p2pnet news | Freedom:- Has eBay taken a page out of the RIAA’s ‘tough love’ book?

The company is laying it on, hot and heavy, with its five million Australian users having already told them You WILL use PayPal and ONLY PayPal.

PayPal is, of course, owned by eBay.

Now, OzBayers who fail to follow company orders risk, “immediate removal of product listings,” says Australian IT.

“Members [slaves, surely?] received the email late yesterday, “with a firm statement that come July 15, PayPal and cash on delivery will be the only payment modes on eBay’s website,” says the story,

“As previously communicated, any listings that do not comply with eBay’s Accepted Payments Policy will be removed,” says the eBay missive, going on >>>

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.

“The longer this debate continues the worse it is for sellers, and the more it drags on the worse it’s eventually going to be for eBay and its shareholders,” Australian alliance president Phil Leahy said recently.

“The overwhelming response from sellers is for this to end now and for consumer choice to prevail.”

But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is on the case, suggesting “in informal comments that it would likely block eBay’s effort to require all Australian trades to use PayPal for payments,” says InformationWeek, adding:

“The ACCC signaled that it looks upon an exclusive PayPal arrangement as anti-competitive, although it will receive comments on the issue until July 3.”

Once the company has Australians under control, it’ll invariably extend its efforts to also bring to heel so-called ‘members’ in other parts of the world, any company statements to the contrary notwithstanding.

Universal corporate maxim

“EBay will make every effort to educate people about why this is for their safety and why it will increase confidence in shopping on eBay,” said eBay trust and safety director Alastair MacGibbon recently.

This is perhaps in many respects similar to the ‘tough love‘ members of the Big 4 organised music cartel, Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG, impose on consumers reluctant to use their ‘product’, and only theirs.

And it’s entirely consistent with the universal corporate maxim that we depend on them, and not the other way around, a belief system that’s fast coming unglued as more and more people around the world log on, finding they can completely bypass the Powers that Used to Be.

For example, WebWire has a post listing possible eBay alternatives, to wit >>>

http://www.oztion.com.au
“Unlike eBay, which has a global network, Oztion is a homegrown online auction site that started operating in 2005. From very small beginnings, it has grown and thrived to the point, where it considers itself to be the 2nd largest online auction website Australia.

http://aussiebid.com.au
“You will find lots of goods listed in a wide range of categories. The site operates a feedback system, Safe buy Program, online auction, forums and discussion boards and has a free listing option.”

http://www.bidsell.com.au/cgi-bin/auction
“Bidsell is an auction site where individuals and businesses can list items for auction or instant purchase. The site has a range of features including a feedback system, a bulk listing tool, user verification and free listing option.”

http://www.auctionbidz.com.au
“Auctionbidz offers a free service to sellers, there is no listing fees and no sale value fees, It also give you ten dollar credit just for signing up.”

Adds the post:

“From all these online auction sites, one of the highlights to attract sellers is the free listing policy. Yes, this is very attractive compare to all fees from ebay listing fee to final value fee plus Paypal service fee which is compulsive from June 2008.”

Jon Newton – p2pnet

. .Stumble It!

ONLY PayPal – Use PayPal and ONLY PayPal, eBay orders Aussies, April 11, 2008
Australian IT – My way or the highway, says eBay, June 18, 2008
InformationWeek – Australia May Block eBay’s Mandate To Use PayPal, June 16, 2008
increase confidence in shopping on eBay – eBay to accept cash and PayPal only, April 10, 2008
tough love – RIAA ‘tough love’ statement #2, March 20, 2008

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 11:12 am and is filed under Freedom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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