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Google vs. eBay/PayPal

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ready-fight dept.

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."

18 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. This is nice but... by Acid-Duck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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

    1. Re:This is nice but... by bigman2003 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      A few years ago, there were many announcements about Microsoft getting into different businesses:

      Microsoft getting into the business financial software space
      Microsoft getting into XXXX space

      And the world thought the sky was falling, and Microsoft was going to take over everything and nobody else had a chance.

      Ended up not being true. Away from their core businesses, Microsoft ended up being 'just another competitor'.

      Will Google get away from their core, and have they same thing happen? Can the magic last?

      eBay is very well entrenched...

      --
      No reason to lie.
    2. Re:This is nice but... by stevesliva · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Google's trying to become the next Microsoft by opening up their APIs to web developers for free, and more importantly, ASAP. They want to be the web platform the same way that MS became the desktop platform by providing a number of bundled applications and cheap SDKs. The larger the base of established sites using Google services, the better for them. Google's differentiator seems to be providing the content along with the services. Its competitors offer the content and services ala carte.

      In five years will google APIs be as ingrained in your average website as windows is ingrained in your average desktop application? Google will continue to provide the framework for that to happen, ASAP. Think of it as Windows 3.0, with 3.1 coming soon. Unless wikipedia suddenly morphs into free maps and free storefronts and free classifieds and free file hosting and free email and free search, I don't see an open alternative to Google's free--as in beer-- content. You can mock the betas the same way people mocked early versions of Windows, but have no doubt that now as then, developers will use what is cheap and easy and available. It doesn't matter if it's coming out of Mountain View or Redmond as long as it pays the rent. Moral qualms are for Stallman.

      --
      Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
    3. Re:This is nice but... by slavemowgli · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
  2. I assume by Michalson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That the service is going to be a Beta?

  3. why is ebay singled out? by DarkClown · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Failing to see how ebay is specifically singled out here.
    It does give folks another avenue that the ebay 'buy-it-now' provides, but there isn't anything within the google framework that does the auction thing.
    I mean, amazon provides the flea market thing as well...

    1. Re:why is ebay singled out? by Acid-Duck · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you've looked at eBay, there is more then just the buy-it-now auction type. There are multiple auction types depending on what type of items you're selling. As far as eBay being singled out, I admit there are other auction sites which are probably doing as good, but none of them are as well known to common luser as eBay. Now think about searchh engines... Doesn't Google feel that same type of way? even ppl who don't own computers know what google is. That's called visibility. Google going in the business of running an auction site, it has alot of visibility compared to other auction sites competing with eBay, not because it's better established (it's not even open yet, no customer-base) but because they're already getting lots of visits at their page b/c of their search engine services.

      The conclusion is that you can offer the best product in the world but if you have no visibility to your target audience, you won't sell.

      Erik

  4. Re:I, for one (seriously) by bigman2003 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I got screwed over by PayPal.

    I sold something on eBay, and opted to print out a UPS label, and pay for the shipping directly through their PayPal system. Started the process and everything was fine, I paid for it, and only needed to print the label out.

    Crap! I didn't have the right kind of paper (I wanted to use label material) so I had to go find some in my wife's office.

    By the time I got back, my session had timed out. I went back to my original eBay item, and followed the same process. Thinking that it would register as the same shipping/payment. Wrong, it charged me again.

    Okay...fine, I'll just cancel the first one.

    Can't cancel a shipping payment until UPS receives the electronic statement from PayPal. Okay, I'll check back the next day.

    Whoops- can't cancel a shipping payment after 24 hours have passed.

    eBay customer service did ONE thing for me when I contacted them about this. They confirmed that I was screwed.

    $46 down the drain because their sessions time out too quickly. Fuck them...

    --
    No reason to lie.
  5. Competition is a Good Thing by tezza · · Score: 4, Insightful
    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.

    --
    [% slash_sig_val.text %]
  6. This is a good thing by Sima · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  7. Attract sellers by HangingChad · · Score: 3, Insightful
    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.

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
  8. PayPal have dug their own grave... by Manip · · Score: 3, Interesting

    PayPal has lost so much goodwill, and annoying so many people that frankly I think people would move to a replacement if it was half-decent. Google need to look at what PayPal did right (simplicity, flexible, secure) and what PayPal did wrong (bad policy, account locking, 'random' charge-backs, poor complaints system, in escrow service).

    I must admit, however, that having my personal information (name, CC, address) linked to my search queries seems like a profoundly bad idea... Even if that is still technically possible with my ISP I don't think they care enough, or it is in their best interests to do so. Google on the other hand...

