PayPal AND Square

I thought about purchasing the PayPal device that takes the chip card for $149 because I love the versatility and I have read that PayPal has great support. I was at a Craft Fair a few weeks ago chatting with a jeweler who told me there's no need to spend all that money. Her Square mag strip reader for $15 has never given her any problems and she does a lot of business. As a form of redundancy, and to be on the safe side, I then thought maybe I'd get the inexpensive Square for my iPhone and also the $15 PayPal reader for my iPad. Has anyone tried both simultaneously? Maybe I could use one and my "assistant" the other or use one until the battery dies or some such method. That way I could try them both out and still be spending 1/5 as much as the PayPal chip reader. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

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  • Thank you @GregLittle - this is what I was leaning toward until the jeweler basically told me don't bother. I think I'll just go ahead with my original plan for the peace of mind. I wonder if you can purchase a spare battery? Or is it strictly a re-charge device? I already have a couple of portable USB backups.

  • You have to add or list something like a second device or second person to your account to use both simultaniously. The main drawback of the Square mag stripe reader is you are responsible for fraudulent use.

    That is why the chip readers and chip cards are phasing out the mag stripe readers.

    I bought the PayPal bluetooth recently but have not used it yet because I am waiting to activate it (first transaction) just before my next show in Mid September. I have 90 days to process $3K in transactions to get the $100 rebate. This should very fast and easy since I have 8 shows during that 3 month period.

    I like the Pay Pal reader and all of its features. The battery indicator is nice because it doesn't just poop out without you realizing the battery power is out.

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