No More Checks Or Money Orders On eBay

I'm in Australia & eBay has tried that here, but our Department of Fair Trading has put a stop to it (so far) - we have anti-monopoly laws here (mostly) & DFA don't like that eBay will only allow payments thru their own company, so for the moment eBay are held of by our Govt. Don't quote me on this tho - this is what I understand & I'm sure there's an Aussie out there who can correct me if I'm wrong

As a buyer, it's been years since I last paid for anything using a money order. If the seller only accepts checks or money orders, I don't even bid. So, for sellers that won't accept PayPal, I don't think they get as high a bids as they would if they did.

Now, for those that take a mixed bag of payment options, maybe they will lose a few sales, but it won't be a situation where the buyer will simply go to another seller, because none of the other sellers will be able to accept checks or money orders either.

Perhaps this just makes it all the more important to have a website outside of eBay where you can take whatever forms of payment you like. And to just use eBay as one outlet for sales and not depend on it.

That is ridiculous! I haven't been terribly active on eBay in a couple of years, but I'd guess about 15% of my business was by check or money order. Given eBay's rash of poor decisions, I'd really like to see someone step in and grab a big chunk of their market.

John

I have to disagree and say that it's a good move. There have been many Western Union and check scams in the past, any legitimate buyer with a checking account can set up a Paypal account in a short period of time, no problem. They are doing this to protect you from being defrauded.

Another stupid move on ebay's part, they just want to have total control of everything,
no wonder not many are Ebaying anymore.

I always preferred PayPal anyway but I hear ya.. lotsa people are still resistent to using PayPal vs checks or MO's.

Was wondering how long it'd be before eBay made such a move.. I haven't sold anything on there for months. Been waiting to see things settle down. I really don't care for all the changes.

The stated reasons are pure b***shit. If you were a seller worried about bad checks, you could refuse to accept checks. And if you were a buyer who preferred PayPal, you could buy from sellers which accepted it. So this does nothing to help anyone except ebay.

Guess I wont be selling high $$$ products on eBay any more.

I like checks/money orders to save on my fees and because PP can be a problem at times.

I've gotten so I won't sell much of anything on there anymore and have started playing with Craigslist.. at least there are no fees involved.

eBay just wants to increase their revenue, IMO. I don't eBay, but I know two long-time eBayers who've recently stopped posting items.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to add my 2 cents to this one.

With the influx of crooks from all over the world, coming to ebay to sell their junk and pirated goods, I'm sure ebay needed to find a way to better protects it's unsuspecting buyers.

Sellers seem to be the ones doing most of the whinning, and in a lot of instances, I can understand why. You want to be able to sell to everyone who wants to buy.

....but please, let me get on with my story.

I got ripped off a couple of years ago for $350.00 on an art print purchase. The seller would only take a check, money order, or bank transfer, and I wanted the print really bad. I sent a check.

After the 10 day waiting period, the print was mailed and soon arrived. It turned out to be a picture of the print that had been cut out of an art book and framed. Boy, was I PO'ed.

I contacted Paypal, and was told there was nothing they could do for me since the payment had not gone throuh Paypal, but they did tell me that the seller had 2 other complaints that week for the same reason, and that his account had been cancelled. He was no longer allowed to sell on ebay, which was a blessing for all those buyers who came after me.

My bank was no help either, since the check had cleared before the purchase was shipped. Since the seller was in the UK, my only alternative was to travel to that part of the world and hire a lawyer. I'm sure you understand why that wasn't a good choice - money.

I framed that check, and it now hangs over my desk as a reminder to never again make a purchase on ebay without using Paypal.

I still buy on ebay, but when I see a listing that states the seller does not accept Paypal, I run the other way. When sellers refuse to take Paypal, 9 out of 10 times, it's because Paypal has had to refund an unhappy buyer.

Please don't misunderstand this post. There are a lot of honest sellers out there. The dishonest ones just make it hard for everyone else.

Now let's take a look at the buyers who won't use Paypal. If a person has a checking account, then they can very easily get a Paypal account. So why would a buyer not want one?

1. It's because they want to send you a bad check, hoping that you will be dumb enough to mail their purchase before the check arrives. (Some sellers will actually do this) Then they have your merchadise, and you have a bad check.

2. They have bounced so many checks that Paypal won't give them an account, or has taken away the one that they had. (I also got ripped off by a buyer for this exact reason. I was one of those dumb enough to mail the merchandise before the check cleared. Please don't laugh - it wasn't funny)

So those of you who are ebay sellers and buyers, be happy that they are doing what they feel is best to protect everyone. If any of the posters here fall into the above "ripoff" categories, all I can say is "Shame on you". If not, you should give what I have written here a lot more thought.

Hope your day has been as profitable as mine.

Dixie

Strange things happening on eBay.

I had a very unpleasant buying experience with a guy who insisted on money orders. It was just a lot of hassle. He was a good seller with 100% positive feedback but it was just a hassle to go to the PO and get the money order.

I just checked him out on eBay and he has nothing listed. I guess this new policy will weed out some buyers and sellers. Mostly buyers though.

I wonder if eBay comprehends how many people buy things using only checks and or money orders.

Of course there is always the prepaid debit cards but most people don't even know how easy they are to get.

It might be time for an eBook, How to buy on eBay even if you think you can't.

George Wright