Google vs. eBay/PayPal

That's Unpossible! writes "Google has today made a small announcement on their blog which could shake up the landscape of buying things online : they are going to start allowing certain parties to sell items through Google Base, which people can buy using credit cards linked to their Google Account. According to another blog post, Google already accepts payments in this fashion for Google Video, Google Earth, Google Store, etc. How long until Google Base is directly competing with eBay? The framework is now in place."

Comments

This is nice but...

[Acid-Duck]

Don't forget that eBay already has a HUGE customer-base established, in addition to having some odd categories which I never thought would get any attention but looking at the listings there's quite a few items already :P Not to mention that thanks to goldenpalace's advertisement stunts (ie: buying odd objects off eBay for exorbitent prices) eBay already got a pretty good spotlight on TV. Two things to keep in mind here:

- When buying the shop that has lots of selection will hold lower prices
- As a seller, I'm looking to get maximum exposure when I sell something.

Those two factors, I believe, will give google a pretty good run.

Erik

Re:This is nice but...

[slavemowgli]

eBay *is* very well-entrenched, that much is true, but eBay also sucks big time - they're expensive, unpleasant to work with, and will bow to corporate pressure (deleting your auctions because the RIAA/MPAA/BSA/... demand it without even looking at them etc). The *only* thing eBay has going for itself is the amount of users (and thus auctions).

Of course, this doesn't mean that eBay will go bankrupt when Google becomes a real competitor; there's also the possibility that they will improve their service and lower their fees. Either outcome is fine with me; the problem is not so much eBay as such (i.e., they're not inherently more evil than other companies), it's the problem that they have no competition.

I assume

[Michalson]

That the service is going to be a Beta?

Competition is a Good Thing

[tezza]

The old arguments for Competition in the Marketplace can come out.

* Drive to innovate
* Prices closer to the actual cost of the service
* External Innovators can become suppliers as the companies get creative to win market share.

This is a good thing

[Sima]

Considering how unresponsive Paypal is and how much of a maze Ebay tries to be, when you try to contact their customer support, this can only be a good thing.

Maybe this move will force them to stop acting so arrogantly towards us, their customers. And try to provide some actual customer support.

Attract sellers

[HangingChad]

How long until Google Base is directly competing with eBay? The framework is now in place.

If Google treats sellers well, they'll be jumping ship from eBay in packs. I'm guessing eBay will lighten up on their sellers and the new equilibrium will be sellers using both services.

Competition is a good thing. More outlets for sellers is more business, also a good thing. I'd use Google before Amazon.