CCNow or PayPal

[Morrighana]

The Lab, sadly, has no control over CCNow, so emailing CCNow is probably your best option as far as having their security people look into it, but I'd definitely advocate switching to Paypal. Paypal is better overall, you can use it elsewhere too, and best of all, the Lab actually gets more of your money when you order with Paypal...they charge something like 2 or 3% in fees, where CCNow charges 9 or 10%!

[jiggahava]

The Lab, sadly, has no control over CCNow, so emailing CCNow is probably your best option as far as having their security people look into it, but I'd definitely advocate switching to Paypal. Paypal is better overall, you can use it elsewhere too, and best of all, the Lab actually gets more of your money when you order with Paypal...they charge something like 2 or 3% in fees, where CCNow charges 9 or 10%!

 

 

Thank you for your advice! I am definitley switching over to Paypal from now on.

[Violaine]

Here's a Paypal question for you guys...

 

I'm seeing throughout this thread that there are different addresses listed for sending the money to the lab. On the welcome page it says to pay paypal @ blackphoenixalchemylab, but I wanted to make sure that's the correct one... especially since I placed an order with them five days ago, but never received any sort of confirmation.

 

Sorry if this is a dumb question. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything properly. Thanks!

[Morrighana]

Yup, that's the right address.

 

Did you get a receipt from Paypal? That's all the confirmation you need to have.

[Violaine]

Yup, that's the right address.

 

Did you get a receipt from Paypal? That's all the confirmation you need to have.

 

I did indeed! Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

[forspecial_plate]

This isn't urgent, just a question out of curiosity. I've noticed a lot of people talk about having money uploaded into their PayPal account from their bank before placing an order. I, however, just have the money taken out of my checking account when I place my order. Is there some advantage to doing it the other way?

[sarada]

This isn't urgent, just a question out of curiosity. I've noticed a lot of people talk about having money uploaded into their PayPal account from their bank before placing an order. I, however, just have the money taken out of my checking account when I place my order. Is there some advantage to doing it the other way?

 

I wondered that too, but I think it's just that you can't do an instant transfer from your checking account if you don't have a credit card on file with Paypal. If you don't have a CC on file you have to do an echeck I think. I'm not sure if having a confirmed address has anything to do with that, too.

 

I automatically deduct from my checking account when I pay, but I also have like two credit cards on file as a backup funding source so I think that's why it transfers instantly from my checking.

 

Once, as an experiment, I pre-uploaded the funds and it took four or five days. So I think I'll definitely try to keep a CC on file as long as I have one!

[forspecial_plate]

That makes sense. Thanks for the almost-instant answer!

[Umm Zain]

Curses! I didn't see this thread before I placed my order through CCNow in December! I sure wish I had. Live and learn I guess.

 

So, so sorry BPAL. I'll use PayPal in the future.

[Chrysantza]

I've used CCNow in the past, but having heard of several instances of credit card fraud from CCNow users I am switching to PayPal. In any event, paying via PayPal means more money goes directly to the Lab, and that's a good thing!

[sd357]

Curses! I didn't see this thread before I placed my order through CCNow in December! I sure wish I had. Live and learn I guess.

 

So, so sorry BPAL. I'll use PayPal in the future.

 

I just did exactly the same thing - and then tripped over this thread. The CCNow fees are outrageous - I'll definitely be ordering via PayPal in the future. *headdesk*

 

Wish I hadn't missed it. Bah.

 

-N

[DangerInRed]

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but is the BPAL paypal account a business account? We get a nifty paypal rebate if we buy $30 or more from a business account, and of course, my mind jumps to BPAL immediately!

[portalkat]

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but is the BPAL paypal account a business account? We get a nifty paypal rebate if we buy $30 or more from a business account, and of course, my mind jumps to BPAL immediately!

Here is the thread addressing the Paypal rebate. Apparently, it doesn't count if you used the *send money* tab. It needs to be a cart-type checkout system taking Paypal.

[Electra]

I did not have a clue about this, and have been using CCNow all this time because it just seemed easier.

