What Paypal Fees Can Authors And Pro Bloggers Expect To Pay?

Do self-published authors and bloggers need to worry about Paypal fees?

There are many ways that you can receive money online.

If you are an author or blogger, you will be paid for your book sales royalties, website advertising or affiliate marketing programs.

When you sign up to publishing platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct (KDP), Google Play, Smashwords or Draft2Digital, each one will advise you of its payment method options.

For advertising services like Google Adsense when you register, you will be informed about how you will receive payments. It is the same for any affiliate marketing programs you might join.

Free of fees

The good news for authors and bloggers is that in most cases, you will not be charged any processing fees. This applies equally to Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), which will transfer funds directly to your bank account, Payoneer and PayPal payments.

All payment services charge a fee when processing payments for any transaction amount. But it is generally paid by the company sending money to you. In these cases, there is usually no fee for you to pay to receive your payment by EFT or money from PayPal.

If you are in doubt, you can check your transactions and if there are any fees, they will be noted in your transaction details.

However, it is important that you carefully check how you will be paid by each service provider when you sign up. You may have to supply your bank account details or open a PayPal account if you do not already have one.

If you elect to or have no choice other than to receive your payments by check (cheque), you will definitely be charged a clearing fee by your bank. These fees range widely between banks and countries.

Payment options for authors and bloggers

Payment method or methods offered by the most popular services:

Self-Publishing Services

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) – EFT and Check

Smashwords – Check (the US only) and Paypal

Draft2Digital – EFT, Paypal, and Payoneer

Google Play Books – EFT

Advertising Services

Google Adsense – EFT

Chitika – Payoneer only

Clickbank – Check only

Affiliate Programs

Amazon Associates – EFT (the US and Europe) and Check (Most international payments)

ShareASale – EFT

Viglink – Paypal

Individual and company direct affiliate programs – Generally PayPal

When do I need to pay PayPal fees?

You will only have to consider if you need to pay PayPal seller fees if you sell goods or services directly to a customer.

It is a situation that will rarely apply to authors. However, for bloggers, fees will apply if you sell sponsored or advertorial content on your site, or sell services such as editing or proofreading.

In these situations, you might have a Paypal button on your site to accept payment by Paypal or credit cards or debit card.

Or you send your client a Paypal invoice. In either case, you will be charged a fee for each transaction. There will be no fee for your customer.

When you receive a payment and check your Paypal account, click on a transaction and you will see the fees at the bottom of the details page. Your PayPal balance will be credited with the payment, less the fees.

How can I calculate my Paypal fees?

There are two different basic Paypal fee scales with fixed fees and percentage deductions.

For sales within the US 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

For international sales 4.4% transaction fee plus a fixed fee based on the currency received.

It is worth noting that if you send or receive money to a friend or family member for money as a personal payment from PayPal, there is no fee if you use your PayPal balance or bank account.

However, if you transfer money by credit or debit card or Paypal credit, you will pay 2.9% plus a fixed fee.

If you are unsure, you can check the PayPal Fee page. Alternatively, you could use an online Paypal fee calculator.

Conclusion

For most self-publishing authors, you should have no concerns about being charged Paypal transaction fees on personal accounts.

All fees will be paid by the publishing service that is paying you your book sales royalties. However, depending on where you live, there may be a currency conversion.

It doesn’t matter if you have elected to be paid by EFT, Paypal or Payoneer, you should not pay any fees.

However, if you have no choice other than to be paid by paper check, you will certainly have to pay bank fees. Check with your bank and ask what it charges.

Most pro bloggers prefer to use Paypal because it is extremely efficient and convenient to send and receive money. It also makes it so easy for any international transaction.

It makes paying for plugins, themes and software subscriptions very easy. At the same time, it is also the best way to get paid for services.

With a linked bank account, the facility to use your PayPal balance or bank account to pay bills or withdraw money makes managing your payments and receipts very easy to manage.

But there will be fees when you receive money as a seller. Perhaps it is a small price to pay for convenience.