Google Checkout Closed…on eBay
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Written By Reprise Media | July 6, 2006 | Share This
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Before Google launched Checkout last week, the long-rumored payment transaction service was widely assumed to be a direct PayPal competitor. Now we know the two products aren’t quite the same, and we can add one more difference to the list, according to AuctionBytes: Google Checkout will not be welcome on eBay, which is a major PayPal stomping ground.
Well, who can blame eBay? They own PayPal, after all, and although Google Checkout doesn’t do transactions between individuals, it could cut in to some of PayPal’s online merchant revenue. Nothing personal, just business.
Of course, the wording of eBay’s Safe Payments policy indicates that Google Checkout (and others) do not have a “substantial historical track record of providing safe and reliable financial and/or banking related services.” Kind of a weird justification, given all the cash eBay dumps into Google’s AdWords system to advertise stuff it’s not even selling (e.g., “baby,” “dad,” “nuclear submarine”).
For its part, Google says they have no qualms about working with eBay (no kiddin’). According to a spokesman, “Google Checkout is not a beta product” - true, and unusual for a Google service - and “Google has a long history in billing and payments for AdWords and for premium services, such as Google Video.”
Topics: ECommerce |