While it “appears” that eBay have backed down from their “PayPal only” position which I wrote about earlier), the Sydney Morning Herald writes today that all is not as it seems..
eBay is surreptitiously strong-arming its users into embracing PayPal despite publicly announcing it has shelved plans to block other payment methods.
Although eBay yesterday backed down on plans to lock out paying by money order, direct bank deposits and cheques, it has not rolled back a recent policy forcing all sellers to at least offer PayPal as one of the payment options.
Sellers are reporting that eBay is systematically deleting auction listings from sellers who state in their item descriptions that they “prefer” to be paid with non-PayPal methods, such as bank deposit.
Honestly, the latest effort by eBay Australia to confine ALL transactions to PayPal is ridiculous. Clearly the millions of customers using credit cards with Amazon need to be told they have it wrong, likewise the millions in Australia paying their bills with Bpay and On-line banking transfers. Thank goodness eBay have exposed the error of our ways lest some terrrorist crim rip off our data – we must thank eBay for their responsible and helpful attitude.
Oh wait, eBay own PayPal right? So lemme see, eBay charge a listing fee, a sales fee, and now a clip of all transaction fees thanks to forcing PayPal on vendors. Hey Mr eBay Australia – take a hike. It’s not like eBay is oxygen or something important that I can’t do without…
