How To Create A Paypal Account Under 18

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Can you purchase an item on eBay without a PayPal account?

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Can You Make Purchases on eBay With a Credit or Debit Card Instead of Using PayPal?

PayPal is the most common service used to purchase items on eBay, but luckily for those without PayPal accounts, eBay lets users pay through their "guest Checkout" feature using normal credit and debit cards as well. Most eBay sellers now accept credit and debit cards, and purchases made this way are still covered by eBay's money-back guarantee. You may, however, come across some sellers who only accept PayPal.

To check out as a guest on eBay and complete your purchase using a credit or debit card instead of a PayPal account, simply follow the procedure outlined below, and you should be able to carry out a seamless and secure transaction.

Look for this in the payment details section of your product. Where ever this is displayed, this process will work.

Step 1: Initiate the Guest Checkout Process

Clear your browser's history, cookies, and anything else that can be cleared. Alternatively, open a browser you do not usually use. If you have been using Firefox, for instance, try opening Chrome to do with this procedure. If you don;t want to clear your cookies, you need a fresh browser with which you have not signed in to any PayPal account before.
Go to eBay.com, select your product in the normal way, click "Buy it now," and proceed to the checkout.
You should see an option to continue as a guest (see image above).
If "Register" appears in place of "Check out as guest," you can register for a new eBay account and then move on to step 3. Do not associate a PayPal account with this eBay account.

Step 2: Provide Your Shipping Details

Once you've selected "Check out as guest," enter your shipping details.
At this point, eBay will calculate shipping and import fees depending on your address.

Step 3: Select a Payment Option

Next, you will be asked to select a payment option. Here, you can select Visa or MasterCard.

Note: You will not be able to find this option in the checkout if you have used any PayPal account with the eBay account you are trying to use for this purchase. It will only appear if your current eBay account is completely oblivious of any associated PayPal accounts.

Step 4: Enter Your Credit/Debit Card Details

Enter your credit/debit card details here.
Scroll down and click "Pay now." You are done!

Note: You may be asked to sign up for PayPal at the end, and if you do, your card may be linked to that PayPal account.

Look for this payment details section on an eBay listing.

Update: eBay Now Accepts Credit/Debit Card Payments Directly

eBay now officially allows a third-party payment gateway to accept credit cards for its sellers, and some sellers have started accepting credit/debit cards directly through this gateway.

If your seller accepts credit cards directly, you will see details similar to those in the image above in the payment details section in place of the usual PayPal logo.

eBay is now directly accepting credit / debit cards for some sellers. In this case I have already added a MasterCard to my Account.

Read More From Toughnickel

If you go on to make a purchase with these sellers, you will be taken to a page that allows you to enter your credit card details. As you can see from the URL in the screenshot above, this is an authentic checkout page from eBay.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Author on September 23, 2019:

Hi PiskSix,

Your card will be linked to a Paypal account after you complete your purchase, hence the fact that the card can be only used once.

PiskSix on September 23, 2019:

This article is not fully accurate;

You can only use a credit or debit card, providing the card is linked in your PayPal account.

Although eBay is very quiet about it, all the payments are validated by PayPal in the background.

If you attempt to use a payment media which does not exist in your PayPal account, the transaction will fail.

The error message was in my case:

-Sorry, can't process your payment. Here are your options:

-use a different credit or debit card

-pay with your PayPal account

After calling my Credit Card company, Ebay, and PayPal, I ascertained that, to complete a transaction directly on Ebay entering a Credit or Debit card in the Check Out page, the card you want to use must be linked in your PayPal account.

As far as I can tell, the two companies that supposedly cut ties are still pretty much intertwined.

Sunday on January 10, 2019:

Hi I have been buying on e bay for some months now but i wanted to pay for a purchase of about 280 dollars and the payment is not going through. I was told i needed to verify my paypal card and this will take time. I have tried using the debit card option to pay but not successful. What can i do?

Aamir khan on October 24, 2018:

Hi i am from karachi can i selling on ebay without paypal

StormsHalted (author) from Karachi, Pakistan on October 11, 2018:

I suspect you won't be able to use guest checkout with previously blocked cards.

Fran on October 09, 2018:

I was just suspended from Paypal, with all my cards linked, this rendered my eBay also useless since I can no longer pay using any of these flagged cards. Should I use guest check out?

Hooray! on March 13, 2018:

Yes, all went well without PayPal account. Thanks Ali for update!

StormsHalted (author) from Karachi, Pakistan on January 23, 2018:

Your purchase is still covered by the eBay money back guarantee.

