Slightly OT but Ebay related

I didn't know where to post this, but as it is Ebay related this seemed the only place.
It was announced today, that as of 17th June 2008, sellers on Australian Ebay will only be permitted to use Paypal for payment. NO bank deposit, No cheques, No money orders. The only other method permitted is Cash on Personal pick up.
Has this been announced on UK Ebay or on US Ebay or is it just us Aussies that are the guinea pigs??

Also, do any members here venture onto other auction sites???
I know there will be a lot of sellers that will leave ebay but will their/my items sell elsewhere?

Paypal & Ebay are one & the same, so in my opinion this is just to bolster the coffers. They can talk about Buyer protection until they're blue in the face, if they really gave a damn they'd get rid of the postage pirate listings etc.

Using Paypal for all my sales means a massive fee hike. Paypal charges it fees on the total. This includes postage and insurance.
Sorry but this has made me see red and I doubt that Ebay would have the balls to try this in the USA
.....momma

This is the Ebay notification if anyone wants to read it:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/au/200804.sh...08-04-10105658

Paypal only charges you if you accept credit cards I think... doesnt it?

I do really think its stupid that Ebay charges you for the listing and then paypal(who is owned by ebay) charges you for the payment.

Sorry to hear that Momma. I haven't sold anything on Ebay, so please excuse this if it's a stupid question, but is there anything stopping you from listing on say the US site? Do you have to list where the goods reside? Or are there practical issues with doing that?

But I guess that's not the point is it? It almost seems anti-competitive behaviour - forcing you to use their payment product, which they charge for, to the exclusion of others...

James.

There have been a lot of changes on ebay USA lately mainly with the feedback system. Now in the USA a seller cannot leave anything but a positive feedback. Sounds crazy but it is true. Their rational being too many instances of retaliatory negative feedback on the part of sellers. For buyers if you want to leave a negative once you submit it you will have a 3 day cooling off period before you can finally post it.

I haven't heard of a Paypal only policy over here yet. They get you coming and going charging fees for listing, final value, and finally, for accepting Paypal, a percentage of the total. It costs the buyer nothing to pay with Paypal but the seller pays 3% or more depending on the amount. OTOH, it is a business and they paid millions to buy Paypal so I would say they are entitled to make a profit.

Sorry for not replying but my email notifications are on the blink.

Paypal charges Aussies 2.4% + .30c per transaction on total funds.
The total includes: Item price + Postage + Insurance
So it gets fairly hefty if I post a relatively cheap but heavy item overseas.

If Aussies accept any other currency than AU$ ~ then Paypal charge an extra 2.5% on top for currency conversion.

If I was to cancel my Aussie ebay membership, then join USA Ebay so that I am governed by the US site rules I cannot list items for sale to Australia if I say I will accept bank deposit etc. It must be Paypal only listings.


Add Ebay Listing Fees, Final Value Fees (which are a minimum of 5.25% + more for a sale above $75.00 Some items are not worth listing.

If buyers pay with Paypal via their bank balance, that becomes an echeque which Paypal claims can take up to 5 or more days to clear. Ordinary Bank Deposits into either of my back accounts rarely take more than 24hrs. So there will be buyer complaints of sellers being slow to post items.

If I sold a straight razor to a US buyer for AU$20 I would end up losing money. That's why a lot of items are having higher start prices.
This is a grab for cash by Ebay & Paypal. Just think 2.4% + .30c on every item sold via Aus ebay. Easy money!!!

Ahhh ~ nearly forgot the killer: Paypal has made it that they can hold the payment for 21 days before a seller can withdraw the funds. I am not sure whether this is all payments but I am checking.
A lot of Aussie sellers are moving to another site
http://oztion.com.au/ Apparently there a quite a few overseas buyers who are quite comfortable using this site too. I am fairly sure it only has Aussie sellers.
........momma

Paypal does eat up the funds. While I no longer use eBay for slling via my business most of my sales go through Paypal which take 2.9% + $0.30 on each transaction, the same as my card server so credit card and Paypal sales cost me the same.

