I think eBay is screwing up on this change

[OldGriz]

No more check or money order payment on eBay

This does not affect me other than my buyers will not have that option... most of my buyers use paypal

But there have been some sellers who only use money order or check and I have used them... and generally have gotten great deals

 

"Beginning in late October 2008, checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay. All items appearing on eBay.com must be paid for using either:

 

* PayPal (funded by PayPal account balance, credit card, debit card, bank account, PayPal Pay Later, PayPal Buyer Credit or eBay gift certificate)

* Credit or debit card payment to a seller (through a seller's Internet merchant account)

* ProPay

* Payment upon pickup

 

In January 2009, all of the approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller offers credit or debit card as a payment option, buyers will be able to directly enter their credit card information securely in eBay checkout and their payment will be directly routed to the seller's Internet merchant account."

[kiavonne]

No more check or money order payment on eBay

This does not affect me other than my buyers will not have that option... most of my buyers use paypal

But there have been some sellers who only use money order or check and I have used them... and generally have gotten great deals

 

"Beginning in late October 2008, checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay. All items appearing on eBay.com must be paid for using either:

 

* PayPal (funded by PayPal account balance, credit card, debit card, bank account, PayPal Pay Later, PayPal Buyer Credit or eBay gift certificate)

* Credit or debit card payment to a seller (through a seller's Internet merchant account)

* ProPay

* Payment upon pickup

 

In January 2009, all of the approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller offers credit or debit card as a payment option, buyers will be able to directly enter their credit card information securely in eBay checkout and their payment will be directly routed to the seller's Internet merchant account."

 

 

I would agree this is not a good sign, really. I can understand wanting to go to a paperless system, but wasn't ebay already in that arena? The checks and money orders went to the sellers direct, yes? So, I don't get this form of control, unless ebay just wants to take things down to just their PayPal. I know a lot of sellers preferred checks or money orders. Shouldn't it be the seller's choice for payment method? Curious.

[sumgaikid]

Yep,this ain't good....................... :bonk:

 

John

Edited September 1, 2008 by sumgaikid

[jmkeuning]

lame

[psfred]

eBay has become more and more a commercial, profit making enterprise at the expense of the users. I'll be looking for an alternative myself.

 

I suspect the "investors" (mostly financial institutions and insurance companies) are demanding double digit percentage growth in revenue in spite of the great flattening off in the number of transactions, hence the use of other means of extracting cash from the users.

 

Peter

[david i]

No more check or money order payment on eBay

This does not affect me other than my buyers will not have that option... most of my buyers use paypal

But there have been some sellers who only use money order or check and I have used them... and generally have gotten great deals

 

"Beginning in late October 2008, checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay. All items appearing on eBay.com must be paid for using either:

 

* PayPal (funded by PayPal account balance, credit card, debit card, bank account, PayPal Pay Later, PayPal Buyer Credit or eBay gift certificate)

* Credit or debit card payment to a seller (through a seller's Internet merchant account)

* ProPay

* Payment upon pickup

 

In January 2009, all of the approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller offers credit or debit card as a payment option, buyers will be able to directly enter their credit card information securely in eBay checkout and their payment will be directly routed to the seller's Internet merchant account."

 

 

I would agree this is not a good sign, really. I can understand wanting to go to a paperless system, but wasn't ebay already in that arena? The checks and money orders went to the sellers direct, yes? So, I don't get this form of control, unless ebay just wants to take things down to just their PayPal. I know a lot of sellers preferred checks or money orders. Shouldn't it be the seller's choice for payment method? Curious.

 

 

The housing bailout bill included iirc provision for IRS to get (or be able to get) all electronic transactions of this sort.

