Ebay’s plans to make Paypal compulsory for all its customers first came to light in May when it was revealed that Australia was being used a guinea pig to see if the strategy would work. Luckily for Australian eBay users, a combination of user complaints and the intervention of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission made eBay shelve the plans.

It was assumed that this withdrawing of the scheme in Australia would mean other countries would be safe from the efforts, but that’s now not the case. The Inquirer has discovered that the eBay.com FAQs have been updated to reflect the changes to the payment methods allowed on the site.

From October onwards, eBay will no longer be allowing its customers to pay for items using cash, checks, or any alternative electronic payment apart from Paypal and ProPay. What’s more, Google Checkout, Checkout by Amazon, and Amazon Flexible Payment Services are all mentioned specifically as not being allowed. This is because:

Google’s and Amazon’s products and services compete with eBay on a number of levels, so we are not going to allow them on eBay.

Is it just me or is that going against some sort of anti-competition law? I confess to knowing nothing about this side of the law but common sense would suggest that barring the competition from being used on your service is surely not fair.

So, why is this move being undertaken in the first place? Ebay is insisting that it is all to do with security, buyer protection, and customer satisfaction. So the fact that eBay owns Paypal and makes money every time a transaction takes place using the online banking service has nothing to do with it? Amazing.

Australians eBay users didn’t buy this reasoning and I’m hoping American eBay users will also object in their millions and reject this ludicrous move. Electronic payment methods are very handy and a boon to both customers and companies who operate on the Web. But cash and checks have been with us for a lot longer and offer just as viable a payment method as Paypal ever will. So why the ban?

The campaign, which has been designed to persuade users to sign up to PayPal’s online payment service, will be targeted at more than 2,000 retailers in the UK.

It features images of store owners holding placards saying Go Away as part of an attempt to link a lack of custom with a failure to use PayPal technology.

According to Mark Hodson, marketing director at PayPal UK, the Unwelcome campaign is “bold” and delivers its message in an “eye-catching” manner.

“PayPal is the preferred way to pay online and now has 21 per cent market share of all consumer internet payments - retailers should make sure they aren’t missing out on a potential uplift in sales,” he commented.

“PayPal will be launching a big consumer campaign to drive online sales in the last quarter of the year.”

Direct marketing campaigns can be made more effective through the use of QAS’ standardise service.

This ensures that data is entered into the correct field, enabling users to target customers more effectively.

In some cases, there’s been a second PayPal payment, which has successfully completed and the item shows on eBay as purchased. Other times the item listings don’t show a corresponding purchase, My eBay and SMP don’t show the transaction, and the item remains available for purchase: it’s as though nothing ever happened.

The one glimmer of cheer is that the reversals seem to take place immediately, so checking a PayPal account via their site does show whether the transaction is successful or not.

I’m not the only person with the problem: a thread on the PowerSeller board has many sellers with the same issue, but sadly, no solution from eBay.

This is what PayPal support have said:

this transaction was reversed as a result of a failed Ebay transaction.

This customer had attempted to purchase this item via Ebay, however the Ebay transaction had failed. As a result of this transaction failure, Ebay had instructed PayPal to reverse this transaction. You are unable to view this transaction in your Ebay account because of the fact that the transaction failed.

If you wish to obtain additional information as to why the Ebay transaction failed, we recommend that you contact Ebay customer support for further details.

eBay Support say they are not aware of any problems with Checkout.

Fortunately, in most cases, my buyers have been sanguine about it. Most (the ones with the duplicate payments) aren’t aware of any problem. One, who had multiple failed payments, said he knew something odd was happening but would just keep trying til it worked, and has - more buyers like him please! One lady insisted that she had an email from PayPal saying she’d paid me, and she hadn’t cancelled, so she’d paid. Only after repeated pleas from me to look at her PayPal account did she see that, yes, the payment had been reversed. I think she thinks I did it, but at least we’ve resolved the matter.

If I ever get any sense out of Support, I’ll post it here: otherwise, anyone who relies solely on PayPal emails to manage their dispatches, needs to start checking their account.