Karen Asson on January 18, 2018:

I have been using eBay for over a year now and have been satisfied up until the last 4 purchases which I have had to return the items and this last one has put the money in to PayPal account and I don't have one what can I do please

StormsHalted (author) from Karachi, Pakistan on January 11, 2018:

It will not work again.

Massimo on January 10, 2018:

Thank you. Just wanted to buy something without open an paypal account and it works perfect. Now I hope I will receive the stuff.

Now if I use the same card and my oder email address will work again?

Al on October 11, 2017:

I just learned last night after winning an auction on eBay that I cannot use my Visa debit card anymore to make a payment. I have a 100% feedback rating as a buyer & had made over 20 purchases in 2017, the last purchase from 3 days ago using the same debit card to make a payment & now eBay tells me I had exceeded my debit card usage (?) & now it is blocked & the only way to make a payment is to sign up for a PayPal account which I refuse to do because of a screw up they did to me which took 10 years to resolve. Is my Visa debit card US$ inferior to a PayPal version?

Jake on September 18, 2017:

Thanks. Paypal recently restricted my account and this really helped.

James Montgomery on April 26, 2017:

Following your suggestions step by step, I was able to make my purchase successfully, with no PayPal hostage taking attempt. Cleared history, cache, cookies, et all in my Chrome browser and it sailed right thru, paying with my normal Visa card.

Many thanks Storm, your tip was the best one I've seen yet this year regarding eBay. Instead of an 'Attaboy', as a tugboat Captain, I offer you "Yeoman's job, 'mate!".

Jay on March 30, 2017:

Paypal are a bunch of crooks. Buyers are not safe at all when purchasing through them. I refuse to use them anymore. Thank you for this guide, worked great so far on my first purchase.

keaton628 on March 10, 2017:

I have a Paypal account and am currently having a problem with my information being comprimised and have had to open a Fraud complaint. I appreciate the information about buying on Ebay without using Paypal. Thanks!!

Nil on February 15, 2017:

I've done all the things you listed but I think it is not working anymore :(

Rick russell on January 09, 2017:

Ebay supports the sellers complaints about buyers.....until the buyer files a dispute( lieing )about not receiving a package..... wanting money back...so then ebay supports the buyer... Huh!

Ebay is very messed up liberal capitalist.

I was blocked only for emails to sellers..requesting proper descriptions.

So stupid.

So now i need to drop my account and buy as guest.

Racheal on November 10, 2016:

Hi,

Is there a reason why i had two invoices, one to ebay and one to the seller when i made a purchase?

StormsHalted (author) from Karachi, Pakistan on October 29, 2016:

You will need to refresh the cookies as well, sometimes when installing a new browser cookies are imported from the previous one. Try on a different browser e.g if you used Chrome before, use Firefox now. Do tell me if it works or not.

Krud on October 29, 2016:

How often can one buy as a guest? I tried to do a 2nd purchase in a freshly installed browser and it denied me, I even used a credit card that has never been used in eBay or PayPal before...

Krud on October 29, 2016:

Worked for me, only once though...

Ida Sessions on June 14, 2016:

In the US, PayPal only allows guest payments for a limited number of transactions. It doesn't matter whether you use another CC; at checkout, PayPal states that "the transaction cannot be completed with this payment method. Please try another." A PayPal database no doubt stores our names as a way to encourage us to open an account. Clever them.

I now use Square instead. So far transactions through Square have been seamless.

Jamescurt on February 14, 2016:

Wow, whatta nice guide!...you made me shocked!..lol thanks again.

stella vadakin from 3460NW 50 St Bell, Fl32619 on November 15, 2015:

It worked great for me when I did not have a paypal account.

StormsHalted (author) from Karachi, Pakistan on February 10, 2015:

Paypal is not known to process plastic cards or VCCs from Pakistan. Chances are that you will run into trouble, that's the reason I have kept my own credit cards away from eBay (that goes for local banks only).

I have written a separate article concerning Pakistan and eBay however.

Shiji on February 09, 2015:

Dude there is no option for Pakistan in the drop box. And I have a UBL INTERNET VISA can I use that for purchases?

StormsHalted (author) from Karachi, Pakistan on January 09, 2015:

Then ..... negotiate with the seller ...... about countless other ways outside ebay ...... I have gone as far as asking the seller to enter his paypal into my hubpages a/c so he could directly receive a payment in his paypal.

peachy from Home Sweet Home on January 09, 2015:

what if i don't have paypal and credit card or debit card? Pay cash?