PPC Submitter : Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 18:45
Greedy PayPal and Ebay
I have used Ebay for 10 years as a buyer and seller. I have had a PayPal account for 4 years. The last 5 years have seen a large increase in new fees for practically every keystroke while creating a listing. It would seem the marketing department at Ebay has been working overtime to come up with new, creative fees. Not only has this cut into sellers’ profits, but has made creating a listing more difficult and time consuming. Time is money.
Ebay’s job as a facilitator and arbiter between buyer and seller is the justification for these fees. They are supposed to offer “protection” for both parties but with their team of lawyers and a constantly changing TOS agreement, in reality there is minimal or no protection. The resolution process is a time consuming and ultimately futile process where Ebay takes a cut from settlements involving fraud.
Ebay has a monopoly on national auction services and the lack of competition has let them get away with their behavior. I don’t see any significant change in their behavior and as a result I have slowly moved away from them and pursued alternative auctions that are more targeted for the goods I wish to sell, and purchase.
What remains on Ebay primarily are products sold at retail prices from the same vendors. These products can often be bought at the seller’s website for less or found in an e-store online for substantially less.
It would appear greed at Ebay has killed the golden goose. I don’t know how much longer Ebay can remain viable. It is propped up by its successful side business PayPal. However, payments via email addresses is changing the game as banks and other financial companies get into the game. PayPal’s insistence that its customers “get verified” has not gone over well with many users. I refuse to turn over my banking information to them so my account is dormant now.
Getting “verified” allows PayPal to take the money directly out of your bank account instead of billing your credit card. PayPal avoids the credit card company transaction fees and makes and extra 2.5-3% for themselves and instantly pulls funds from your bank account. If they shared these savings with their customers maybe more customers wouldn’t mind getting “verified”. Aside from helping Paypal make extra money by getting “verified”, Ebay/PayPal’s customer service has inspired neither competence nor confidence. Turning over sensitive banking information to them sounds like a recipe for disaster-unauthorized withdrawals and chargebacks, identity theft, etc. PayPal should call the program getting “violated” instead.
My credit card company will actually help me in a timely manner with disputes. The same cannot be said for PayPal or Ebay.
It wouldn’t take much to turn things around at Ebay, however, they have become arrogant with a sense of entitlement so I don’t see them making any positive changes to retain their customers until serious competition threatens them.
Submitted By:: Big Dan
Location: Dallas
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HOW TO STOP UNAUTHORIZED PAYPAL WITHDRAWALS :
1st,, don’t leave much $$ in your Paypal account – they can freeze it, and probably will at some point. With Paypal, you are guilty first, and then have to prove you’re innocent.
2nd – SET UP A LINKED, OR “SWEEP” ACCOUNT , TIED TO YOUR PAYPAL CHECKING ACCOUNT .
As soon as the money you’ve withdrawn from Paypal appears in your checking account, IMMEDIATELY transfer it to your linked account. Many banks can do this automatically for you. With no money for Paypal to withdraw at their whim, you can sleep at night..