PayPal offers ZERO of the legal protections afforded buyers using a credit card. All that PayPal guarantees is that a buyer's money went to the right place. Credit cards cover situations where a buyer is unsatisfied with a purchase of products or services. Buyers can refuse payment or ask their credit card company to reverse a transaction after the fact. PayPal offers none of those protections.
It appears that mega WallStreet player Carl Ichan is getting his wish to split PayPal from eBay. The number one reason that I have NEVER used eBay in my entire life is that they exclusively use PayPal as a payment platform. I refuse to do business with someone demanding direct and unconditional access to my bank account before I can purchase things.
PayPal is enjoyed by people who do not qualify for a credit card. For the life of me, I don't see why people think they are a good company. As numerous others have commented, PayPal is impossible to deal with. I tried to purchase something for my work from PayPal and they demanded my employer's banking information and refused to simply refused our business credit card for payment. PayPal insisted on unlimited and permanent access to our bank account.
I might be wrong of course but Im pretty sure that Ive used cash on eBay. Im also pretty sure that I have two credit cards on file with PP and NO bank accounts at all.