How on earth are they hiding behind their "only a venue" shield anymore? Here's a copy of his post in case it "disappears"
John McDonaldOn 08.20.2008 at 4:58 pm Said:
Hi, this is John McDonald from eBay Trust & Safety again. I’d like to clear up two statements / questions that have been brought up on this post.
1) eBay will offer a choice of electronic payment options for our buyers and sellers, and we are investing in making those methods more visible and convenient for buyers and sellers to use. We are committed to continuing to offer these choices. We are also working closely with other electronic payment vendors currently included in our Accepted Payments Policy to get them added early next year, once they’ve met our fraud, security and uptime criteria and completed the necessary development to be integrated into eBay checkout. We do not plan to go a PayPal-only model.
2) Why not include Google Checkout? The simple answer is that Google’s products and services compete with eBay on a number of levels. So we are not going to allow Google Checkout on eBay.
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posted on August 21, 2008 11:17:58 AM new
Google checkout does not have the same kind of customer service as Paypal-
it has email service only,no phone service and it also does not operate on weekend.
The pace of buying,selling is fast on Ebay,this level of customer service is just not good enough .
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
eBay just said that it's not allowing Google because it's competition
By that token... you can assume that eBay will not let ANY payment system be used on its site that can be deemed significant competition
Also... you can assume that if any of the currently accepted payment options BECOME competition, then they will be kicked out the door like cash, western union, checks, and money orders
As a result it ends up in a stifling of free trade (better known as a Monopoly)
posted on August 21, 2008 11:41:20 AM new
I realize the armchair lawyers here like to throw around "Sherman Anti-Trust", "restraint of trade", and "monopoly" etc. all the time, but I am not sure what, if any illegality there is in eBay's position. As a service company, they select what services they will permit, and since they happen to own one, that is the most sensible choice. I don't see any difference between this and a vineyard owner opening a restaurant, and only putting their own wines on the menu, or a Coca-Cola distributor's vending machine not including Pepsi. Not supporting a competitor is not, in itself, an illegal act.
posted on August 21, 2008 11:55:09 AM new
Damaris,
I'm definitely not claiming to be a legal expert...
But I think the distinction here is that eBay consistently insists that it is just a venue...
It's kind of like if the Mall of America was owned by MasterCard... and they decided not to let all their tenants accept Discover Card or VISA anymore
I just wouldn't be surprised if a good legal team couldn't make a pretty convincing argument against eBay's current business practices in a court of law as a class action suit...
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posted on August 21, 2008 01:07:44 PM newGoogle checkout does not have the same kind of customer service as Paypal-
Your kidding right? Google kicks PayPal's azz when it comes to customer service, and as far as functionality, it's no comparison. Not to mention that Google's system is safe for both the buyer and seller, where PayPal is a crap shoot.
I am seriously thinking of not accepting PayPal at all on my website. Right now, about 75% of my buyers are using Google Checkout anyway and about 24% PayPal, so the inpact might be felt. But then again, most webstore offer secure payment systems that are not PayPal and no one seems to scream about that.
What was it, Sept 19th when ebay makes it's changes. I think I may do the same.
posted on August 21, 2008 01:49:31 PM new
I have a bidder who has problem using Paypal so I sent her a Google checkout invoice,she has no problem paying it.
For some reasons,sites which offer Google checkout were having problem connecting to their Google accounts, they were not able to access their accounts.
I am one of them so I emailed Google customer service (they do not have phone service).
They recognise this is a problem and the technical staff is aware and working on it.
I also found out they do not work on weekend and any email sent to them would have to wait till Monday to get a response,if there is any meaningful response.
I also found out from the Google user forum,other merchants are frustrated over this problem.
I am not saying all Ebay sellers should embrace or not embrace Google checkout,we all have different needs,some sell high ticket items and some sell low ticket items,some must have access to the proceeds immediately,some can afford to wait.
So take this as a piece of useful information and decide for yourself.
Only you can decide if a particular payment method is good for you,I will continue to use Paypal and have Google as a backup.
Amzn has one click payment ,AMZN sellers do not have the option of using Google checkout or western union or Paypal.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
eBay just said that it's not allowing Google because it's competition
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I am a shameless capitalist,I get it very well.
Google is a powerful competitor which competes on more than just payment service.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on August 21, 2008 01:58:10 PM new
It is how you define a 'venue'?
Just because I said I am an easy going person,it does not mean someone can #*!@ on my lawn or throw mud in my face.
UPS,USPS and Fed Exp are just carriers,it does not mean they will carry anything we give them.
As for Mall of America owned by MC,thats an interesting thought!
I know Neiman Marcus only accept their own credit card and AMEX.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
