Slate Digital FG-X - Group Buy

[DigitalMetal]

Hi Slate,
Any chance of those of us interested that missed the boat go on a reserve list in case the full 60 dont commit?
Thanks!

 

[Josh Burgess]

putting the hold charge of $250 is no problem for me, but it might be for some of the people who only wanted in at $150... if they don't have the full $250 in their paypal or bank account, they might bail from the list...

how does paypal do that by the way? I know how it works with credit/debit cards, but didn't know paypal was capable of hold charges like that.

 

[guitarguru777]

Paypal will hold the full amount for 7 days or until charged.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

so wait, will $250 be taken out of my bank account from the getgo and then it will be refunded?

 

[Josh Burgess]

so wait, will $250 be taken out of my bank account from the getgo and then it will be refunded?

I believe it's like an authorization kind of thing... it doesn't actually charge you, but I think it does check to make sure you have $250 in available funds.

 

[jipchen]

Yeah, a clarification of what will happen to our PayPayl accounts would be nice (I have enough money, though).
I thought it would just be listed in the paypal account at $249 but only deduct the final price from my bank account.. But after what Steven wrote in his last post I'm not quite shure anymore.
@Joshua: How would it be possible to check if you have enough funds on your credit card?

 

[Josh Burgess]

Yeah, a clarification of what will happen to our PayPayl accounts would be nice (I have enough money, though).
I thought it would just be listed in the paypal account at $249 but only deduct the final price from my bank account.. But after what Steven wrote in his last post I'm not quite shure anymore.
@Joshua: How would it be possible to check if you have enough funds on your credit card?

I guess I meant more debit cards tied to bank accounts. I don't use credit cards.

 

[Jaymz]

I don't have enough in the Paypal but I should still be able to go through with the transaction then the money will be taken directly out of my account right?

I did this once on ebay and it wasn't instant...took 2 weeks for some E-cheque to clear...yet my friend said it should do it instantly :S

 

[kev]

Sounds good, thanks Steve. Will we get the product straight away, or will we need to wait for the clearance etc?

I assume that the funds will still be taken in the event of a failed group buy, e.g. only 10 people actually pay. (I know this isnt going to happen, just playing DA lol- its a nitemare trying to cover all the bases I know!)


Heres some detail for you on echeques Jamo. Its very odd, I rarely keep cash in my paypal account. Sometimes it will be an e-cheque and other times it will just clear straight away :S


What is an Echeque? Why is it holding up my purchase?
As a seller on eBay sometimes we get an echeque as a payment method. Unfortunately many people are not aware that echeque’s will hold up dispatch of their goods so I thought I'd write this short guide to give you the low down on this method of payment and exactly why echeque’s hold up the dispatch of orders.

Paying for your goods with PayPal

PayPal is a very popular method of payment especially for goods purchased through eBay. Many people are unaware however that there are two ways to pay through PayPal.

The first is where there is sufficient funds within your PayPal account and/or you have a credit card on file with them. This will be an instant transaction and the seller will receive the funds immediately and so your purchase will not be delayed.

The other method is what PayPal have termed an ‘echeque’. Echeque’s are where you have an insufficient balance within PayPal to pay for your goods outright and do not have a credit card on file with them. As PayPal will not allow your account to go into debt they take the necessary funds required to complete your transaction from your bank account.

This request for funds from your bank account is where the delay stems from as it can take 10 to 14 days for PayPal to clear the funds from your bank and pass them on to the seller. Lord only knows why they take so long but unfortunately they do. The cynical might conclude that PayPal sit on the funds for a week to earn interest.

Whatever the reason, during this period the seller is instructed NOT to send any goods until PayPal confirm payment has been met. This is because, like a paper cheque, there is no guarantee that the payment will go through. After all You can’t really expect the seller to send the goods out before they have received a payment which might never clear.

This all creates a very frustrating situation for the buyer if they need their purchase urgently. This is compounded as PayPal do not tell you that payment will not be made to the seller for at least a week so the first the buyer knows about it is when they enquire a week later where their goods are only to be told "we haven’t received your payment yet".

