eBay ban the use of Western Union on ebay.co.uk

[chaoticjelly]

Just logged into my account:

Message from eBay

"The use of instant money transfer services, such as Western Union and Money Gram, as a payment method is now banned on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie

The ban is being introduced with the support of the Metropolitan Police and Western Union and is part of our ongoing campaign to prevent online fraud"

Dear god!!!!!!! what's it going to be next..? PayPal only!!! I cant believe that eBay has its users in mind, more like they want more of the slice of pie that is Western Union fees!!!

Now I cant advertise that I accept Western Union or BidPay because if I do I risk - having my listings cancelled, forfeit of powerseller status, forfeit of ebay fees on cancelled listings, limits on account priveledges, account suspension

Bollocks to this!!!!

I dont use Western Union a lot, but isnt it when people bloody as you to pay using it? Like these here Nigerians?

I dont see how BANNING all sellers from using Western Union makes eBay a less fraudulent place?? I mean you can see from their feedback etc... some people can only pay using Western Union....

Totally out of order im really mad about this!!

[chaoticjelly]

Reading on.. here's pretty much the reason in the first paragraph of the new rules as to why they have made this "ban"

-----------------------------

Safe Payments Policy

eBay wants to ensure that a selection of safe and convenient payment methods are offered within the marketplace for buyers. eBay strongly encourages sellers to offer payments through PayPal – PayPal is convenient to use and offers buyers and sellers protection against fraud, chargebacks and theft of financial data.

[Vroomfunkel]

Yeah, I think they are probably gearing up to make Paypal the only online payment service that you can offer.

Which screws over buyers and sellers alike, but makes more profit for eBay. And since they pretty much have the monopoly on online auctions, they can screw everyone over as much as they like and everyone will just bend over and take it.

Roll on Google Wallet .... and Google auctions. Might turn out to be the only real competitor.

Vroomfunkel

[jajaja]

Ebay never had monopoly on online auctions, they are just very well knowned, most because of great marketing and a early start.
It wouldnt suprise me if it went Paypal only, but I take a wild guess and guess that ~90% of all the people who have an Ebay account (atleast in US/UK) also have a Paypal account. This doesnt mean that its the only option to pay tho. You can just send a question to the seller and ask if he accepts other payment methods, should work.

But it cant be done worldwide. Like on ebay.fr and ebay.de very few accepts Paypal. Normal payment method is bank transfer or personal check. I dont think Ebay will "force" all sellers there to get a Paypal account.

For me it doesnt matter if Ebay goes Paypal only.

[Dark_Sol]

The can suck my balls for that! Motherf*ckers.
I cannot use paypal from here and i always pay via bidpay.. If they make paypal only on ebay.com then i'm done.. !

[Vroomfunkel]

Jajaja ... read what is said before you reply!

I said they pretty much have a monopoly on online auctions. Not entirely, no - but there is practically nowhere else that comes anywhere near in terms of the exposure / variety of items.

Until there is, eBay effectively have a monopoly and can act as such - i.e. screw everyone over and not have to worry about them going off to use a competitor site. Because they have no competitors. Other auction sites, yes. Competitors, no.

Also no-one has said anything about eBay making Paypal the only payment option - just the only online payment option. They are certainly making it as awkward and inconvenient as possible for people to offer any other online payment service than Paypal - and I wouldn't be suprised if they eventually went the whole hog and made it the only online payment service that you are allowed to offer.

Vroomfunkel

[PS1Expert]

I for one am glad that ebay is doing this. I used bidpay before and got screwed. I have no recourse. I hope they ban the use of money orders in general. Yes, I hate the paypal fees, but paypal really is the easiest to use. I refuse to bid on auctions that don't take paypal now. Because so many ppl are getting scammed with western union it's making ebay look bad. That's my two cents.

[jajaja]

vroomfunkel: Ye, I know what you mean, but i dont think there is something called almost monoply.

[Vroomfunkel]

vroomfunkel: Ye, I know what you mean, but i dont think there is something called almost monoply.

When there is no viable alternative, and a company can behave just as they would if they did have a monopoly, I don't see why you shouldn't talk about it in those terms.

[Vroomfunkel]

I for one am glad that ebay is doing this. I used bidpay before and got screwed. I have no recourse. I hope they ban the use of money orders in general. Yes, I hate the paypal fees, but paypal really is the easiest to use. I refuse to bid on auctions that don't take paypal now. Because so many ppl are getting scammed with western union it's making ebay look bad. That's my two cents.

