Originally Posted by butterflywing

you should consider opening a paypal account. it's really very safe and free.
with mine i have a dedicated credit card (that i don't use for anything but online purchases, also free) as a backup, in case my paypal account is empty without my realizing it. i do sometimes get carried away. the paypal account is also for online purchases only. in my case, it's a separate checking account that i transfer money into when i think it needs it. keeping it separate allows me to keep track of it. i never use it for anything else. i never write checks on it.

if there is a dispute paypal speaks for you and makes sure that you get what you should, either money or merchandise. with paypal, no one knows your bank account number, your paypal number or anything else except your shipping address. it's an instant transfer, meaning as soon as you pay, they submit the charge to your bank and the bank instantly transfers the money into their bank.
as long as there's money in your account to cover the charge, the deal goes through and shipping can occur. if there's no money, it gets charged to your secondary payer, your credit card, and if that clears it's the same as paying with a card. paypal lets me know if they turned down a charge and my bank lets me know that they turned down a payment for lack of funds. the charge to my credit card shows up on my statement. as for the company, they got their money and they're happy. i get my fabric and i'm happy. call paypal and ask them for info.

paypal is not paying me to tout their services. i just think the service is fantastic idea.