 

-d

[TrevorML]

eBay used here in Oz as the test case... but the ACCC... the government consumer watchdog... that has no teeth at all it seems... took eBay to court or some legal action... if I remember how the story goes... and got them to stop until further investigation was done into the practice... looks like it is still being looked into

Edited September 1, 2008 by TrevorML

[Titivillus]

No more check or money order payment on eBay

This does not affect me other than my buyers will not have that option... most of my buyers use paypal

But there have been some sellers who only use money order or check and I have used them... and generally have gotten great deals

 

I think it depends on whos viewpoint you are taking- obviously ebay had lots of business people researching it and their decision to ditch MO/checks isn't going to effect their bottom line since it it was they would not do it.

 

Probably they reviewed all of the transactions and found something that makes them want to get away from checks. Maybe there were more issues & using safe harbor with check/MO than paypal.

 

In any case it's like questioning how FPN is run, it might make you feel better to complain but at the end of the day it isn't going to change anything.

 

 

Kurt

 

[psfred]

OF COURSE they want to get away from direct payments to sellers! eBay OWNS PayPal, and they can get 3% more for each transaction, as we all know if we've been on the receiving end of a payment instead of the sending end....

 

It's called monopoly pricing....

 

Peter

[Rocket Jones]

OF COURSE they want to get away from direct payments to sellers! eBay OWNS PayPal, and they can get 3% more for each transaction, as we all know if we've been on the receiving end of a payment instead of the sending end....

 

It's called monopoly pricing....

 

Peter

It's only a monopoly if they're the only option. There are alternatives out there, which one becomes the "next ebay"?

[finansista]

I've noticed that items with no PayPal frequently end up with prices far below expectations, so I'm not suprised many people were getting outstanding deals on those. I mean, if I had any other option to use than PayPal (and I haven't, since I'm not from US) I'd surely jump on many of these "No PayPal" listings and sometimes pay for the item 50% more than the price it eventually ended witn. So the fact of saving these 3% by avoiding PayPal is a pure illusion in my opinion, because these savings do not even compensate for the potential additional profit lost by excluding most overseas buyers and others willing to use PayPal. I've heard of sellers whose revenues rose by 100 or 200% after they started accepting PayPal. I'm sure they would tell you "it was worth it, even with these fees".

[Maria]

Dear OldGriz and Members;

 

I am not all that excited about E-Bay's changes but, I also have seen people phishing, using my E-mail addy in regard to E-Bay complaints and such. Well, to be honest--I never have sold or bought anything on E-Bay and it is scary to know someone is phishing my E-mail and that of my loved-ones. Nobody has been comfortable buying on the Internet but me.

 

That said, IF there have been those who have committed fraud on buyers/sellers using phony checks and the like; I do understand why an effort to use PayPal as to have PayPal confirm that funds are in the credit card account before the transaction is made, so nobody looses. This is especially true for big ticket items.

 

Again, phishing is my worry--if these hackers are claiming I am a bad person--when and if I do wish to do a transaction on E-bay; I don't want to be a victim of criminals.

 

I agree with buying directly. In this area of pens, etc.; I admit I feel much more comfortable here as there are many helpful and wonderful people here. I am sure any 'zero' who victimizes a member here, would be known and broadcasted; even if through private messages.

 

Just some thoughts on payment transactions.

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

 

[FrankB]

The change will not impact me either, but I am buying less and less on fleaBay. It does seem like eBay is looking out for themselves and not concerned with either sellers or buyers.

[JJBlanche]

I'm sure eBay is doing this to protect its clients, and itself. I highly doubt this is an effort to wrangle in more money. Checks/MO's make up a small percentage of total sales, and really don't have an impact on eBay as a whole whether they're present in the marketplace, or absent. An issue arises, though, when eBay acts as middle-man between an honest seller, and a fraudulent buyer using fake/stolen checks and money orders.

 

As another example, some items on eBay require the purchaser to be over 18 years of age, such as tobacco-related goods and adult-oriented novels. There's also a gray area with mature video games and movies. I'm sure eBay has some official statement regarding the trade of mature items, but the short of it is that eBay takes the heat when a seller breaks the rules, or is outwitted by a minor. Prior to this policy being enacted, any 12 year old could get and send a money order for whatever eBay item they wanted. PayPal, however, requires the user to be an adult (18+), so anyone using PayPal would have to be of age, or have the permission of someone of age.

