Online auction site eBay is slated to ditch Google Checkout as a payment option by next July. At that time, the only online payment method available to users will be eBay's own PayPal service. An eBay spokesperson claimed the move is intended "to give eBay buyers a consistent, speedy checkout experience and to ensure support for fast-growing sales via mobile platforms."
If you ask us, this has more to do with eBay owning PayPal than user experience. Google Checkout has had trouble finding widespread usage. Amazon does not support Checkout, so the loss of eBay will hit the service hard. Users of Android phones in most countries do, however, use Google Checkout to pay for apps.
Have you used Google Checkout to buy anything lately? Do you think either PayPal or Checkout is a better service?
Comments are closed on this article
pforbing
September 02, 2010 at 7:56am
Google Checkout does need some work. I use it quite a bit myself. I've used paypal as well and I've been hosed using paypal before too. I don't see why you can't just keep it as an option. Sellers can stipulate how they will take payment. If they don't want to accept payments from Google checkout than they don't have to. Really how much harm is it? The whole thing just seems like a way for ebay to eliminate its competition.
chiroho
September 01, 2010 at 6:55pm
I've used Google Checkout several times, usually when shopping at buy.com, and had no problem with it at all. I much prefer it to PayPal, but then again I've never tried to send anyone money though it. As an Android user, I regularly use Google Checkout to buy apps on the Android market, so I'll be very disappointed if the service goes away.
quagga
September 01, 2010 at 6:50pm
There is a rather large vendor of cable's that didn't have much luck of late keeping their site secure. So now when I shop with them they have the Paypal or Google option, and given the pure hell I went through with PayPal was, I'll stick with Google.
These days I tend to be more concerned with whom gets my CC number. Google Checkout or Amazon Payments seem fine; anything related to eBay or PayPal I'll pass thanks. My only complaint with Amazon payments is that it would be nice to be able to apply AZ giftcards into that system. Then you could use Amazon giftcard balances to buy anything from any vendor that supported Amazon payments. I'm not holding my breath though.
Were I a vendor, I'd offer as many options as I could since you'll always run into the few customers like me who won't use PayPal, or some like the folks above who will want it over Google checkout.
highsidednb
September 01, 2010 at 6:46pm
Yay! Monopolies and lack of choice are awesome! THANK YOU EBAY!
When a yahoo account I only used for ebay was haxxored resulting in hundreds of dollars looted through Paypal, I found the customer service at every other company involved in the fiasco a million times better than what I had to go through with Ebay and Paypal. My bank? No problem. The e-store where my funds were used to buy merchandise? No problem. Ebay and Paypal? Took weeks. I horrible experience where I, the customer, was guilty until proven innocent.
I haven't used Ebay or Paypal since. Ebay no longer has the coolness it had 8-10 years ago. Who needs Ebay other than dumb consumerists, pack rats selling useless junk, and supposed VATs. Forget it. Imagine your life without Ebay. Imagine your life without Paypal. Enjoy.
mainlander
September 01, 2010 at 3:31pm
I've used Google Checkout once and it was a complete disaster. The billed me wrong, delayed my order and never refunded the overcharges.
cigar3tte
September 01, 2010 at 3:23pm
When were we ever able to use Google Checkout as an option in eBay? I'd love to not pay the 3% fee PayPal charges on top of the already-high eBay fees.
richeemxx
September 01, 2010 at 6:43pm
If you ever read the TOS and the seller agreement for eBay it already states that sellers can only ask for and accept certain payments and Google Checkout has never been one of the options. This is nothing more than a monopolistic move meant to force users to use PayPal so eBay can extort more money from their users.
JohnP
September 01, 2010 at 3:14pm
I would rather stick with Paypal. For one thing, Google checkout is a pain. The other is that my GMail account OVERFLOWS with verifications, more verifications, "How do you like our service?" surveys, you name it.
Stick to paypal.
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