UPDATE - Group Buy W123 book - Payment method - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

uberwasser · #1 12-07-2014, 02:07 PM

The group buy for the W123 book ends tonight.

Be sure to read post # 5 below for updates after getting some feedback on this.

I've been doing some more research on payment methods and I've come to the conclusion that using PayPal and asking you all to send me gift payments is not a good idea. It's almost certain that with 60+ gifts coming in to my account all of a sudden, PayPal will flag my account and may freeze it, limit it, etc. I've been reading quite a few stories of this unpleasant reality online and I'm shying away from using it for this. I use PayPal for my eBay sales and don't want to risk my account being frozen.

In a search to find an alternative I was reminded about Venmo. Click the link to check out their site:

https://venmo.com/

And their FAQ page for some more info on how their site works:

https://venmo.com/about/fees/

It's specifically designed for people to be able to chip in for shared group expenses. Unlike PayPal tt is FREE for both the sender and receiver as long as you either:

Pay with a Venmo account balance
Pay directly from you bank account (linking to your bank account is not required - only needed if you do not have a debit card with a major financial institution AND you don't want to pay via credit card).
Pay with a major debit card

They ONLY charge fees in the event that you choose to use a credit card. That would be your choice to make, and you'd pay the fee if you chose to use a credit card.

Therefore I plan to use this method. I encourage all group buy participants to sign up for Venmo. It's free. Consider linking a bank account to it, if you don't have one of the listed major debit cards. It may take 1-3 days for your bank account to be verified.

I know that PayPal would have been more convenient for everyone since we all already use it, but I do not think it would have been viable for me to use. I hope everyone understands.

As always don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

leathermang · #2 12-07-2014, 02:17 PM

People could mail you United States Postal Money orders.....

uberwasser · #3 12-07-2014, 02:40 PM

I would be fine with that too. I'll make that option available. So it will be either Venmo, or money order.

leathermang · #4 12-07-2014, 03:29 PM

These days.... the fewer people ' linked to your bank account' the better.....

uberwasser · #5 12-07-2014, 03:53 PM

Well, they do offer free debit card functionality as well. Linking to a bank is not required.

Anyway, in an effort to accommodate everyone, I will be offering three options:

PayPal payment, with seller fees included in the total.

Venmo payment, no fees unless you use a credit card.

USPS money order mailed to me.

Everyone can then choose what payment method they want to use.

Once I get the quote from the book seller, and contact everyone with payment info, I will elaborate on the three options and provide info on how to get payment to me via any of the above three methods.

leathermang · #6 12-07-2014, 04:05 PM

I was referring to how many big companies and banks are getting hacked and losing personal information of clients...

uberwasser · #7 12-07-2014, 04:06 PM

Understood!

Paul Robinson · #8 12-07-2014, 06:17 PM

As far as the PayPal option, would you like an email address sent to you via PM so that you can send out a PayPal invoice? PayPal I would think works best for most folks, but please be specific as to exactly what you would prefer when using this method of payment. Many are familiar with PayPal through Ebay purchases, but may not be as familiar with PayPal when it comes to a private transaction. And including seller fees in the price is perfectly acceptable, especially given the magnitude of your effort. Thanks for organizing!

gatorblue92 · #9 12-15-2014, 05:23 AM

Any updates? Last I heard we were still waiting on a complete quote from the authors.

TheDon · #10 12-15-2014, 06:56 AM

What's this about a w123 book?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

charmalu · #11 12-15-2014, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

What's this about a w123 book?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You are a bit late, but might get on the waiting list in case someone pulls out.
there is a link in this thread about the book.

GROUP BUY - W123 Book - reply by Sunday, Dec 7th

Charlie

ROLLGUY · #12 12-30-2014, 08:06 PM

What is happening with this? Any updates as to the status of the order? When and where do we send $?

ImBroke · #13 01-01-2015, 07:25 AM

I'm glad you asked that, I was wondering if I missed the payment date.

ROLLGUY · #14 01-01-2015, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImBroke

I'm glad you asked that, I was wondering if I missed the payment date.

Well I can say that the last post by uberwasser was on 12/17/14. I am not sure what has happened. If you missed the date, then we all did as well.

Zacharias · #15 01-01-2015, 12:36 PM

As far as I am aware, no one missed anything. There is some confusion here as there were two threads on the subject.

The last we heard from uberwasser, he had contacted the vendor to ask about a waiver of the ~30 percent UK value-added tax (VAT) as the books are being exported. This isn't as simple as just not charging a tax on a product. In Europe, taxes are included in the price on the shelf, not tacked on at the cash. So this will involve some paperwork by the vendor to the government, something I am sure went over like a turd at a buffet when uberwasser brought it up. If I understand correctly, he is dealing with a sort of one-man show over there, this isn't some big publishing company publishing the book. It was written and produced by a guy who runs a w123 specialist shop in the UK.

I don't think uberwasser meant to imply an answer was forthcoming in a day or two on the priced reduction. As he is talking about saving a big chunk of cash to everyone, and things tend to slow down in the holiday season, I suggest we all give uberwasser some room.

Frankly this is a huge solid he is doing for all of us, aside from the work involved in coordinating multiple payment channels, reboxing/re-shipping the books when they come in, etc., he is letting people pay as they like, pretty much, and is even going to the additional trouble of shipping books to Canada for some folks.