Ebay/Paypal MONOPOLY

[devilshockey1967]

I would like some other input on this, I have always felt they are a monopoly and had problems with it, now it has hit home, I sold an item on ebay, the buyer paid for the item through paypal with an ECheck so now I am still waiting for payment, because paypal waits for the check to clear, I spoke with paypal and they said I can block echeck payments, I had the rep walk me though the process online to block them, only to find out you CANNOT block EBAY Echecks................this is unbelievable, I am being charged by paypal for instant payment which isnt instant........

[gladdyontherise]

yea. i hate echecks as well!

[devilshockey1967]

yea. i hate echecks as well!

I just took a look around the paypal website and look what I found, interesting, this is from the site

Payments are deposited to your PayPal account instantly - no waiting for checks to clear and no trips to the bank

[gosox55]

In my opinion ebay has many issues. echecks being only one of many others:

a. electronic payment only (basically means PayPal in most cases)
b. Best Match (or no match lol)
c. New Search experience (starting in April)
d. Holds on seller funds
e. Forced paypal sign up for new sellers
f. DSR ratings not accurately judging sellers
g. One sided Feedback (no negatives for buyers)
h. No accurate feedback for buyers (all are 100% for the previous 12 months)
i. hidden buyer names (facilitates shill bidding)
j. More and more ads on sellers pages (on every ebay page for that matter).
k. many many fakes, forgeries and downright con jobs.
l. and last but not least, fees fees and more fees

Welcome to the brave new world of Donahue's eBay. Basically I was told on the electronic payment special board late last year, in so many words, that its their way or the highway and to find other venues if I did not wish to fall in line.

Richard

[devilshockey1967]

In my opinion ebay has many issues. echecks being only one of many others:

a. electronic payment only (basically means PayPal in most cases)
b. Best Match (or no match lol)
c. New Search experience (starting in April)
d. Holds on seller funds
e. Forced paypal sign up for new sellers
f. DSR ratings not accurately judging sellers
g. One sided Feedback (no negatives for buyers)
h. No accurate feedback for buyers (all are 100% for the previous 12 months)
i. hidden buyer names (facilitates shill bidding)
j. More and more ads on sellers pages (on every ebay page for that matter).
k. many many fakes, forgeries and downright con jobs.
l. and last but not least, fees fees and more fees

Welcome to the brave new world of Donahue's eBay. Basically I was told on the electronic payment special board late last year, in so many words, that its their way or the highway and to find other venues if I did not wish to fall in line.

Richard

How does all that NOT add up to a monopoly, is beyond me.

[gosox55]

It certainly is monopolistic that's for sure. Every change in the last year or so ultimately has been to increase the use of paypal and impulse buying (best match).
But as long as they allow any other payment systems (propay etc) it gets around the anit-trust issues, unfortunately.

You are also only allowed to use PayPal to pay up to a certain amount then you have to be "verified". How? By allowing them access your bank account. I have even read threads on the paypal forum saying they even ask for bank internet passwords to 'facilitate and quickly verify' a user. I have a internet password for my credit union and they would cancel me in a heartbeat if I gave out my passwords to anyone let alone eBay.

[devilshockey1967]

It certainly is monopolistic that's for sure. Every change in the last year or so ultimately has been to increase the use of paypal and impulse buying (best match).
But as long as they allow any other payment systems (propay etc) it gets around the anit-trust issues, unfortunately.

You are also only allowed to use PayPal to pay up to a certain amount then you have to be "verified". How? By allowing them access your bank account. I have even read threads on the paypal forum saying they even ask for bank internet passwords to 'facilitate and quickly verify' a user. I have a internet password for my credit union and they would cancel me in a heartbeat if I gave out my passwords to anyone let alone eBay.

I just spent the greater part of TWO HOURS on the phone with Paypal, I couldnt be more disgusted with them than I am now, I was just give a complete runaround about how its all "very clearly" defined in there "legal agreement" Yet if you search Echeck in there search engine it doesnt come up, its just states the above mentioned statement...and yeah you are right, since ebay "lets" us use other payment methods, they are getting around the antitrust laws, but talk about skating close to the edge. It is sickening. And I agree the Echeck issue is just the tip of the iceberg

[gosox55]

It's to bad actually, I've been a loyal ebay user since 1999 and have added many great cards to my sox collection and found it a wonderful place to access some unusual and less than common cards.. But I’ve only bid on two auctions since last October and only because the seller(s) were glad to accept a money order. I just don't like paypal. I don't mind using credit on line, I use Amazon on occasion but not often. Being retired on pension my wife and I have to use credit carefully and hobby stuff is not a necessity demanding the use of our one remaining card. (we’ve canceled all the rest).

[JesRey]

When i didn't have money in my paypal account, it would transfer from my bank and takes 3-5 days to clear the money even if it was like 2 dollars.

[kovyheater]

They are a monopoly. Period.

Until someone decides to compete against them, they are all we have.

I hoping for more competition will arise sooner rather than later. eBay/PayPal fees are ridiculous.