When Paypal first started on Ebay, I was not too easily prone to make or receive payments though it. Not me !  I want to send those unsecure envelopes with my cash in them- check/money order, and I love to open those envelopes with payments, I look forward to the mail man delivering my mail, Cha- Ching !!  . Well no more,  Hey did you send that payment, is it lost, When am I going to receive my item ?, I sent the payment out.  Now I would rather with out a doubt , send payments  and receive them though Paypal. I think it has enhanced the buying and selling experience for all. It is the most secure way to go. Really if all buying and selling were made with this tool, I think a lot of the scams, would be avoided. You know for a fact your money is received by the seller, and likewise the the money is received from the buyer. Before Paypal, overseas buyers and sellers were at a disadvatage on ebay. Snail mail or Western Union Payments were lengthy, too much of a time frame for monies to get lost  or not delivered at all. No security at all with these methods or actually even sending a check or money order to a person anywhere. It is their word against yours , on if they received or sent the payment. Try a trace a money order- Good Luck !  Likewise no figuring out the exchange rate. With Paypal your finacial inforamtion is kept private, it is secure and safe from hackers, scammers, any type of fraud. You are protected 100% against unauthorized payments from your accounts, not only that, your purchases are protected. All in all my buying and selling experiences on Ebay have not been bad at all. BUT ! Lets face it there are a lot of scammers, untrustworthy people on this planet. Unfortunate, but true. Why put yourself at risk, when Paypal has a hassle free , easy method of on-line secure way to send or receive money.