Your story really resonates with me, as I also was trying to start a side hustle of my own.
The original plan was to sell certain retro items on Amazon's Marketplace and possibly Ebay. I figured that the fees and taxation requirements were a logical expense in exchange for increased traffic and ease of payment.
While I wasn't concerned about getting hit with accusations of money laundering, I was extremely concerned about chargebacks and Amazon siding with the buyer instead of the seller for pretty much any reason.
Which got me thinking-- how and when did it get this bad? A wad of cash or a check in envelopes isn't the most scalable or amazingly convenient payment solution on Earth, but it is more equitable and irreversible than the current system.
In fact, I was surprised to learn that Venmo doesn't do chargebacks. Aside from Venmo's strict and arbitrary laws about money laundering ("ISIS beer funds" is a fun googleable term here), it is an infinitely more ideal way to pay than Paypal or etc.
"Want to buy something? Venmo me the money and I will send you the item. If you don't trust me as a seller, then find someone you trust who is also selling this item, because by default I do not trust any buyer."
The original plan was to sell certain retro items on Amazon's Marketplace and possibly Ebay. I figured that the fees and taxation requirements were a logical expense in exchange for increased traffic and ease of payment.
While I wasn't concerned about getting hit with accusations of money laundering, I was extremely concerned about chargebacks and Amazon siding with the buyer instead of the seller for pretty much any reason.
Which got me thinking-- how and when did it get this bad? A wad of cash or a check in envelopes isn't the most scalable or amazingly convenient payment solution on Earth, but it is more equitable and irreversible than the current system.
In fact, I was surprised to learn that Venmo doesn't do chargebacks. Aside from Venmo's strict and arbitrary laws about money laundering ("ISIS beer funds" is a fun googleable term here), it is an infinitely more ideal way to pay than Paypal or etc.
"Want to buy something? Venmo me the money and I will send you the item. If you don't trust me as a seller, then find someone you trust who is also selling this item, because by default I do not trust any buyer."