Oh dear – something’s gone wrong on the eBay payment method description page. They list the advantages and disadvantages of the permitted (damned ACCC!) payment methods and, whilst they’ve really gone to town with the disadvantages (both real and implausible) of most, they appear to have entirely forgotten to include any disadvantages for PayPal. What a strange omission!
Since I’m sure they meant the page to be a fair comparison of the options, and not a blatant bit of self-justifying for abusing their dominant market position in an anti-competitive manner by forcing PayPay on sellers, I thought I’d help them out with some of the obvious disadvantages of PayPay. No need to thank me fellas – the warm glow I’d get from seeing these honestly listed on the page in question would be payment enough.
Disadvantages
- Costs the seller more, since the eBay subsidiary is taking another cut out of the transaction – consequently, pushes up prices all round.
- eBay’s policy of forcing sellers to offer PayPay has driven many sellers away from the site, reducing competition and choice; by using PayPay you are encouraging eBay to do this sort of thing more in the future.
- “PayPal Buyer Protection” has major caveats and conditions which make actually getting anything out of them quite an achievement – you might as well have gone via your bank. Although PayPal claims that you’re “safe”, the buyer protection policy specifies that “recovery of your payment, whether whole or in part, is not guaranteed” and payment by PayPay is “at PayPal’s absolute and sole discretion”. So… not exactly “safe”. Good luck with that.
- PayPay requires you to sign up to another internet service you don’t want when you’re already signed up for your online banking service.
- You’re at the mercy of another private company that can lock up your account and keep your money from you.
- It’s slow – when you go to transfer your money from the bank account to the seller, PayPay requires 5-7 working days before the money gets to them, and before it can then be sent to the seller and you can get your item posted to you.
I wonder why they left those out? They were more than diligent in listing the faults of the payment methods they don’t own.
I paid for a 16gb Samsung USB key, which turned out to be a fake, that didn’t work. The next day the seller (who did have a feedback of 98.5% positive) disappeared from eBay.
PayPay’s reason for not paying up? I received, *A* USB key, so the seller had provided me with what I had purchased. Never mind that it wasn’t vaguely as described, and the seller was clearly fraudulent, PayPay wouldn’t pay up.
Jeremy
Pay pal is a real boon when you are buying from overseas quite simply because it works out substantially cheaper than an international money transfer or a cheque . This is not the first time that you have had a good whinge about Ebay but really I don’t understand why . It provides a very good service , a wide market base (world wide) at a very reasonable cost to both buyers and sellers this is particularly the case if you are looking for specialist items like classic car parts.
LGWS
what was the feedback score of the seller?
Jesus, Iain. LGWS answered that in his comment.
And the fact that you personally like PayPay is irrelevant to the issue – which is that eBay FORCES it on sellers, and disingenuously denies its disadvantages.
It lists the disadvantages (some more realistic than others) of every other method.
The only way to counter my point here is to argue that (a) it’s perfectly okay for a company with a dominant position in one market to force consumers to use its product in another market; or (b) that PayPay has no disadvantages whatsoever, so it’s perfectly honest for eBay to fail to list any in its comparison.
Hi Jeremy,
Folks can call me old fashioned if they like, but whenever I’ve made a purchase on E-Bay, I’ve always looked for sellers who either allow me to make a deposit into their bank account by me walking into a bank branch, or at times I’ve bought things off people who live reasonably close and I’ve been able to go around and hand them the money when I pick up the item.
I just feel more comfortable with a palpable receipt in my hand than I do with some electronically generated number.
This method has always worked just fine for me.
Ebay do not force their sellers to use it they (they tried and failed to get that up here.
LGWS’s comment is really not on the topic . He bought an item , received it and it was not as described that is something to dispute with with the seller and Ebay rather than to whine about the payment method .
While this is true if you pay with your credit card it is an instant transaction and if you sell as well as buy via Pay Pal you can keep the proceeds in your account for future purchases.
Really Jeremy just how many transactions have you made on Ebay because I get the impression that it isn’t that many.
“Ebay do not force their sellers to use it they (they tried and failed to get that up here.”
They force sellers to use it; they backed off from forcing buyers to use it too.
Since last year, every seller has been required to offer PayPay on each auction.
Secondly, LGWS’s point was entirely on-topic – he described an incident where he’d paid through PayPay, had a problem, and they refused to remedy it. He was no more protected by PayPay than he’d have been through direct deposit – making a lie of their “safer” claim, and their sole justification for the extra cut they take on each transaction.
Thirdly, so what if it’s instant with a credit card? I don’t want to use a credit card – why should I be forced to do that to pay promptly, particularly when there IS an alternative system that would have let me do that.
And I’d rather keep my money in my own account rather than PayPay’s, if that’s okay with you.
Back to the point: PayPay has disadvantages, and eBay dishonestly skates over them. It anti-competitively forces customers to use it and the only reason it’s got away with this is because of its previously-established dominant market position.
Why are you defending their shoddy behaviour?
“Really Jeremy just how many transactions have you made on Ebay because I get the impression that it isn’t that many.”
A hundred or so, prior to them forcing PayPay on me. None since.
A supplementary question about your Ebay usage Jeremy: how many of your hundred or so transactions have been sales?
Probably half. What’s your point?
I agree. Ebay are bullys. Though to be fair, I have made 2 claims concerning goods that did not arrive from China and Paypal paid out in full. I was most pleasantly surprised.
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