So what? You can get scammed paying with a cheque too. If you're not happy with that risk, no-one is forcing you to pay with Paypal - just don't bid on the goods that don't let you. But why be a dog in the manger, and refuse to let other people use a service just because you don't want to?

It's not as if you can't scammed through Paypal ... thousands of people do. But hey, eBay make money off that, so it's fine.

Vroomfunkel

[Dark_Sol]

I for one am glad that ebay is doing this. I used bidpay before and got screwed. I have no recourse. I hope they ban the use of money orders in general. Yes, I hate the paypal fees, but paypal really is the easiest to use. I refuse to bid on auctions that don't take paypal now. Because so many ppl are getting scammed with western union it's making ebay look bad. That's my two cents.

Can you tell me HOW exactly people can be scammed by western union???? How is this possible??

[Vroomfunkel]

Same way you scam anyone!

1. Tell them to send you Western Union payment.
2. Don't send goods.
3. Profit!

Or -

1. Send someone a Western Union payment paid for with a stolen credit card.
2. Persuade the seller to send your goods before the payment clears into their account.
3. Free goods!

First case scenario, you can get scammed like this with any payment system. Second scenario, naive or foolish sellers lose out, but anyone who sends goods out before a payment clears has themselves to blame a little.

*shrug*

Vroomfunkel

[jajaja]

Well.. you do have ebid and QXL in UK for example. I know what you mean, but I wouldnt use the word monopoly with ebay in any way, thats all. Dont want to start a big discussion

[Dark_Sol]

Same way you scam anyone!

1. Tell them to send you Western Union payment.
2. Don't send goods.
3. Profit!

Or -

1. Send someone a Western Union payment paid for with a stolen credit card.
2. Persuade the seller to send your goods before the payment clears into their account.
3. Free goods!

First case scenario, you can get scammed like this with any payment system. Second scenario, naive or foolish sellers lose out, but anyone who sends goods out before a payment clears has themselves to blame a little.

*shrug*

Vroomfunkel

They i don't understand why bidpay are biggest scums than paypal

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm a bit confused about Americans here. Don't get me wrong...

It's just that down here (Mexico) there are two big auction sites, and they allow payment by transfering money from bank to bank; meanwhile, in the US this is like... unheard of for some reason.

Why? I mean, this SHOULD be allowed and encouraged, because transfering from bank to bank would usually mean that there's a record of the money exchanging hands... right?

[jajaja]

Ye, its strange that transfer from 1 bank account to another is hardly used in USA. Its fully possible tho. From the 200+ buys I've done from the USA only 1 time I've used directly transfer to a bank account. Worked like a charm

[PS1Expert]

Ye, its strange that transfer from 1 bank account to another is hardly used in USA. Its fully possible tho. From the 200+ buys I've done from the USA only 1 time I've used directly transfer to a bank account. Worked like a charm

I'm pretty sure there is a hefty charge to have a bank transfer in the US, especially to an overseas account. Why do most Germans use brank transfers and not paypal is the question.

[jajaja]

Ye, might be. I can transfer to like 30 countries and it doesnt cost me anything in fee. Happy with that

[Kitsune Sniper]

Ah, see, down here, bank transfers are FREE. I think that there's a law or something. I didn't even consider the fact that U.S. banks would charge for money transfers from bank to bank... International ones, well, yeah, I can see that.

[Vroomfunkel]

In Europe there is this wonderful system where every bank account has an "IBAN" (International Bank Account Number) and every bank has a a "BIC" (Bank Identification Code). To make a transfer to anyone in Europe, all you need is to get them to give you their IBAN and BIC, and you can make the transfer.

In many European countries, there is no charge to make a transfer like this. Because there isn't really any more to it than a normal transfer.

But here in the UK, the banks all charge about £8 ($15) for this service, which stinks! I mean I don't specifically object to there being a fee, because there may be a nominal amount of extra admin needed - but basically all they need to do is enter those two numbers, and the amount and it is done. So I object to being charged £8 for that.

Still, at least bank transfers within the UK are free. Still, out of the hundreds of ebay sales I have made not more than three or four people have paid by bank transfer.

If they bank with the same bank as me, it is instantaneous! Better than Paypal!! (no fees!)

Vroomfunkel