Paypal = UNgunFriendly

[Godfather]

I recently sold a rifle (M-1 Carbine) and received payment through paypal. Within two days, I received this email:

Dear ********,

The PayPal User Agreement states that PayPal, at its sole discretion,
reserves the right to close an account for any violation of the User
Agreement, including the Acceptable Use Policy. Under the Acceptable Use
Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for any firearm,
in addition to certain firearm parts and accessories, ammunition,
destructive devices, militaria and ordnance, weapons, and knives.

We are hereby notifying you that, after a recent review of your account
activity, it has been determined that you are in violation of PayPal's
Acceptable Use Policy. Therefore, your account has been closed.

You will need to remove all references to PayPal from your website(s)
and/or auction(s). This includes not only removing PayPal as a payment
option, but also the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart. We thank you in
advance for your cooperation.


I'll leave you to ponder how to respond in your own ways...

 

[HarryB]

How do they know it was for a firearm?

 

[cbsbyte]

For the past few years Paypal has a policy restricting the use of their service for firearm related transations.

 

[Tejas Gunwerks]

For the past few years Paypal has a policy restricting the use of their service for firearm related transations.

And yet pro-gun individuals still use Paypal. I for one don't understand.

 

[acdodd]

Unfortunately PayPal can do what they want. It's their company and they can make the rules. Sense they are owned by EBay they have pretty much the same policy.
We can all boycott PayPal but they won't care. It doesn't represent enough money to get their attention.
You can state on your web page why you can't accept PayPal and that's about all.
Any other alternative you can use?
AC

 

[acdodd]

And yet pro-gun individuals still use Paypal. I for one don't understand.

If we boycotted every anti gun company it would be very hard to shop.
I don't like to support China either but unless you want to become a nudest there isn't much else available. Unless you are independently wealthy that is.
In today's PC environment there are a lot of them.
Like I said not enough money to make them care or change.
AC

 

[AirForceShooter]

I cancelled my account at PayPal and told them exactly why.
I got e-mails from them for months trying to get me back but they never addressed my issue with gun stuff.

AFS

 

[Tejas Gunwerks]

If we boycotted every anti gun company it would be very hard to shop.
I don't like to support China either but unless you want to become a nudest there isn't much else available. Unless you are independently wealthy that is.
In today's PC environment there are a lot of them.
Like I said not enough money to make them care or change.
AC

I am in the firearm business, I sell them, I fix them and I use them. I boycott any one who is that blatant.

 

[scott.cr]

I don't think Paypal is anti-gun per se so much as their no-weapons policy is CYA.

 

[FPrice]

I use Paypal for one thing and one thing only: firearms related purchases.

Kinda ironic, isn't it.

 

[AJ Dual]

I don't think Paypal is anti-gun per se so much as their no-weapons policy is CYA.

Exactamundo...

Besides any percieved liability concerns, what they're really afraid of is 60 Minutes camped out on the PayPal/eBay corporate campus sticking microphones into the executives faces.

"Mr. X? Do you have a moment to comment to your shareholders on little fourteen year old Jimmy Smitherson who bought the gun he used to shoot up his school off the (gasp)Internet using (gasp), PayPal?"

There's certainly nothing laudable about institutionalized cowardice, but it's certainly a far cry from anti-gunner "enemy action" either.

Too bad, since for a brief time, PayPal and eBay seemed like the vangaurd for the brave new capitalist/libertarian/Internet world order that might be the first cracks in the .gov's ability to tax and regulate everything that lives breathes and moves.

I guess we're still waiting. There's e-gold, but they've got that ever so slight taint of "kookieness" about them...

 

[HighVelocity]

PayPal is owned by Ebay. Ebay is based in California. Self explanitory.

 

[acdodd]

I am in the firearm business, I sell them, I fix them and I use them. I boycott any one who is that blatant.

