My Idea - PIF Paypal Account

[Sallana]

So I've had this idea for a while, and I figure I will share it with you and see what you think. It's been bouncing around in my head for quite a few days and I can't think of a reason how it could go wrong. So just let me know what you think.

I was thinking the moderators of this board could band together and create a paypal account which would be monitored and maintained by all of them. The paypal e-mail address could either be publicly displayed or PM'd to you upon request.

What would follow is an open donation process. If you have 5 bucks laying around you can spare - donate it to PIF.

What would the money be used for?
To help those in need, of course! If an emergency situation should arise, we would have a little nest egg we could turn to to help somebody in dire need super fast.

 

[pipskicks]

So I've had this idea for a while, and I figure I will share it with you and see what you think. It's been bouncing around in my head for quite a few days and I can't think of a reason how it could go wrong. So just let me know what you think.

I was thinking the moderators of this board could band together and create a paypal account which would be monitored and maintained by all of them. The paypal e-mail address could either be publicly displayed or PM'd to you upon request.

What would follow is an open donation process. If you have 5 bucks laying around you can spare - donate it to PIF.

What would the money be used for?
To help those in need, of course! If an emergency situation should arise, we would have a little nest egg we could turn to to help somebody in dire need super fast.

Great but if we were to do this more "officially" using a company that specifically disallows this use is a bad idea IMO.

The reason I say so is not because I don't use Paypal, I do, but they do "some" investigation, all they would have to do is see all the history, at least some of us buy other things, it would be very risky IMO.

Then again, there are other Paypal competitors that we can look into maybe? It's a good idea, I just think it being against their TOS is an issue if we were going to get into large $$$ amounts.
It would also be tantamount to ordering from China with how Paypal randomly just shuts down accounts.

Don't want to be negative, I am interested, just think we may need to be more imaginative.

 

[Sallana]

Great but if we were to do this more "officially" using a company that specifically disallows this use is a bad idea IMO.

The reason I say so is not because I don't use Paypal, I do, but they do "some" investigation, all they would have to do is see all the history, at least some of us buy other things, it would be very risky IMO.

Then again, there are other Paypal competitors that we can look into maybe? It's a good idea, I just think it being against their TOS is an issue if we were going to get into large $$$ amounts.
It would also be tantamount to ordering from China with how Paypal randomly just shuts down accounts.

Don't want to be negative, I am interested, just think we may need to be more imaginative.

I had no idea it was agains PP TOS! Woooopsie. Well, like you said there are other companies. We may need to get imaginative. Let's see what others think.

 

[Jules22871]

Sorry, but this has been discussed before and it has always been decided that it is better to not even go in this direction. There are way too many ways for it to go wrong even if everyone is on the up and up. Someone gets mad and accuses someone else, etc. None of us are willing to take that risk.

 

[pipskicks]

I had no idea it was agains PP TOS! Woooopsie. Well, like you said there are other companies. We may need to get imaginative. Let's see what others think.

Make sure to be aware! They have shut down accounts etc. for it, just be aware...best just to keep things as short as possible, if you noticed people don't like to put anything "ecig related" in PP, they may allow for 90% of what we get being as it is just hardware, but always play it safe there.

 

[UntamedRose]

I think the idea alone, is a very sweet one.......someone loosing their stuff needs emergency replacements. Bam done.

But we wouldnt want to use a individuals personal PP account want to keep such funds separate and you cant have two.
PP is extremely strict about that kind of thing.
So we would have to open a non-profit organization account. Which has to be connected to a bank account in such org's name, to get that you have to have the paperwork..which takes someone going down to their clerk of courts. Paying the filing fee and getting approval to have a PIF ecf non profit org. Pending the state is very hard to pain in the .... all day at the DMV kinda thing.
I dont think it's impossible....just point out there would be a lot more to it.


Besides, every time a need has come up...this group has risen to meet it and gone beyond. Doesnt take a whole lot of time either, it's rather amazing.

 

[Jules22871]

I think the idea alone, is a very sweet one.......someone loosing their stuff needs emergency replacements. Bam done.

But we wouldnt want to use a individuals personal PP account want to keep such funds separate and you cant have two.
PP is extremely strict about that kind of thing.
So we would have to open a non-profit organization account. Which has to be connected to a bank account in such org's name, to get that you have to have the paperwork..which takes someone going down to their clerk of courts. Paying the filing fee and getting approval to have a PIF ecf non profit org. Pending the state is very hard to pain in the .... all day at the DMV kinda thing.
I dont think it's impossible....just point out there would be a lot more to it.


Besides, every time a need has come up...this group has risen to meet it and gone beyond. Doesnt take a whole lot of time either, it's rather amazing.

Very well put. It really is not a feasible idea. It is a most generous one, but just not a practical one. Like Untamed said, whenever there has been a need it has been taken care of very quickly. In fact, I would say the way we handle it now is faster and better than having a paypal acct. You would have to announce the need. Wait for people to deposit money, some may have to wait until pay day to donate money. Then you have to order it and wait for it to be processed and shipped. You're looking at least a week to get things to someone.

With the current way it's done, people see the need, throw things in an envelope and get it in the mail either that day or the next. The people that would have to wait on a payday to send money would probably be able to drop a little juice or a couple of attys in an envelope right away. Much faster and thus more efficient. This way you are looking at about 3 days depending on where they live and what day of the week it is.

Don't get me wrong, the generosity you are showing is great but I really don't think we will ever get approval to have an account or to do the collection and distribution of goods.

Edit to add: As Untamed pointed out, all the hoops you have to jump thru to get an account, you need to add this to it. Who is going to do the tax work at the end of the year and the paperwork to ensure that there is no profit being made? That is a very daunting task for anyone.

 

[Sallana]

Okay okay okay! LOL

I obviously did not think this over in depth well enough. You guys are pointing out things I never would have thought of at all. I just wanted to have a pool of funds for emergencies, not pass a bill through senate

In any case thank you for reading and educating. It was very nice of you to read and kindly explain the reasons it would not be practical. You don't get that very often from 'moderators' on other forums

 

[Xanax]

Nahhhh lol. Paypal blows. They always shut my account down for no reason. I have to open a new one with the same card so much. I've used 3 different cards that I use regularly on a day to day basis and they still shut it down without notice. I do NOT use my paypal to buy ANYTHING e-cig related. I only buy things that are accepted by paypal... Why they shut it down? No one knows, not even paypal knows. I've contacted them several times and they say "we couldn't find any issues with your account, we have re-opened it" blah blah blah. Just... Screw paypal. That's all.

 

[Jules22871]

Paypal can sure be wonky most of the time. It is a crap shoot to use at best.

 

[pipskicks]

FEEpal They are like a bank, without being called a bank. Grrr Paypal, one of those evil necessities.