How can you avoid the echeque trap?
To avoid delaying your purchases it is a good idea to link a credit card to your PayPal account. It is perfectly safe as PayPal never disclose your card details to a seller and doing so will enable you to make instant payments regardless of your PayPal balance.

It will also verify your address making you a full verified PayPal member which will allow you to benefit from PayPal's buyer protection scheme.

Another added advantage is it will also allow you to purchase a wider range of goods as some sellers selling small, high value products such as iPods and cameras etc. will not accept payments from non-verified buyers or echeques.

I hope this guide has helped to explain echeque's clearly. It would help enormously if PayPal brought this information to the attention of all their customers when they make a payment via an echeque.

 

[Jaymz]

Ah I don't own a credit card, think that explains it

Looks like ill have to get the folks involved!

 

[kev]

Ah I don't own a credit card, think that explains it

Looks like ill have to get the folks involved!

I dont use a credit card either dude! Standard debit card, and funds should usually just clear immediately it seems!

 

[Jaymz]

I dont use a credit card either dude! Standard debit card, and funds should usually just clear immediately it seems!

Ah right, yeah thats exactly how ive got it setup aswell....maybe it was just Ebay being homosexual!

 

[kev]

We'll have to blame the christians then unless anyone has a better idea.

 

[Mesa4x12er]

putting the hold charge of $250 is no problem for me, but it might be for some of the people who only wanted in at $150... if they don't have the full $250 in their paypal or bank account, they might bail from the list...

how does paypal do that by the way? I know how it works with credit/debit cards, but didn't know paypal was capable of hold charges like that.

I'm pretty sure buy "hold" it means authorization. Just like when you pump gas or go to a bar. When they swipe your card at a bar most send an authorization for $250+ dollars. Now it doesn't charge you that but they don't know what you'll be putting on your tab that night. They 'authorize' a certain amount that lets them know you're not broke before serving you all kind of stuff. At the end of the night when you have a tab you close out and they actually charge you what you spent.

Same with gas. You might pump $10, you might be filling up a huge truck for $90. They authorize to make sure you have sufficient funds.

For this type of group buy this is the only possible way to do it since they have to just be trusting that when people say they'll be a part of something that they actually will. But what if half of the people backout? You have to make sure people have enough $ to backup their end of the bargain. Once they get these hold/authorizations for everyone and have the final tally they'll be able to make the final charge.

Again this is just my assumption. I've seen a lot of group buys in the past where everyone would have to send full payment and after the fact would be refunded so this definitely seems better.

 

[kev]

Yeh, that sounds about right dude.

 

[Morgan C]

I might be pulling out of this, I've downloaded the demo and can't get good results with it (see here for details).

 

[Jaymz]

Looks like the reserve list might be a good idea afterall!

 

[nwright]

sheesh, you guys are making this complicated.

I sure hope this overcomplication and people now thinking they will back out won't screw those who have dedicated to buy at a certain price only to find out they pay 100 more.

 

[franck.hueso]

there is some issues with the shop today... I can not buy FG-X and Trigger... am I alone in this case ?

 

[Antithesist]

At the risk of being drawn and quartered, I need to drop out.

There are a few reasons, but the main one is last:

1) As a newcomer, I haven't felt right about this, especially with complaints from regulars. I got in a few hours after the leak, even though I knew about the deal before that from a private tip.

2) Like I said in a previous message, I couldn't do this if it ended up at more than $150, and the fact that it closed early, even to the regulars, meant little pad against people that bail out.

3) I've participated in quite a few group buys, but I've never been charged for the max up front. People inevitably drop out, and you want to have a system for that. Often, the vendor just honors the best price.

4) As I explained before, I'm currently unemployed and poor. Though I was willing to stay in, unless kicked out, even with these mounting hesitations until yesterday when I hit the clincher.

5) My trusty old orange tabby Simba was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. He's either going to have to have invasive surgery or an $800 radioactive iodine treatment, plus a few hundred in other charges.

Simba has a good prognosis, BTW. So, there you have it, along with my apologies. Please give my slot to someone else more deserving, and thanks! I do wish I could have stayed in.