Cactus seed payment

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Stevium
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Cactus seed payment

Post by Stevium »

I'm submitting my seed form for the first time. The form implies that domestic members should pay by cheque or postal order, but that overseas members can use PayPal. Is PayPal not applicable to all members? It would be significantly easier and faster for people to do it this way.
Terry S.

Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by Terry S. »

Speaking as one of the retired MSG seed distributors, the use of Paypal does add a fair bit of extra work to the task. This is particularly so when it is not always simple to match a Paypal account name to a particular seed order. I can therefore sympathise with the request to use cheques.
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Phil_SK
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by Phil_SK »

There's obviously a cost associated with Paypal, though this could be got around with a surcharge as typically happens when you pay for something this way. I believe that the main problem with it is that it's quite a faff matching up the bits of paper that come through the post with the list of payments that would be visible online when that list might run into the hundreds. If/when the whole system were overhauled, as seems inevitable, Paypal + online ordering together would probably be doable.
Phil Crewe, BCSS 38143. Mostly S. American cacti, esp. Lobivia, Sulcorebutia and little Opuntia
Stevium
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by Stevium »

Thanks for your responses. I understand it may be an issue if using a paper form to order but pay online - but then why not just move online? As you said, perhaps with the overhaul.

My issue is that I don't have a bricks and mortar bank anymore and have moved to an online-only challenger bank, which is becoming more and more popular, and therefore I have no chequebook. I additionally work full time and my local post office is open at inconvenient hours for me which makes it difficult to purchase a postal order (incidentally I had no idea they still existed). Still, I'm sure I'll figure something out.
topsy
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by topsy »

HI,

It would be very difficult marrying up so many PayPal transactions with orders. The BCSS single PayPal account currently receives orders for publications including back issues, badges, labels etc. etc. There are also at the time that seed orders would be going through, all the subscription renewals not to mention new memberships. Added to this is the fact that the Seed distributors do not have access to the PayPal data and so it would have to be relayed to them by the Treasurer or Membership Secretary neither of whom want additional work at this time of the year.

Inevitably if it was a universal option members would pay for more than one thing on their transaction, membership renewals, seeds, the odd publication and identifying seed payments would be very time consuming.

Making a cheque out and forwarding it with the order to the seed distributor does not result in a delay of the order being processed as nothing is sent out before Christmas.

Hope that explains the current situation.

Suzanne.
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el48tel
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by el48tel »

Whilst I feel sorry for those folk with the "newer" but less accessible bank accounts which don't have the good old fashioned cheque books ........... but please feel a little sympathy for the members who don't have access to the Net nor the on-line bank .... yes those people DO exist ..... OR for some reason don't use PayPal .... and yes there are people like that too (including myself who had an argument with e-Bay and hence PayPal). And yes there are other methods including BACS but that needs matching a Net banking page with a stack of order forms. A few years ago the banks wanted to lose cheques for ever and a few of us campaigned hard to prevent this change because we knew what could happen. We were derided ........... think "laughing on other side of face" may be the appropriate comment.
BEWARE ... moving to cashless transactions is the next banking faux pas.
Endeavouring to grow Aylostera, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Gymnocalycium, Matucana, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia. Fallen out of love with Lithops and aggravated by Aeoniums.
Currently being wooed by Haworthia, attempting hybridisation, and enticed by Mesembs.
Stevium
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by Stevium »

I'm not advocating for removal of cheques if that's how people want to pay, I'm enquiring about alternative complementary methods. Thanks.
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el48tel
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by el48tel »

Stevium wrote: Sun Dec 16, 2018 12:52 pm I'm not advocating for removal of cheques if that's how people want to pay, I'm enquiring about alternative complementary methods. Thanks.
No - I appreciate that ... and apologize if my response seemed to advocate that ... I was merely pointing out that the more "modern" and "efficient" and "trendy" banks have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, forgetting the needs of the customer without whom they would not exist.
Endeavouring to grow Aylostera, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Gymnocalycium, Matucana, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia. Fallen out of love with Lithops and aggravated by Aeoniums.
Currently being wooed by Haworthia, attempting hybridisation, and enticed by Mesembs.
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Aiko
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by Aiko »

topsy wrote: Sun Dec 16, 2018 12:21 pm Added to this is the fact that the Seed distributors do not have access to the PayPal data and so it would have to be relayed to them by the Treasurer or Membership Secretary neither of whom want additional work at this time of the year.
Of course this could easily be changed, by handing out paypal log in details to the seed distributors (and for security reasons change the password again after the (peak of the) distirbution) so they can have a look at it themselves. If the society wants to take this step, of course.
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conolady
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Re: Cactus seed payment

Post by conolady »

Aiko wrote: Sun Dec 16, 2018 1:32 pm
topsy wrote: Sun Dec 16, 2018 12:21 pm Added to this is the fact that the Seed distributors do not have access to the PayPal data and so it would have to be relayed to them by the Treasurer or Membership Secretary neither of whom want additional work at this time of the year.
Of course this could easily be changed, by handing out paypal log in details to the seed distributors (and for security reasons change the password again after the (peak of the) distirbution) so they can have a look at it themselves. If the society wants to take this step, of course]

But still all more work...?
Last edited by conolady on Sun Dec 16, 2018 3:04 pm, edited 6 times in total.
First it was orchids, then, since c.2001, cacti and succulents. I'm into South African plants, mainly conos, lithops and haworthias, with a few cacti, especially 'posh' mamms, turbs and other smalls. Now it’s stapeliads as well...
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