 

I'm sure there are even more examples of why checks/MO's are bad for eBay. A few off the top of my head: buyer pocketing the MO and saying no payment received; seller never sending payment yet saying payment sent, etc etc.

 

In all the years I've been using eBay, I can't think of a single time I used a check or money order for payment. It's ultimately an inconsequential change, and one that's probably more beneficial then detrimental, in the grand scheme of things.

Edited September 1, 2008 by JJBlanche

[lak611]

I do not have a problem with this policy. I am a buyer, not a seller. I only tend to buy expensive items. I only use PayPal because I of the protection offered. I purchased a pocket watch that was $600 and paid using PayPal. The seller never sent the watch, never answered my emails, and when I tried to call him, his phone was disconnected. If I had used a check, I would have lost $600. PayPal investigated, and my money was returned. I won't use checks or MOs, because I am afraid of scams. Prior to the new eBay policy, I only bid on items from sellers who took PayPal to protect myself from cheats.

[Wolf]

It's just the beginning of the end of paper money. Soon, only electronical currencies are available.

[tfwall]

No more check or money order payment on eBay

This does not affect me other than my buyers will not have that option... most of my buyers use paypal

But there have been some sellers who only use money order or check and I have used them... and generally have gotten great deals

 

I think it's a winning situation all around:

 

Buyers get an additional layer of protection by using either Paypal or a credit card.

 

Sellers get more bids, instant payments and have an avenue of recourse if buyers are rogue.

 

eBay gets easier to arbitrate disputes, the 3% transaction fee and a record of who bought what from whom in case they get leaned on by government agencies later.

 

The only losers I can see are those who only use checks, those who prefer anonymity for whatever reason and those who are running fraudulent deals as either buyers or sellers.

[tfwall]

It's just the beginning of the end of paper money. Soon, only electronical currencies are available.

 

I'm holding out for vibronical currencies myself. Coupling is the wave of the future!

[Col]

In all the years I've been using eBay, I can't think of a single time I used a check or money order for payment. It's ultimately an inconsequential change, and one that's probably more beneficial then detrimental, in the grand scheme of things.

On the other hand, if I'm selling an item for the UK only (such as a mobile phone), I'm quite happy to take a cheque or postal order in preference to paying PayPal fees, and have done so any number of times. For that reason, but also as a matter of principle, I will be further discouraged from using either eBay or PayPal in future.

 

 

 

[Hoarder68]

No more check or money order payment on eBay

This does not affect me other than my buyers will not have that option... most of my buyers use paypal

But there have been some sellers who only use money order or check and I have used them... and generally have gotten great deals

 

"Beginning in late October 2008, checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay. All items appearing on eBay.com must be paid for using either:

 

* PayPal (funded by PayPal account balance, credit card, debit card, bank account, PayPal Pay Later, PayPal Buyer Credit or eBay gift certificate)

* Credit or debit card payment to a seller (through a seller's Internet merchant account)

* ProPay

* Payment upon pickup

 

In January 2009, all of the approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller offers credit or debit card as a payment option, buyers will be able to directly enter their credit card information securely in eBay checkout and their payment will be directly routed to the seller's Internet merchant account."

 

 

I would agree this is not a good sign, really. I can understand wanting to go to a paperless system, but wasn't ebay already in that arena? The checks and money orders went to the sellers direct, yes? So, I don't get this form of control, unless ebay just wants to take things down to just their PayPal. I know a lot of sellers preferred checks or money orders. Shouldn't it be the seller's choice for payment method? Curious.

I believe they want everyone to use PayPal buyer credit or pay by e-check. They do not pay out the e-check till 3-5 days have past and with all the money they handle this can amount to more profit for them. I think it is pure and simple greed or to put it another way good business practice.