We knew we were getting into sticky territory with an online-based registry, but we figured there was still something for everyone. You could pay with cash or check, after all, something people of all ages and comfort levels with the internet know how to do. However, I guess you do still have to open the website somehow, and then understand what’s on there and how it works.
Though we originally thumbed our noses at using PayPal as an option on our registry, it’s really not that bad.
Explanation: PayPal is a way to make payments to people using the internet. The user experience is very similar to that of any other monetary transaction you make online. This is how it works.
The internet-savvy among us don’t bat an eyelash at things like online registries and shipping address vs. billing addresses. But the e-savvy do pause at an online registry that doesn’t actually take credit or debit cards. Therefore, we added our PayPal account to make things easier on people who prefer to go this route.
PayPal will deduct “2.9 percent plus 30 cents” from each transaction, as a little fee for the convenience. Three percent isn’t a big deal, we decided, for the benefit of broadening the options.
Do you have a honeymoon registry? How are your guests able to contribute to it?
Taco should note that the overly simplistic (condescending?) explanation of PayPal was for less-internet-savvy familial audience reading the blog 
We have a Honeyfund! We didn’t add PayPal to it because we didn’t want to deal with the 2.9% and 30 cents and mainly b/c when we showed it to a not so e-saavy couple, they were like, “what’s Pay Pal?” So far we’ve gotten a few gifts via Honeyfund. One was mailed to us already and another will be given to us at the wedding.
So, so far, so good! We did set up a regular registry too for the more traditional guests.
that 3%+ irks me about paypal. we tried using that for our class reunion and it was a pain when we had to make refunds. grr.
We’re only using honeyfund for our registry. We have no need for anything else so we didn’t feel the need to go to BBB or Target. The 3% paypal fee is much less than the fees of any other honeymoon registry site, so we don’t mind. All of our friends have used paypal thus far. Even my FI’s grandmother figured out the honeyfund thing, but she just electronically transferred the money into his old savings account. (They are linked because he transfers $100/month till she dies for paying off his private student loan.)
Hmm interesting! I admit I’m not too schooled on these things (I use paypal but not too sure how it all works) – thanks for sharing!
We’ll be using the paypal way for our honeymoon fund as well. If people send money using their bank account, it’s actually free. So if you encourage people to send via bank account number instead of their credit card or debit card number, you can retain the ~3%.
We also have a Honeyfund but are not using paypal option. It seemed easier for our non-esavvy relatives to just give us cash. So far so good… my registry is almost … almost..complete!!! YAY My shower is Saturday!! wooo
My sister used honeyfund but signed up too late, about a few days before the wedding. So no one knew about it but me and I’m the only one who used it.
We have a honeymoon registry but not through a website. Because most people that we know prefer to use cheques or bank transfers we’ve just asked that if they want to contribute to write out any cheques to Mr Moo or if they’d like to send us money direct to ask us for details. That way it’s also not another wedding related website that we need to keep track of. And the unexpected money in our accounts is a super surprise!
We have a honeymoon resgitry with PayPal. Losing 3% is a little irksome, but I also know as a guest in other weddings, I would have appreciated the convenience. We have a “things” registry, too, but we’d rather have the honeymoon items, so this is a good way to let people still have the convenience of online shopping. People who aren’t comfortable with PayPal are just sending checks – so we think it’s working out great!
2.9% AND a 30cent fee – a little owie, but if it does make it easier, can’t complain about a gift right? Hopefully the denomination given will help cover the transaction fees!
Mrs. Taco, San Francisco Age and Occupation: 29, writer/editor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 37, editor Engagement Date: May 13, 2009 Wedding Date: August 2010 Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans Building About Me: I like laughing and talking with good friends over good food and good drink, be it wine, cocktail, or brew. I write and edit things for fun and profit, but I rarely "write" these days without a keyboard and high-speed internets. Favorites include Mr. Taco, my Boston terrier, San Francisco, getting out of town, and the Roaring ’20s. I was kind-of planning a wedding since roughly 2006, when I discovered "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on the WE channel. I ran and didn't look back with a theme I called "urban vintage," and it culminated in the most magical day a taco could ask for.
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