What is the best way to accep payments on an ebay shop?

I have a friend who is setting up a shop on eBay and so need to take payments. He needs to know the best way to do this and I suggested I post and ask here. He signed up for PayPal but we found a lot of negative press so decided this way would be easier. He doesn't mind paying for the service and is based in the UK. Thanks for your input.

It's best to offer as many possible payment methods to your clients.

If he's in the UK, the standard ones are; Cheque, Bank Transfer and PayPal. They are the ones which are offered by most UK sellers. Then, it's better if you can add as many more as possible for example eGold etc.

Also, it's a big plus if you have a merchant account or a 3rd party processor which you can do your transactions through, for example www.2co.com www.authorize.net etc

So, I would recommend accepting Cheque, Bank Transfer, PayPal, Credit Card and the rest of the options are up to you

Regards
Steven Billings

Thanks, il pass that on.

Bank transfer's may be a preferential payment method for others in the UK, so mention it first.

Be prepared for systems that have chargeback potential like anything with a chequing account. Although your bank transfer may be from a chequing account, bank transfers are not cheques. They don't work quite the same way. Cheques only assume you have the money in the bank, and can bounce if it's not there. Best to notify customers using this method that only confirmed deposit payments will proceed. Bank transfers can only work when the money is there and will be much faster due to less need for this error checking.

Basically with the mindfield of payment options out there, unless it's immediate payment and you receive immediate confirmation of a completed transaction both ways, only then can you maximize revenue.

hope that helps
sf2k