A personalized eBay page containing an eBay member’s favorites, photo, feedback, a guestbook, a short biography, and their eBay interests.
eBay Glossary
PayPal Buyer Protection
A PayPal program that covers up to the full purchase price and shipping charges for buyers who use PayPal on qualified listings. Sellers must meet certain requirements for their listings to qualify for PayPal Buyer Protection. These protected items have a Buy Safely icon in the Meet the Seller section on the View Item page.
eBay Glossary
Picture Manager
An eBay subscription service that enables users to upload and manage the pictures for all of their listings. Presently, new users cannot subscribe to this service, as it is being discontinued. Existing subscribers can use it until January 2010.
eBay Glossary
PowerSeller
An eBay seller who has maintained a 98% positive Feedback Score. This is an experienced, high-volume eBay seller who provides a high level of service to buyers.
eBay Glossary
Premier account
An eBay account for members who have a high volume of transactions and need to accept payments via credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal debit cards.
eBay Glossary
private auction
A listing where the bidders’ user IDs are hidden from other bidders. Sellers can use this feature when they think that potential bidders may not want their user ID made known.
eBay Glossary
QuickBooks
Small business accounting software developed by Intuit.
eBay Glossary
Quicken
Personal finance accounting software developed by Intuit.
eBay Glossary
reserve price
The secret lowest price that an eBay seller is willing to sell an item for.
eBay Glossary
sales tax number
The number that a seller uses when they file a sales tax statement with their state.
eBay Glossary
Second Chance Offer
An offer by a seller to a non-winning bidder to purchase an eBay item after the winning bidder has not paid for the item, or the seller has more than one of the item. A seller can propose a Second Chance Offer when the listing ends, and up to 60 days after the listing ends.
eBay Glossary
Selling Manager Pro
An eBay selling tool that allows a user to automatically list and relist their items; track inventory; automate payments; monitor shipping status; create bulk item listings; send bulk feedback and e-mails; and create profit and loss reports.
eBay Glossary
shill bidding
A bidding technique that artificially raises an item’s price to increase the desirability and final price of the item. eBay prohibits shill bidding.
eBay Glossary
sniping
The fine art of outbidding competition in the very last seconds of an eBay auction without leaving them enough time to place a defensive bid.
eBay Glossary
spam
Online slang for harassing, offensive, or useless-but-widely-distributed messages or advertisements.
eBay Glossary
spreadsheet program
A computer program used mainly for accounting, in which figures arranged in the rows and columns of a grid can be manipulated and used in calculations.
eBay Glossary
SquareTrade
A provider of warranties for consumer appliances and electronics. The company is located online at www.squaretrade.com.
eBay Glossary
state resale license
A license that identifies a seller as being in business. When you want to purchase goods from a wholesaler within your state, you must produce this number (thereby certifying your legitimacy as a seller) so the dealer can sell you the merchandise without charging you sales tax.
eBay Glossary
tab-delimited file
A file in which pieces of data are separated tabs. This file type can be opened in either a spreadsheet or word-processing program.
eBay Glossary
thread
A group of linked Internet messages that share a common subject.
eBay Glossary
Trading Assistant
Also referred to as a consignment seller; this is an eBay member who sells other people’s merchandise for a fee.
eBay Glossary
Trust & Safety
The eBay department that focuses on protecting eBay buyers and sellers from members who abuse the system. It issues warnings and policy changes, and in some cases, it cancels the memberships of system abusers.
eBay Glossary
Turbo Lister
An eBay tool that allows sellers to easily create and compile multiple listings on their computer and then upload the listings to eBay.
eBay Glossary
uptime
The span of time a Web hosting company’s servers stay operational without going down and denying access to their users’ sites.
eBay Glossary
user ID
A name that identifies an eBay member to other eBay users.
eBay Glossary
Wi-Fi; Wireless Fidelity
Technical standards that allow wireless transmission of data over a computer network.
eBay Glossary
wildcard
Used in a search, a character that matches any character or sequence of characters.
eBay Glossary
WYSIWYG; what you see is what you get
Technology that enables a computer display to accurately represent the final printed output.
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[Edited for language by Dummies Online Editors, 7/27/09]
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