(no subject)
Ebay will require that all U.S. sellers accept paypal. At the same time, money orders and checks will be banned.
First, my fairly objective attempt to explain the situation. It will be followed by my wholly subjective call to arms against the new policy. However, I'd like people to know what's going on, first. So here's the deal:
Ebay insists that this is to reduce fraud, citing stats showing that fraud is much higher when checks or money orders are used in transactions. However, many critics point out that eBay owns Paypal, and Paypal collects a fee on all transactions. They say that, by forcing sellers to use the service, eBay is trying to boost its bottom line after widely-reported tales of listing slow-downs and decreased revenue growth. Note, eBay already charges fees for listings and then receives a cut of the final sale.
Ebay attempted a similar action in Australia, and was accused of anti-trust violations and ordered to pull the plug on the plans.
The new plan, being instituted in the United States, says sellers may also accept credit cards -- perhaps in an move to dodge anti-trust laws.
Read more about it here: blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2008/08/20/ebay-pushing-paypal-on-customers.aspx.
Read more about the attempts in Australia here: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_568082.html
and here: www.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/05/09/ebay.payments.ap/.
How does this affect you?
If you're a seller: First, keep in mind that many buyers do in fact choose to use Paypal anyway, and its in a seller's best interest to accept all forms of payment. However... 1. Not every buyer wants to use Paypal, for any number of reasons. Sellers risk losing these customers. 2. Sellers lose revenue every time someone does uses Paypal.
If you're a buyer: Again, keep in mind, Paypal is a very convenient and safe system of payment for most buyers. I prefer to use Paypal whenever possible, since, as a seller I don't pay fees (unlike with a money order) and I don't have to wait for the post office to deliver my payment. If your Paypal account is tied to a credit card, you have additional buyer protection.
However, consider this: The only sellers likely to greet the new policy with any pleasure are major retailers who've established an online presence within eBay. They move such a large volume of items that the Paypal fees get swallowed by the bottom line. They also have no problem taking direct credit card transactions.
But what about smaller sellers? They're the ones who often carry the collectibles, the weird and wonderful flea market items and vintage objects that so many people collect. They're also the ones who will be hit hardest by the new policy. This could, in turn, force them to leave eBay. And this will make it harder for collectors to find the items we collect.
EBay allowed supply to come closer to matching demand by making available to buyers different examples of the same item from across the country. Previously, if I wanted TOY X, I had to pay whatever my local dealer wanted to charge -- I didn't know of any other examples of TOY X. Ebay helped make available TOY Xs from California, Alaska, the U.K., etc. Consequently, prices fell as sellers attempted to draw customers.
If these sellers leave eBay, there's a chance the collectibles market will return -- in part -- to a dealer-based economy. Prices will rise artificially and smaller collectors with shallower pockets will be edged out.
What good is a system that protects buyers if buyers don't have anything to buy?
Anyway, if you have a problem with the new system, write to your elected officials or the District Attorney. It's entirely possible that the new policy still violates anti-trust laws, especially since smaller sellers can't often afford to accept credit cards. Also, write to eBay and express your concerns. If Australia can knock this thing down, why can't we?
First, my fairly objective attempt to explain the situation. It will be followed by my wholly subjective call to arms against the new policy. However, I'd like people to know what's going on, first. So here's the deal:
Ebay insists that this is to reduce fraud, citing stats showing that fraud is much higher when checks or money orders are used in transactions. However, many critics point out that eBay owns Paypal, and Paypal collects a fee on all transactions. They say that, by forcing sellers to use the service, eBay is trying to boost its bottom line after widely-reported tales of listing slow-downs and decreased revenue growth. Note, eBay already charges fees for listings and then receives a cut of the final sale.
Ebay attempted a similar action in Australia, and was accused of anti-trust violations and ordered to pull the plug on the plans.
The new plan, being instituted in the United States, says sellers may also accept credit cards -- perhaps in an move to dodge anti-trust laws.
Read more about it here: blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2008/08/20/ebay-pushing-paypal-on-customers.aspx.
Read more about the attempts in Australia here: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_568082.html
and here: www.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/05/09/ebay.payments.ap/.
How does this affect you?
If you're a seller: First, keep in mind that many buyers do in fact choose to use Paypal anyway, and its in a seller's best interest to accept all forms of payment. However... 1. Not every buyer wants to use Paypal, for any number of reasons. Sellers risk losing these customers. 2. Sellers lose revenue every time someone does uses Paypal.
If you're a buyer: Again, keep in mind, Paypal is a very convenient and safe system of payment for most buyers. I prefer to use Paypal whenever possible, since, as a seller I don't pay fees (unlike with a money order) and I don't have to wait for the post office to deliver my payment. If your Paypal account is tied to a credit card, you have additional buyer protection.
However, consider this: The only sellers likely to greet the new policy with any pleasure are major retailers who've established an online presence within eBay. They move such a large volume of items that the Paypal fees get swallowed by the bottom line. They also have no problem taking direct credit card transactions.
But what about smaller sellers? They're the ones who often carry the collectibles, the weird and wonderful flea market items and vintage objects that so many people collect. They're also the ones who will be hit hardest by the new policy. This could, in turn, force them to leave eBay. And this will make it harder for collectors to find the items we collect.
EBay allowed supply to come closer to matching demand by making available to buyers different examples of the same item from across the country. Previously, if I wanted TOY X, I had to pay whatever my local dealer wanted to charge -- I didn't know of any other examples of TOY X. Ebay helped make available TOY Xs from California, Alaska, the U.K., etc. Consequently, prices fell as sellers attempted to draw customers.
If these sellers leave eBay, there's a chance the collectibles market will return -- in part -- to a dealer-based economy. Prices will rise artificially and smaller collectors with shallower pockets will be edged out.
What good is a system that protects buyers if buyers don't have anything to buy?
Anyway, if you have a problem with the new system, write to your elected officials or the District Attorney. It's entirely possible that the new policy still violates anti-trust laws, especially since smaller sellers can't often afford to accept credit cards. Also, write to eBay and express your concerns. If Australia can knock this thing down, why can't we?