Where I realize I am loosing big time is in my International sales. Paypal asseses an additional 2.5% on top of that, plus my trip to the post office. I also need to fill out customs forms and maunall typing the labels, etc... Just a few minutes but it adds up and that is why I only do International once a week or so. I will have to address the costs at some point though.

USA sales via Paypal are easy though with the "Click and Ship" thing, click send, enter eight and size and my carrier picks them up.

Tony

Tony, the extra 2.5% on international sales is that because you are accepting foreign currencies????

And I did forget that it is 2.4% + .30c for Australian transactions
It is 3.4% + .30c for International transactions. Then add 2.5% if a currency conversion is needed.

......momma

Momma… Looks like they DO have the balls to try this in the US... the experiment down under appears to have worked for them.

As a buyer I cannot say I am disappointed though... It is a PAIN to go to the PO, BUY a MO, send to the seller then wait for the item... "curses" if i have to return it...
However it seems eBay will soon become a bigger monster.

Reminds me of a poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

What will happen if ebay requires paypal in the US is that sellers will require the buyer add the additional fee if paying by credit card or echeck. For several years I've seen businesses that have buyers add a percentage for using a credit card. I don't see why the seller should eat the fee for the buyers convenience.

Hi smythe, when Ebay started this in Australia the USA Ebay boards were confident that it would never happen in the USA.
The general consensus was that it would be in violation of US anti Trust Laws (I think!!)

In Australia, the Paypal rules clearly state that a seller is not to pass on Paypal costs to any buyer.

Fraud by sellers and fraud by buyers too, will always be a problem on any auction site. The only way for me as a seller to avoid a buyer saying that I never sent an item, is Registered Mail. That is an additional cost to all buyers & it is not fair on honest buyers. But if I don't Register the Paypal will automatically support the buyer & deduct the funds from my Bank account.

I have posted well over 800 items and have never had a lost or damaged parcel (touch wood) From Israel, Iceland, UK, Germany, France, Poland, USA etc.


Ebay should have introduced more stringent checks on all Ebay member registrations.

I don't know how all the changes will affect Ebay ~ I hate the hidden bidders and I believe that items sell for less because of the doubt about sellers Shill Bidding.

Guess it comes back to Buyer Beware, but I would hate a prospective bidder to look at my listings & wonder whether I'm a good guy or one of the baddies.
No Ebay listings for me for a while, Oztion is slow but I have listed 99% as Buy It Now, no Shill Bidding to worry about ~ no hidden bidders either. Not as much fun as an Ebay bidding war (hearts racing at the memories!!!)
This is me: junkyardmomma's items for sale on OZtion.com.au, online auction site

........momma

Bad buyers can be a real pain. I have a paypal dispute right now that the buyer filed even though the tracking by USPS clearly shows the item has arrived at his local PO. Yes it has taken longer than it should, but it was mailed promptly the day after the auction ended. I have no explaination why it took eight days for the package to travel from Memphis to Springfield, Mass. I let him know that if it didn't show up in 30 days I would refund his money and file the insurance claim. His excuse is that his credit card invoice arrived and he does not want to pay for something he has not received. He KNOWS the item is in his local PO and STILL filed the dispute. Claims he will drop the dispute when the item is delivered. I next expect a claim that the item was not as described. I think he has a case of buyer's remorse. And people fuss that sellers don't leave feedback right away. This is why. I may well dump paypal over this as the seller ends up on the short end. I'm the one out over $300 so far and I'm angry:mad:

Hi John, I am fairly certain that Paypal will accept your USPS tracking number as proof of postage & you would win that kind of dispute.

If the buyer tries an Item Significantly Not As Described (SNAD Dispute) Paypal will insist that he returns it to you, with proof of postage at his cost before any money is refunded to him.

If he does start any form of Paypal dispute make sure that you respond via the Dispute Console not by private email.

If you need help, go to the US boards, perhaps Seller Central ~ they will advise you.

Best of luck........momma

Well, I mis-judged the guy. Item was delivered, he is pleased as punch, and I have my money (again). I still don't like the process with PayPal.

That's great news John.
......momma