Paypal: Send Limit?!

[General Zod]

So, I had a buddy of mine forward $30.00 to my paypal account so I could use it to pick up some things online. Much to my surprise, I found that I can't actually use it to send money to people because of some piece of shit send limit they've got in place.

There's apparently a way of getting it removed by verifying your account with a bank or credit card, but the reason I'm using Paypal is precisely that. So I -don't- have to deal with that bullshit. Now, can any regular paypal users explain how this send limit thing works better than their FAQs can? Will I have access to my money and be able to send it to others and spend it on things by next month, or am I effectively screwed without registering a bank account with it? Frankly, I wasn't expecting this type of shit to happen at all and it surprised the fuck out of me, since the last time I had money sent to my account it worked fine. So any advice would be helpful.

[ThatGuyFromThatPlace]

I just verified my account because it *seemed* like it would be easier than actually dealing with getting money out without verifying. Of course actually verifying the account was more trouble than it was worth because you either have to give them your online bank account ID and Password (yea right) or have them deposit two random amounts of money into your account (which takes weeks to get through) and then type in the amounts on some ridiculously hard to find little page for verifying your account.

If you could figure out how use money without verifying your account I would

[Darth Wong]

If you never give Paypal any bank account or credit card information, how are they supposed to send and receive money from you? What do you do, mail them cheques?

[General Zod]

If you never give Paypal any bank account or credit card information, how are they supposed to send and receive money from you? What do you do, mail them cheques?

Mostly I use it for the rare occasions I need to do an online transaction. (I don't do much in the way of shopping online. For now I don't have a bank account due to . . .well, complications, and since I'm moving out of state around January it would be somewhat redundant to get one for just a month.) So like I said, I had a friend send some cash from his bank account to my paypal one.

Since I've done this before without a verified account I didn't expect these kind of problems, and it seems somewhat silly to open a bank account just for one online purchase. It just irks me that they won't let me actually use the money that it says is in there. Otherwise it seems to make paypal extremely redundant if you had to register a bank account with them to actually spend anything.

[Darth Wong]

Mostly I use it for the rare occasions I need to do an online transaction. (I don't do much in the way of shopping online. For now I don't have a bank account due to . . .well, complications, and since I'm moving out of state around January it would be somewhat redundant to get one for just a month.) So like I said, I had a friend send some cash from his bank account to my paypal one.

Ah, I see. Well, this kind of arrangement is extremely unusual, to say the least. But if you can't verify your identity in some reliable way, I would definitely agree that there should be strict limits placed on your behaviour. This obviously hadn't occurred to you, but Paypal would be a great mechanism for money laundering if they allowed people to engage in unlimited transactions without any proof of their real identities.

Since I've done this before without a verified account I didn't expect these kind of problems, and it seems somewhat silly to open a bank account just for one online purchase. It just irks me that they won't let me actually use the money that it says is in there. Otherwise it seems to make paypal extremely redundant if you had to register a bank account with them to actually spend anything.

It's not redundant. Would you prefer to give your bank account numbers to every single online vendor that you want to deal with, or just one intermediary?

[General Zod]

Ah, I see. Well, this kind of arrangement is extremely unusual, to say the least. But if you can't verify your identity in some reliable way, I would definitely agree that there should be strict limits placed on your behaviour. This obviously hadn't occurred to you, but Paypal would be a great mechanism for money laundering if they allowed people to engage in unlimited transactions without any proof of their real identities.

Makes sense, though you'd figure $30.00 wouldn't be enough for them to bat an eye over. If the limit rolls around at the beginning of the month, then it's not too big of a deal, just slightly annoying. That's my main concern since I've only ever used them to buy stuff once before.

It's not redundant. Would you prefer to give your bank account numbers to every single online vendor that you want to deal with, or just one intermediary?

Fair enough, though like I mentioned I don't make too many online purchases and only deal with a handful of vendors. So for someone like me that doesn't buy online that much, paypal is a bit of a redundancy if they require your bank account to do anything.

[Laird]

Like Mike said, they need a place for the money to deposited into if you ever decide to withdraw it from paypal.

[Soontir C'boath]

They will not reroll the amount of money you can send which means you're screwed. Doesn't your company do direct deposit? They could just send your check directly to your account so that'd be another useful reason to get one.

By the way, the limits page should be seen above your PayPal balance, you can see what they're terms are in there. Or try this link

Of course actually verifying the account was more trouble than it was worth because you either have to give them your online bank account ID and Password (yea right) or have them deposit two random amounts of money into your account (which takes weeks to get through) and then type in the amounts on some ridiculously hard to find little page for verifying your account.

Hard to find? Last I did it, I accessed it through the e-mail link or in the account page (the same place where it asks you to activate a bank account) where it should have a link to continue verification.

Like Mike said, they need a place for the money to deposited into if you ever decide to withdraw it from paypal.

Nitpick, he doesn't want to withdraw cash (as in putting it in his bank account which he doesn't have one), he just can't send the money in his PP balance to on-line stores.

[General Zod]

They will not reroll the amount of money you can send which means you're screwed. Doesn't your company do direct deposit? They could just send your check directly to your account so that'd be another useful reason to get one.

Well, fuck. Looks like I'm screwed til I move in January then. Won't be opening up a new bank account til then, so using paypal to order what I wanted online seemed like a good idea at the time. Oh well.