If you want to bid on eBay
Come July, eBay will no longer support third-party checkout solutions. Hit the road, Google
Is eBay being greedy, brilliant, or both? Yes, yes, and oh yeah.
The online giant claims that the move will help provide speed and consistency to the checkout process. It will also make it easier to support mobile platforms. eBay points out that less than 10% of eBay.com transactions are being processed through third-party options, so it may even make sense to move everyone over to the PayPal mother ship.
Unfortunately, this is also the kind of move that will make eBay bashers -- and they're out there, just check the comment box below in a few days -- even angrier at the online marketplace. It doesn't matter that PayPal rocks. Despite bellyaching over transaction fees, PayPal has been growing a lot faster than eBay's marketplace business in recent years. Payment volume grows briskly, and PayPal tacks on a million new accounts every passing month.
It may have been a product of eBay's success early on -- when PayPal thrived against the Billpoint option that eBay launched in cahoots with Wells Fargo
Still, officially removing support for third-party solutions will make it that much easier for PayPal to continue to dominate this space.
Well played, eBay. Let's hope that the Web-savvy consumer doesn't bite back.
Is eBay right to nix support for third-party checkout solutions? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.