If you are promoting products for instant commissions then you need to have a PayPal account and as every marketer knows, PayPal can be very fickle in closing down accounts at the drop of a hat. Keeping your PayPal account is vital if you want to earn money online, particularly with the amount of time and trouble it can be to create a new account with them.
In order to keep your account then you have to ensure that you follow all of their rules and regulations and stay on the right side of the line. It is always worth having an alternative PayPal account and accounts with other payment processors just in case.
Firstly you need to realise that Paypal are very hot on fraud and will shut down an account or stop a transaction if there is anything even vaguely suspicious about it. So you need to make sure your online business is above board.
If you are about to do a big promotion and are expecting a lot of money to come in to your account then you HAVE to speak to PayPal and foresworn them. If they suddenly see a lot of money come in to your account they are likely to freeze your account due to "fraud". Yes, I know it is legitimate money, but they really don't care and will shut you down because it appears to be unusual. So take the time, phone them, speak to someone who will record your conversation on your account notes.
You also need to make sure that you do not have too many refund rates, so this goes back to picking a good quality product in the first place. If you get too many refunds then you again my find that you get shut down so ensure the products you pick don't get too many refunds, particularly if the payments are directly in to your account.
It is also worth your while ensuring you have a business and personal account (which is allowed by PayPal) so that you do have a backup in case of emergencies. Also record any specific settings you have made in IPN or anything else to get any of your sites working. Keep track via a spreadsheet of which sites you are using with which PayPal address to make sure there is no confusion.
Do not leave any large amounts of money in your PayPal account. It costs nothing to withdraw it so as soon as it reaches an amount that is good for you, get it in to your bank account. That way you aren't going to become one of these horror stories who have lost tens of thousands of dollars when PayPal froze their account.
It's also recommended to set up a bank account without an overdraft specifically for PayPal. Withdraw your money from PayPal to this account and then move it again to your personal account. This benefits you in two ways. Firstly it means that PayPal can't help themselves your money on a whim. It also means that should your PayPal account get hacked you will not lose any major amount of money.
So long as you adhere to their rules and you are sensible about your approach to business then you shouldn't have any issues with PayPal. A PayPal account though is very important for Internet Marketers and you will need one if you really want to make money online!
