What the ........?? Ebay and PayPal

**HiredGoon** · July 22nd, 2008, 11:13 AM

Ebay now REQUIRES mandatory PayPal as a payment option

"To ensure security on the eBay marketplace, it is now mandatory for all listings to offer PayPal as a payment method. Enter a valid email address in order to receive payments".

Just tried to list something and got the above message.

I have over 500 feedback, 100% positive, and now they require this?? That really sux. I never liked the extra fees PayPal heaped on, so never used them to get paid.
This is too much like extortion, man. Not that I'm a power seller or anything, but did like to sell once in a while. Have to rethink this now

Ebay is really going downhill fast

**625** · July 22nd, 2008, 11:25 AM

I hate Ebay and Paypal for many reasons but........this is still the easiest way to buy and sell certain items. From what I've read, Craig's List has way more fraud than Ebay.

Their PayPal requirement is simply greed getting the better of them. Most people I've met are greedy, so this is no surprise to me.

**dc dalton** · July 22nd, 2008, 11:29 AM

Yeah eBay has been "pushing it" for a long time now. Sooner or later someone is going to sue them as a monopoly (for forcing you to use their payment system) and its going to get ugly.

Really sucks how bad they have mangled up both eBay and Paypal over the years. I was one of the first 1000 people to sign up for Paypal (they actually paid me to sign up) and I was an eBay member way back when. It was (as usual) a great idea that got mangled up with greed and stupidity.

People do not realize how stupid some of the eBay fees really are. They make the bulk of their money from the dumb assed 'add ons' they pitch to people like a 'gift icon' .... that icon is about 100 bytes of data, a tiny graphic someone created a long while ago and they charge people 25 cents to use it. There is only one of them that is used on all the auctions. Then you get stuff like "bold heading" ... all that is is an HTML tag that makes the text bold and yet again they get 25 - 50 cents for that.

Nice business if you can find people dumb enough to pay it but they have really pushed people to the point of saying "no more" with their fee increases and things such as this mandatory Paypal requirement. People aren't completely dumb, the realize eBay is making money when you list, a fee when you sell and then another fee when you get paid... and they are starting to leave in droves. I was a power seller up until two months ago but then started seeing any profits sucked up by them so I simply stopped. I will still buy there but will not sell .... it's just not worth it.

Then again you get these people that defend eBay saying "they are supplying you an audience, an office and an e-commerce portal" and while that is true in a lot of ways they have now pushed the greed so far that the cost is not worth it. Its just like if the rent on your storefront gets to the point where the profit margin is cut out, you have to move on. Wouldn't be the first big company to put themselves out of business because of their short sightedness.

**shefearsnothing** · July 22nd, 2008, 11:49 AM

There are other auction sites out there. I reccommend checking them out.... something has GOT to take off and give ebay a run for their money.

**shefearsnothing** · July 22nd, 2008, 12:18 PM

I remember that people used to tack on a % fee if buyers were using paypal to pay in order to make up for the fees and ebay put a stop to that real quick. Where does it end though? They can just gouge away and no one is going to stop them? I definitely think something should be done about this. Like I said, I know there are other online auction sites trying to get off the ground. I think more people need to research them and just find other resources. I will admit I am totally addicted to ebay. I haven't been buying much lately but I have bought a LOT of stuff from there over the years. It is great to save the money and I HATE buying new toys for my kids. I PREFER used for several reason...number one being ALL THE PLASTIC PACKAGING that is NOT RECYCLABLE and NEVER going to BIODEGRADE! It's HORRIBLE! Also, they lose interest so fast anyway so no sense in spending all that money buying it new. Then there's the issue of clothing for kids...they just grow out of it all so fast. Now you have to watch shipping costs though. Have any of you checked out freecycle? You don't make money there because it's all FREE stuff but it's a GREAT way to get rid of stuff you'd normally be throwing out or giving away anyway AND it's a nice way to pick stuff up that you might normally be throwing out. It's a good place to sometimes find furniture, books and even clothing sometimes. That is where our girls got their bunkbeds. I just repainted them and they look really nice. There are "local" freecycles for different areas. You can find them through yahoo groups I think or just google it.