Safety and convenience are at the core of eBay’s policies toward payments. This policy is designed to promote safe online shopping, and to encourage online payment methods that are safer, easier to use, and offer high levels of protection for users
. . .Now let's get real!
Every transaction that does not pass through PayPal is a lost revenue opportunity for eBay. This is why in the USA Google Checkout is on the list of unsafe payment processing systems.
Australia has always had zero cost payment options that are not available in the USA. Most Sellers prefer to use bank transfer, where the invoice is paid direct into the seller's bank account from the buyer's account. This is obviously not acceptable to eBay Australia.
eBay has announced effective May 21st, 2008 all items listed for sale on eBay.com.au must offer PayPal as one of the payment methods. All items appearing on eBay.com.au as of 17th June 2008 must be paid for using one of the following:
1. PayPal
2. Pay on pick up (i.e. paid for when picking up the item)
3. Visa/MasterCard (with transactions processed by PayPal).
No other payment methods will be permitted.
Not much room for argument there. There are a few listed exclusions. I wrote about Bayspeak on this subject here
Unfortunately for eBay, Australians are a tough lot and do not take kindly to being shoved around. Equally unfortunately for eBay, Australia has strong consumer protection laws and an active enforcement arm, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which has regulatory powers.
I submitted comments to the Commission which you can read here, please feel free to cut and paste if you wish to comment yourself. There is at least one error in my submission, I wrote that eBay owned BidPay and should have said BillPoint, (although BidPay was one of the few non PayPal payment options permitted on eBay).
I believe the commission should hear any verifiable horror stories about PayPal. Submissions should be emailed by April 29th because of the time difference to : Lauren Roy, Adjudication
adjudication@accc.gov.au
Subject line: eBay International A.G. Notification N93365
Here is a video promoting Oztion.com, thats Australian for auction, rapidly becoming a viable alternative to eBay.
A few snippits off the Australian boards, eBay is apparently hiding Sellers bank transfer information, it must be a glitch because the PayPal payment information is showing up:
Don't get rattled here, I just email the seller and they provide the bank info personally for me. Not worth getting your knickers in a knot here, eBay is just pulling desperate bunnies out of the proverbial hat in a last resort to get you to use PeePee.
Chin up, pack up and head for the other site
. . .
Jeez ebay really are paranoid aren't they! Getting all worked up about someone posting their Ph number which is publicly listed anyway! Especially one they never answer any way! What a bunch of knob jockeys they are!
Hmmmmn! Seeing as how the listed number and the listed fax number are sequential numbers I wonder if one was to dial further numbers in that sequence whether one would actually get to talk to a real person at ebay?
Nah!!!!! Silly me of course the are no real people at ebay only Simon Smith, not what I or anyone else here would consider human and his trained gibbon!
Next post . . . Monday . . . Y'all come back and be sure to click VICTORIOUSLY on any interesting links in the sidebar!
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