Just like PayPal you are a business owner and you can run it how you choose.
Do I wish they were pro gun? Of course, but they aren't and I can live with that.
AC

 

[Tejas Gunwerks]

Just like PayPal you are a business owner and you can run it how you choose.
Do I wish they were pro gun? Of course, but they aren't and I can live with that.
AC

I can live with it too, I just won't ever do business with them.

 

[BBBS]

Screw Pay-pal. I will never use them again, after what they tried to pull on me. I am sure others are not happy with them either.

 

[Jim PHL]

FPPrice,

Don't know how or why I noticed but congratulations on your 3,000th post! Now, jeez, get up and go outside or somethin'

 

[FPrice]

Don't know how or why I noticed but congratulations on your 3,000th post!

DAMN! I missed it myself! Well, does 4 hours of trying to get the rest of the leaves off my lawn count for getting up and going out???

 

[Cacique500]

But back to the question, how did they know it was a firearm?

 

[FPrice]

But back to the question, how did they know it was a firearm?

Probably some wording in the body of the transaction referenced a firearm or accessories which made it clear to Paypal security that this involved a rifle.

I have had people ask me to not reference anything about firearms in the transaction.

 

[afasano]

I recently sold a rifle (M-1 Carbine) and received payment through paypal. Within two days, I received this email:

Dear ********,

The PayPal User Agreement states that PayPal, at its sole discretion,
reserves the right to close an account for any violation of the User
Agreement, including the Acceptable Use Policy. Under the Acceptable Use
Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for any firearm,
in addition to certain firearm parts and accessories, ammunition,
destructive devices, militaria and ordnance, weapons, and knives.

We are hereby notifying you that, after a recent review of your account
activity, it has been determined that you are in violation of PayPal's
Acceptable Use Policy. Therefore, your account has been closed.

You will need to remove all references to PayPal from your website(s)
and/or auction(s). This includes not only removing PayPal as a payment
option, but also the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart. We thank you in
advance for your cooperation.


I'll leave you to ponder how to respond in your own ways...

Site's like gunbroker.com and others have a space for the users to type in the site that they are using, but they were OK with it in August, that was the last time I bought something on gunbroker.com

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Is this regarding a business's web site with the PayPal logo/button is the list of payment options, or just a plain transaction between two folks?

 

[jkswiss]

My account got closed for buying a couple magazines(handgun, just so we are clear here). It would really suck if you had any money in your paypal account because they freeze it for six? months or so, then you can get to your own damn money. Its hard when you lose a paypal account because a LOT of web sites take it, other than ebay.

 

[MountainPeak]

I closed my paypal account a long time ago because of their anti-firearm/2nd Amendment stand. I personally feel those that support anti-gun companies are 2nd Amendment wimps! You are, of course, free to spend your dollars any way you want. I'm free to call you what you are: A Second Amendment WIMP!!

 

[afasano]

I recently sold a rifle (M-1 Carbine) and received payment through paypal. Within two days, I received this email:

Dear ********,

The PayPal User Agreement states that PayPal, at its sole discretion,
reserves the right to close an account for any violation of the User
Agreement, including the Acceptable Use Policy. Under the Acceptable Use
Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for any firearm,
in addition to certain firearm parts and accessories, ammunition,
destructive devices, militaria and ordnance, weapons, and knives.

We are hereby notifying you that, after a recent review of your account
activity, it has been determined that you are in violation of PayPal's
Acceptable Use Policy. Therefore, your account has been closed.

You will need to remove all references to PayPal from your website(s)
and/or auction(s). This includes not only removing PayPal as a payment
option, but also the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart. We thank you in
advance for your cooperation.


I'll leave you to ponder how to respond in your own ways...

Ask them why ebay has the paypal logo next to gun parts.

 

[CraigJS]

I used PayPal once with a CC. It took me 3 months to clear up the additional charge by God knows who, from God knows where, that WASN'T involved in the origional deal.. Never again!