PayPal Settings for Easy Guest Checkout
It can get tricky keeping track of all the settings in your PayPal account, so I wanted to let our sellers know about some options that help facilitate sales.
Guest Checkout
Not all buyers want a PayPal account, and that's why we offer guest checkout. However, the option that allows guest checkout may not be turned on in your PayPal account. Of course buyers can still check out no matter the setting, but without the guest checkout option enabled they are asked to create a PayPal account when entering their card number. If you'd like to check your settings, I've outlined the steps below as a general guide using a personal account, your PayPal dashboard may look different.
Personal PayPal Account
Log into your PayPal account and click on Settings in the upper right of the page. Then click on Seller Tools and then Website Preferences. Scroll down to the section titled "PayPal account optional". Select "ON".
STEP ONE
STEP TWO
STEP THREE
STEP FOUR
Contact telephone number
Do you need a contact phone number from your buyers to be able to buy shipping for their order? If so, you may want to look at the options on the same PayPal page as above, just below the "PayPal account optional" section. This section has the header "Contact telephone number". There are three options.
The first is to turn it on as an optional field. This will show a field for the buyer to enter their phone number, but does not require it to complete the transaction.
The second option is to REQUIRE a phone number. PayPal does not recommend this because if the buyer does not want to share their phone number, they may not complete checkout. If you need the number to ship you can always ask for it after the buyer has completed the order. They will likely be more comfortable giving it to you at that time. Note that this is an extra step you would have to take, and you'll need to weigh your options carefully.
The last option is OFF, meaning the buyer will not be asked to give you their phone number at checkout. This is PayPal's recommendation because the buyer is more likely to complete checkout.
Business Accounts
To make the above changes to your business PayPal account, go to Account Settings > Website Payments > Website Preferences. Depending on the type of business account you have, the choices will vary. Follow the steps shown to "Allow Checkout as a Guest".
Many accounts, both personal and business, have the optional PayPal account selected by default. But if you have a chance, it's worth a look to be sure!
If you'd like a video tutorial on setting this up, PayPal has created a YouTube for sellers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1cFAZhAQ54
Happy Selling!
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32 responses to PayPal Settings for Easy Guest Checkout
As usual, your directions are NOTHING like what my PayPal account shows. First of all, the upper right corner has my name and then PROFILE SETTINGS or ACCOUNT SETTINGS. I am ASSUMING you mean ACCOUNT SETTINGS and when i click on that there is NOTHING ANYWHERE that says “Seller Tools”
Hi jewelrymandave, Thanks for the feedback. So sorry you are seeing different options. After you clicked on Account Settings did you see an option for Website payments or preferences? If not, what are the choices you see on your account settings page? You can email photos and I’ll take a look at [email protected]. You can also check out the video link at the close of the blog that PayPal created to help with this. Thanks again for your comment.
Thanks. Sounds great! Elizabeth
Thanks Elizabeth!
amazing
We love being able to share this kind of info :)
Apparently I was already told this once upon a time because when I checked it out, it was already turned on. But thank you for pointing it out because I didn’t know if I had it set or not and it was good to check it.
Yes! These are often “set it and forget it” type options but good to check every once in awhile :)
This should be called: SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR A CHARGEBACK
Checking out as a guest and not providing a phone numbers is how scammers thrive. Thanks for the $42 chargeback yesterday BONANZA!!
Sorry to hear about the situation! With this PayPal setting, you can require a phone number at checkout from buyers!
We always encourage the buyer to work with the seller if they’re unhappy with their order. Unfortunately, buyers do not always reach out to us (or the seller) before taking action on their end. We’re sorry to hear this happened to you!
GREAT THANK YOU
Always happy to share info that might lead to more sales for our sellers :)
Well, I’m guessing that my PayPal “Guest Checkout” was already turned on? But, on Bonanza I don’t see any difference shown on my listings; so, I am wondering why I received this message? I missed the top part of the blog message saying to open my PayPal account to make these changes that I didn’t need. I’m still trying to sort out the unnecessary changes made to my Bonanza account when I simply opened certain ill-defined options that auto-changed my account settings. There’s gotta be a better way!
Hi there!
This won’t change the listing itself. This is simply to allow buyers the option to checkout without creating a PayPal account.
If you have questions regarding your Bonanza account, please reach out to [email protected] for assistance!
My settings were already in place, but, in general, more of this kind of information is VERY useful to Bonanza sellers. More options = more sales for everyone. Great post!
Agreed! Some sellers might not explore the PayPal settings that deeply – we were really excited to find a telephone option!
These instructions are from 2005. The new updated Paypal website looks completely different. I have no clue where this “button” is.
Hi there!
These instructions are specifically for PayPal Personal Accounts, not Business Accounts.
For Business Accounts: Account Settings > Website Payments > Website Preferences
Hi there!
These instructions are specifically for PayPal Personal Accounts, not Business Accounts.
For Business Accounts: Account Settings > Website Payments > Website Preferences
Thank you. That worked. Mine was already set to “ON” but the required phone wasn’t, so I set it to minimize chargebacks.
Great, glad to hear it.
The setting seems to be on by default. Messing with Paypal is not a scammer’s first choice. There is an ample bot-driven, seller unfriendly, third-person payment management marketplace in all that is eBay while it still persists at a 2 P/E. Nobody seems to want it even at that price.
Double checked and all is good on my end! Thanks for the reminder to check this!
That’s great, FantasticFinds2014!
Thanks for posting these tips. Over the years, PayPal has moved things around and I wasn’t aware that Guest Checkout needed to be set. I also set “ask for a phone number” as an option, not a requirement, and will let the customer decide if they want to provide a phone number.
Excellent choices, mercaprise! Glad you were able to navigate the PayPal changes.
Thanks for the information, the feature was turned on my in business account but under the “Auto Return” I still had a URL for a website that I had closed down before I opened my booth here on Bonanza. It now has the correct link.
Great catch, Stoneponies!
I cannot find any of the buttons you are referring to. Mine are completely different.
Hi, ToysFromAttic,
Oh no! Email us at [email protected] We will be happy to help you find the options!
Thank you for this information. We did have it set for guest checkout already, but it was good to check to be sure. Appreciate the step-by-step instructions to get us to the right place to check it.
Hi, ToysofAnotherTime,
That is awesome!!!! Thank you for letting us know. Glad the instructions were helpful!
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