John,

When I've purchased items through PayPal I've always gone with their 'regular' service. I don't remember seeing 'personal payment' as an option anywhere in the process.

I had one instance where the product was never shipped, and I got my funds returned from PayPal.

As a 'buyer', having this protection has always appealed to me. Remember, though, that PayPal isn't the only recourse that a customer has. If they pay with Master Card or Visa and don't receive the merchandise, they can get their money back from the card company (MC and Vise just deduct it from PayPal).

If, as a sellar, you don't want to pay the PayPal fees, you can always get yourself set up to accept credit cards directly. I've always done that and never used PayPal from the sellars end. There are costs involved, but there are always costs involved in running a business. The overriding factor is being able to conveniently serve your customers. Your bank can help you with that, as can any number of card service companies.

As far as 'adding a surcharge' for folks who use PayPal to pay you, I'd advise against it. I'd not 'pay extra' so that YOU can get paid easier. That starts off the transaction with a bad taste as far as I'm concerned. If the fees are a problem, raise your prices to cover them.

Good Luck!

Buddy