posted on February 28, 2004 04:27:33 AM new
I posted the following in the ebay powerseller's forum and have decided to give it a wider audience here....
I just noticed a shameful statement added by ebay in an email to me from a bidder. Here's a copy of the paragraph.........
"Never pay for your item with an instant cash transfer service such as MoneyGram or Western Union. These services are like sending cash to a stranger - they are an extremely unsafe way to pay."
Not only is this mighty close to slanderous to Western Union (Bidpay), but it's also slanderous to me as well since I prefer and offer Bidpay to my customers. Also, it seems to me that it's a severe interference into my business.
Of course, that ebay owns paypal, that virtuous defender of impeccable business ethics, couldn't have anything to do with it, could it?
posted on February 28, 2004 04:55:12 AM new
It does seem libelous. I wonder if Western Union has seen that.
___________________________________
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach that person to use
the Internet and he
won't bother you for weeks.
posted on February 28, 2004 05:00:19 AM new
oops - wrong link! Let me get another cup of coffee and find the correct one
__________________________________
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to the people who sleep under the very blanket of freedom I provide, and then question the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
[ edited by wgm on Feb 28, 2004 05:00 AM ]
[ edited by wgm on Feb 28, 2004 05:01 AM ]
posted on February 28, 2004 06:38:13 AM new
Auctionpayments uses a credit card payment to purchase a Western Union money order, Western Union does cash transfers. We all know there's a big difference. There's also little doubt in my mind that the ebaYduzPP crew like the idea that many think that auctionpayments is a Western Union cash transfer.
dd
posted on February 28, 2004 06:48:45 AM new
they are not referring to bidpay,they are referring to instant cash transfer where you go to a western union window and instruct them to send cash to someone .
the seller will show up at his local western union office with a code and his photo id and pick up the cash.
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
posted on February 28, 2004 06:49:12 AM new
A friend of mine recently bid on a laptop.
It wasn't long before she started getting emails from persons in Romania and elsewhere, offering her the same machine for a great price, and requiring payment by Western Union.
The amusing thing is that since the email is sent through the eBay "Question from eBay Member" form, the warning NOT to use Western Union is right there on the page next to the exhortation to use it.
There is no reason to expect eBay to go out of its way to explain that a WU cash transfer is not the same as a WU/Auction Payments money order. The fault lies with Western Union for having promoted its Auction Payments product poorly. Never leave it to another entity to do your marketing...you won't like the results.
posted on February 28, 2004 07:31:20 AM new
I agree this isn't referring to BIDPAY, which we accept but prefer not to because of the risk to the buyer.
But I also agree that Money Orders and/or cash are a very risky method to make purchases. As a seller, I PREFER TO NOT receive either - they can get lost, they can get stolen, 80% of the time the MO's we receive are not completely made out and it is a "search and find" mission every time to discover who sent them and what they are for.
We put all the standard requests for name, address, item number, etc. etc., but apparently most buyers don't read such.
SO, in this I agree that only a credit card or check are safe modes for payment.