  9. countdown to the Googopoly: by Hosiah · · Score: 4, Funny
    Omens that have yet to pass:

    Google Dollars: trade one-to-one with US currency a la Disney Dollars
    Google History: send actual wireless webcams back in time and space to search history
    Google Genes: pick your baby's DNA from Google's wide base of genetic data. Google Cyber-Implants: when you're *really* assimilated! Have the power of Google searches on tap in your own brain. Win every trivia game show. Ace every test. View porn just by thinking about it.

  10. Poppycock by altheusthethief · · Score: 4, Interesting

    eBay is of the main advertisers on Google, they bought over 600,000 keywords last year alone. eBay doesnt have enough static pages for Google to index it properly so this is a nesscessary evil. Without eBay's support of Google, you're taking a loss of about 10M+. That's a pretty big hand to bite.

    eBay has traditionally always had competition, and if anything this only helped it grow even larger. Look at Yahoo and Amazon, they couldn't even take it. The fact is that eBay is a differenet company now, than before. It's shifted it's focus from being an "auction" site, to being a marketplace.

    Google is a great speculator, and it really has to be with the way it's stock is. A tighter integration of eBay and Google would be an intelligent move, eBay is a proven company, with rising stock for the last 10 years, and continuing to post profits well above expectations. PayPal, like it or not, is still the most reliable and easiest way to pay for things, and I'm sorry, but I've used it for well over 100 transactions and unlike my credit card and bank account, I dont pay an annual fees as a customer, and as a seller, it's a lot cheaper than the cost of getting a merchant account.

    The point is this, eBay stands to lose ground in the market it's saturated. Google will have to figure out how to deal with fraud, customer/seller debate and at the same time promote it's product in a non-competitive manner such that it doesn't lose it's main advertiser.

    Short of that, if Google decides to lock horns with eBay, I'm pretty sure you'll see eBay take a cut in it's stock to retain and regrow it's own markets. Competition is healthy, but I really doubt that this is anything more than posturing.

    On an aside, pick a popular product, Froogle it, most of the vendors I've dealt with have had huge problems, lie or deliberately mislead me on price. Now add 10 million amateurs, wannabes, and fraudsters, and tell me that I can reasonably expect a better experience than eBay.

    1. Re:Poppycock by Excelsior · · Score: 3, Interesting

      eBay is of the main advertisers on Google, they bought over 600,000 keywords last year alone. eBay doesnt have enough static pages for Google to index it properly so this is a nesscessary evil. Without eBay's support of Google, you're taking a loss of about 10M+. That's a pretty big hand to bite.

      There are two problems with your logic:

      1) There's a reason eBay can spend 10M+ on Google Adwords. It makes far, far more. In 2004, eBay had 3.3 billion in sales, and 780M in profits! Google needs less than 2% of the market to make up for the loss of advertising. Google has the brand awareness to easily grab 2% of that market.

      2) It would assume eBay can afford to stop advertising with Google to get revenge upon Google. They can't. They would be shooting themselves in the foot, and giving Google Base more marketshare and more profits (see 1).

      I think its more likely you'll see Google Base pages with Adword advertisements for eBay in the margin.

  11. Well, mostly good... by ursabear · · Score: 5, Interesting

    PayPal and eBay are both very successful venues and means. They've become (at least, in the US) universally known and serve as the Kleenex tissue of online payments and the Styrofoam foam of online buy/sell/auction, respectively.

    I do believe that it would be nice to get some real competition going for these companies - and perhaps Google has the chutzpah to pull it off (not to mention the cash). I, for one, would love to see some new ideas in the auction/sell/pay space. It could also keep the costs of these services relatively in check, as well.

    It costs a very large percentage of a sale to sell something on eBay (that is, unless you are a super-seller who can get away with selling an item for .99 with $19.99 shipping {nudge, nudge}) and accept payment through PayPal at this point. It would be nice to see an alternative.

    --
    A Passionate Independent Musician
  12. Mottos by Centurix · · Score: 3, Funny

    Google has "Do no evil"

    pfft, PayPal has nothing, except your money.

    --
    Task Mangler
  13. Re:Focus... by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I know what you mean about the ethics. Google started out in 1997, when IBM came to them and said "we need a search engine, and fast". Of course, Brin wasn't all that talented, and couldn't write one on his own, so he went to Yahoo and said "hey, let me buy this search engine off of you for $50,000, no one wants the things anyway". Then he turned around and sold it for $100 million.

    Years later, we have google bundling all sorts of seperate software together, and constantly raising the price on them because there are no competitors. When some little search engine tries to get it's website registered, Google threatens to cut off ICANNs balls, and boom, that little search website only gets to be used via IP address. The list of abuses is insane.

    And when that antitrust lawsuit was filed, who would have thought the DOJ prosecutor would be assassinated with a carbomb?