PayPal questions because I'm dumb.

[Hatter]

I went through most of the FAQ on their site, but I still need some things confirmed by actual people.

So, with PayPal, I can link my bank account directly to it, so I can buy things online as if they were a debit transaction. Well, I thought to do that all I had to do was add and confirm my bank account with them, which I did. The whole "tell us how many cents we deposited in your account" thing. But it still says I'm Unverified. Can I pay with direct debit now, or do I have to be verified first?
It's a stupid system, really. If I had the credit card you need to get verified, I wouldn't be signing up for PayPal in the first place.

Also, do I have to put money in my PayPal account before I can start spending? Are regular purchases with PayPal different from the "direct debit" purchases?
Does it go something like: 1. Buy something with PayPal. 2. They pay for it, and it shows your Paypal balance as being -negative however much it cost. 3. You transfer money from your bank account to your Paypal account to even the balance. Then everyone's even.

Am I way off?

It gives me this message: "The goal of this process is to verify that you reside at the address to which your credit card statement is mailed. Therefore, you must add a credit card to your PayPal account. Please add a card below."

I'm just wondering whether I have to be verified to pay directly through my debit account, or do anything for that matter.

Funny thing is, even though it says "Add credit card or debit card", they don't even give me the option of getting validated with a debit card. It asks for stuff like expiration date and card verification number.

As far as vendors go, is it safe to assume that unless they explicitly say "verified buyers only", they'll accept purchases from unvalidated people?

[Master Moron]

I can't really answer all your questions, as I've never actually deposited money in my paypal account. The only reason I set it up was because a job I worked at required direct deposit into a paypal account. But, anyway, your debit card should still have an expiration date and a card verification number.

And yeah, you have to have money in your paypal account before you can spend money. You can't spend money you don't have. This thread reminds me, I need to check my paypal balance, as I haven't checked it for about a year.

[SirLemming]

Their various uses of the term "verified" get very confusing. Basically, if you don't have a credit card, certain vendors will not sell you stuff. If they say "confirmed addresses only" that definitely means you need a credit card. "Verified" gets a bit more confusing. Many places do let you buy stuff without a credit card, though, such as Animenation.com, many eBayers, and more. On the other hand, many other eBayers and places like the Homestar Runner store do require a credit card.

Somewhere in PayPal's FAQ it talks about confirming an address without a credit card. Until recently the answer was a flat-out "no", but I think they changed it recently. There's something convoluted you can do.