You almost have to admire the steadfast dedication – that ability to bear ‘mid now and ice, a banner with the strange device; Excelsior!

Or something to that Longfellowian effect. Point is, the bitter tears of eBay users must taste like candy to the company’s board members.

This July, eBay Australia was forced to ditch its massively unpopular attempt to force virtually all payments through its subsidiary, PayPal. Not only did the policy change fuel outrage in its most established users, it even prompted Australian regulators to begin an anti-competition investigation.

Not a huge success, in other words. But eBay dutifully learned its lesson and will attempt to create a more open environ…

Just kidding. eBay now plans to ban checks and money orders as payment methods in the US. The news comes out of an FAQ update listing the change under “a more consistent buyer experience to drive more sales.”

Beginning “late October 2008,” checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay.com. Items can only be paid for using PayPal, Credit or debit, ProPay, or Payment upon pickup. The only exceptions to the policy change are vehicles, enterprise equipment, real estate, and “mature audiences” items.

ebay says the change will benefit sellers by providing a “consistent, more secure checkout experience.” It reasons such a thing will increase buyer confidence, which will result in more sales.

The company is also now rather blunt about its policy towards third-party payment services. “Is eBay planning to eliminate third-party checkout?” the company asks itself. “Yes,” it answers. “Ultimately it’s eBay’s goal to have buyers always pay for their purchases within the secure confines of eBay.”

As for Google Checkout and Checkout by Amazon specifically:

“Google’s and Amazon’s products and services compete with eBay on a number of levels, so we are not going to allow them on eBay.”

Although killing cash and check payments may eliminate some cases of fraud as eBay claims, it’s undoubtedly no coincidence that thrusting PayPal upon users is good for the site’s margins.

Not that it’s a crime to make a buck – but restricting payment options is certainly an unusual way to improve a company’s image. Or maybe it doesn’t care.

You have been robbed.

You should call Paypal. They will allow you to appeal the claim, but usually with this type of situation you’ll have to file a police report (you should also file mail fraud charges). If you provide the police report Paypal may decide in your favor but they can’t legally remove the funds from the buyer’s account, they can only request that they repay you. Paypal can note the information on the buyer’s account so that if they try this again with another seller they can perhaps deny the buyer’s claim.

Unfortunately it is the best that can be done; it’s one of the major risks of selling online.

How long has it been since Paypal sent the code? You may have to complete the link and confirm process a second time.

Log into your PayPal account, click on Profile and Add/edit credit cards and see if you can go through the confirmation process a gain.

Hi XXXXXX–we’ve made sure that Paypal is aware of both sides and that they have the ID #. Your payment is the only one in our account, so it should be pretty straight forward. Every time I email them, it’s like they have this “canned answer” based on a few key words in my email…not like someone ANSWERS you, but an automated reply gets sent based on a few keywords in my email! It is SO frustrating! Ebay told me that they would issue the refund promptly. If it isn’t done by end of weekend, I will try to go in and “send” you money. Right now, it still shows on hold in my account, so it’s not even “available” to send back to you. Thanks for everything—stay in touch! XXXXXX.`

>> Now what can I do?

If you wish, you may start the Item Not Received process.

Apparently your seller is unfamiliar with the way things should be done. If you complete the INR process, PayPal will both educate the seller and refund you.

So their help page only has this Sarah thing that’s a sad replacement of real chat help. All that thing does is spit back FAQs on completely unrelated topics.

There’s no phone number, not even an email address to send questions to.

From the money they pull in from this site, you’d think the least they could do is give you an email address that they can ignore.

Paypal’s phone #’s:
1-888-221-1161 (Toll Free for Business/Premier)
1-888-204-4481 (Toll Free for Business/Premier)
1-402-935-7733 (Personal Accounts)
1-402-935-2057 (Personal Accounts)

Paypal ALWAYS wants to use your balance before letting you use your cc.
You would have to WITHDRAW your Paypal balance if you want to put the total amount on your cc.