eBay in denial, uses bullying tactics on sellers

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Page 1 of 4 ! After having its attempt to force sellers and buyers to use PayPal exclusively quashed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, eBay Australia is warning sellers not to include alternative payments systems in their ads. Since the ACCC issued its draft notice on June 13, eBay has been effectively in denial, acting as if come July 15 its new PayPal only policy will come into effect. On the 17th of June, 2008, an ominous warning appeared in the inboxes of Australian eBay users, both buyers and sellers. It reinforced the fact that eBay plans to press ahead with its desire to force Paypal onto sellers, removing all other payment facilities, including bank deposits and other credit card payment options aside from a cash payment on pickup. It also advised buyers they could use Paypal to pay, Visa or Mastercard (through Paypal) or cash on pickup. This is despite a draft ruling by the ACCC effectively advising eBay that it will not accept eBay’s request to enforce the use of Paypal only for sellers. eBay also advises - as you can read below - that it will forcibly remove seller items which do not accede to eBay’s demands that only Paypal be listed as an option. So much for living in a free society! eBay’s letter to Australian buyers and sellers reads as follows: “As you may be aware, a number of changes were scheduled to come into effect on eBay.com.au on 17 June 2008. “Most of these changes have been delayed by almost one month and are now scheduled to commence on 15 July 2008. “PayPal Buyer Protection will still increase to $20,000 on 17 June 2008.      “Current policies regarding accepted payment methods still apply. This means PayPal is required on all listings on eBay.com.au. Other payment methods (i.e. bank deposit, cheque/money order) may also be offered until 15 July 2008. “As previously communicated any listings that do not comply with eBay's Accepted Payments Policy will be removed. We strongly recommend that in order to ensure your listings comply with the Accepted Payments Policy you remove any details of payment methods other than PayPal or pay on pick up within the item description. Listings that have other payment methods offered within the payment options field will be allowed to expire as these options will not be displayed to buyers from 15 July 2008.” Amazingly, even eBay is not so silly as to force the use of Paypal for certain categories – categories where it doesn’t want the PayPal Buyer Protection to apply, such as the sale of cars or businesses. eBay’s letter to buyers and sellers didn’t end with the previous paragraph, however – the ominous warnings continued! Please read on to page 2. << First page <   1 2 3 4 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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