What is needed to open up a merchant account? How long does it take? It seems pretty easy to get set up with paypal but then once you are with them there is all this verification and holding of funds which I don't want to deal with. Would love to hear from someone that had had both a paypal account and a merchant account to get some insight. And also to hear from someone using a merchant accounts with eBay.

Hey 49ers I sold on ebay using paypal but got frustrated and researched the merchant account providers that this site has recommended. I opened a merchant account over 2 months ago and am pretty happy with it. The application is completed all on line. You fill it out with your personal information, ss #, banking, business name, contact etc...I was downright nervous but I called the customer support line before and during the application process. They were helpful and calmed my nerves. It was actually quite simple I don't know what I expected but I figured it may be more work than I wanted to put in.

I got my set up information and was good to go in a couple days. I suggest you do like I did and call whoever you are interested in. I had great luck and am happy with my service, quick, simple, friendly folks on the telephone, get my money when transactions are made, etc...good stuff. check them out...and if you are still nervous look into others I just liked how this site broke the merchant account vendors down for you...merchantinc is working for me and that is better than what many can say about paypal

yeah I thought it was a longer and more complicated process to get started than it was. 5 minutes to complete the application and then approved the following day. I also signed up with one of the recommended alternatives through this site and it has worked out well for me.

Sayonara Payhell!!!!

The benefit of working with PayPal is that you can get your account set up immediately. However, the reason that many merchants end up frustrated with PayPal is due to the fact that they don't take the time to understand your business upfront. As such, if you experiences spikes in your business, it can be a trigger for your account to be shut down. As such, it's always a good idea to get your own merchant account to avoid these issues down the line.

There is a similar posting here that can explain it in more detail - How are Square and Stripe able to accept payments on merchants' behalf without requiring them to hold their own merchant accounts with a banking/financial institution? - Quora