Selling Online on Shabbat

Question

Is it wrong to sell items on internet sites on Shabbat? Even if I don’t work? The sites punish ads canceled on Shabbat.

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    There is a difference between whether the sale is done through a credit card or through PayPal.

    When a credit card is used there is no problem as the payment for the sale is not processed until Monday. That means that Halachically nothing forbidden has actually taken place on Shabbat.

    PayPal is different, as the payment is made immediately, which is forbidden on Shabbat. I don’t have any experience with these things practically, but if you have a PayPal option and you are able to suspend it for Shabbat then there is no issue with keeping the credit card option open. If it is not possible to suspend PayPal, then it would be forbidden to keep the account open on Shabbat. 

    All that I have written is applicable only where your business is not actually processing orders on Shabbat.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team