Paypal = THEFT

I visited a website today that featured PAYPAL as the payment method. I've visited lots of ecommerce sites before, and am not afraid to purchase merchandise over the net. However, today was my first experience with Paypal. The website for processing payments was straightforward and very informative. At no time did I feel I was in danger of having my financial or personal information abused.

However, at the very end of the transaction, AFTER I was told that monies had been deducted from my credit card, and that the transaction was successful... only then was I informed that a $1.95 charge would appear on my credit card statement, and that this was a "membership fee" charged by Paypal. Membership fee? What do you think you are, fucking Sam's Club???

This kind of deceitful behaviour is what gives the internet and online purchasing a bad name. At the very least, I will do my utmost to avoid vendors who insist on using Paypal as their only form of payment. And unfortunately, this experience will get me reading the terms of service much more closely before I rely on a payment service that I had assumed would charge the SELLER for their service.