 

Gah, now I feel bad.

[Castrensis]

Thanks for this info!

 

After reading this I went to CCNow & cancelled my 05/17 order. I'll just reorder those bottles with my update order via PayPal rather than have the Lab suffer outrageous fees.

 

Does the Lab have anything on the website stating that they prefer PayPal over CCNow? I, for one, would have soundly avoided CCNow from the outset.

[rivki8699]

I'm having a bit of confusion about PayPal. It used to be that I'd pay straight from my bank account and it would go through immediately. But now I'm getting separate notifications of when I ask to send payment and when it's processed, and the transaction is being called an e-check instead of a bank transfer. Does this mean I'm going to get bumped to the back of the pack for shipments? And why is it taking so long to clear my payment nowadays?

[Morrighana]

You'll have to ask Paypal directly about any change in their processes, but to the best of my knowledge, echeque payments are queued by date placed rather than date cleared; they just can't ship 'em until it clears.

[Carmencita]

Damn. I've been using the CC. I will most definitely place all my future orders using Paypal. Sorry! I want the max funds to go to Beth and crew.

[Analise]

Thanks for this info!

 

After reading this I went to CCNow & cancelled my 05/17 order. I'll just reorder those bottles with my update order via PayPal rather than have the Lab suffer outrageous fees.

 

Does the Lab have anything on the website stating that they prefer PayPal over CCNow? I, for one, would have soundly avoided CCNow from the outset.

 

Yep, it's right on the front page in red text (under where it says "for information about ordering samples CLICK HERE").

 

IF YOU ARE PAYING VIA PAYPAL, please do NOT use our online credit card processor. Place your order through PayPal using the payment address paypal [at] blackphoenixalchemylab [dot] com and fill your order info in the comments field.

 

I didn't really understood what all that meant (for some reason) until after reading on the forums about it though. I'm not sure how blonde that makes me.

[JennyGardener]

Okay, I'm just confused. I guess I was assuming that the lab's link was what they wanted people to order from. It is the easiest, just to click and have it counted in a basket. Is there any way we could get the links to change, if PayPal is preferred? I know I'm just a lazy butt, but it gets complicated to open up all those windows to connect to PayPal. But I will try to change my ways with my next order.

[filigree_shadow]

Okay, I'm just confused. I guess I was assuming that the lab's link was what they wanted people to order from. It is the easiest, just to click and have it counted in a basket. Is there any way we could get the links to change, if PayPal is preferred? I know I'm just a lazy butt, but it gets complicated to open up all those windows to connect to PayPal. But I will try to change my ways with my next order.

 

I use the CCNow cart to put everything I want in one spot and also tell me what the shipping is, and then I cut and paste from the CCNow cart into the PayPal comments field. That way you can do your shopping as usual, and you only need to open up one extra window for PayPal at the end.

[Jenesis]

I just go with PayPal right at the start - I open two windows, one with either the Lab or this forum, and one with PayPal. I browse the Lab and the forum, writing down what I want and the cost in PayPal as I go, and at the end I count how many items, add the shipping, add the whole lot up (I'm a Physics student so I have a lot of calculators ) and press "Send".

[mooncityminx]

Woah. I had no idea. I will start doing Paypal instead of CCNow ASAP! Maybe I should put something about it in my sig?

[kwsix]

I'm having a bit of confusion about PayPal. It used to be that I'd pay straight from my bank account and it would go through immediately. But now I'm getting separate notifications of when I ask to send payment and when it's processed, and the transaction is being called an e-check instead of a bank transfer. Does this mean I'm going to get bumped to the back of the pack for shipments? And why is it taking so long to clear my payment nowadays?

My eChecks seem to clear right away now that I have a credit card on file as a backup payment source. Before they were taking 5 days or so to clear. I don't know if those two things are directly related, but if not it's one heck of a coincidence.

[Teggy]

Just a quick note:

 

I got word this morning that there's some spam going around from someone posing as PayPal asking people to update their personal information by July 13th or get bounced from the service. It's not real. Paypal should never contact you asking for personal information. Please protect yourselves.