eBay Bans Google Payments

whoever57 writes "eBay has added Google Checkout to the list of payment options banned on eBay. A recent update to the Accepted Payments Policy includes Google Checkout (click on 'Show' next to 'Some Examples' to reveal the list). More comments on this action can be found at the eBay Strategies Blog."

Comments

Oh! Can I Please Be the First?!?

[ackthpt]

eBay has added Google Checkout to the list of payment options banned on eBay.

I want to be the first to predict Google sues eBay for monopolistic practices or some other restriction on open and fair trade! <8^) This is just begging those two extremely rich guys up Highway 101 to see who has the best lawyers and legs to stand on. Honestly, IANAL, but I don't see it as within the rights of eBay to dictate how people accomplish the financial transactions for Rearranging the World's Junk, as they are merely the facilitators.

I also predict Google will win, but eBay will try to make it as clunky as possible.

There's just something about the culture within eBay which is visible to outside world, that these people are real dorks when it comes to business, but like Microsoft, were in the right place at the right time, which seems to go a very long way in business and the public forgiving leaders for bad practices.

As described in our safe buying guide, eBay strongly encourages sellers to offer payments through PayPal - PayPal is not only convenient to use, but it also offers buyers and sellers industry leading protection against fraud, chargebacks and theft of financial data.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions including:

• Listing cancellation
• Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
• Listing cancellation
• Limits on account privileges
• Loss of PowerSeller status
• Account suspension
• Or any other anti-competitive behaviour to insure our monopoly!

And that wouldn't have anything at all to do with PayPal being a property of eBay and further lining their pockets. ;-)

What next, coining their own money and then claiming payments can only be made with their own eBucks? I think the US Federal Reserve would have a thing or two to say about that.

Then again, this could be a push to more people offering their stuff on Craig's List. I wonder if eBay's 25% interest in that would be leveraged to interfer.

Re:Oh! Can I Please Be the First?!?

[CrazyJim1]

And don't forget:

1) Ebay isn't an auction site.
and
2) Paypal isn't a bank.

This gets them around a lot of nasty local and national laws involving auctions and banks.

I like ebay less and less.

[elgee]

I have been using them for years and they keep getting more expensive and more restrictive.

Unfortunately, there isn't a good alternative yet.

Re:I like ebay less and less.

[zenslug]

As a former employee of eBay, I can give some of my insight. eBay's weakness is to niche markets, and that is one way to kill it. That, or a large player being able to successfully transition its users to a different platform. I think case #1 is a lot more likely.

eBay uses a one-size-fits-all approach to the UI. If a company were to come along and just knock one niche out of the park, then they can become *the* player (in jewelry, for example). eBay loses out on that market, then another, then another. It happens slowly, but I believe it will most definitely happen, especially if the top brass doesn't get booted out soon.

My point is that sellers will leave eBay when it stops being a decent market for them. It is quite cut-throat today, but clearly there is still a great power to listing on eBay. It isn't the end-all, but it is a useful tool to an online merchant.

Google could throw a much bigger blow to eBay by just putting more emphasis on Froogle. The potential is there, but they seem to be waiting on it, and I don't think it is intentional, but rather just the result of a ton of other projects and how management works there. eBay hasn't gotten local down, but Google already has a big piece to it figured out.