Discussion: eBay Payment Mediation

[happy_pigeon]

Hi all,

Hopefully, you've seen Wednesday's announcement about eBay's plans to intermediate payments in the near future.

In plain language, this means that instead of PayPal processing all payments as they currently do (even if you don't choose PayPal as your payment option), we'll be transitioning over the next few years to a centralized system. You don't need to do anything right now, and PayPal will continue to be an option for sending and accepting payments.

I'll move any related posts/threads here so that we can condense the discussion. I'll probably be signing off for the night shortly, but I'll be back tomorrow morning to answer any questions you may have!

[momcqueen]

Why do I feel like I showed up to dinner and - SURPRISE! - got served a plate of hot garbage?

Who asked for this? So far as I’m concerned, PayPal payment processing is the most often the ONLY flawless part of buying and selling on eBay.

I don’t want this. I’ve never heard of these people or this company. I don’t feel like linking my banking to some weird, third-party. How long before I have access to my money after a transaction. What makes eBay think buyers want any part of this?

I’m going to need a whole pile more sweet talk on this before I’m even remotely happy about it.

[momcqueen]

I mean, honestly!

I don’t complain about stuff just for the sake of complaining about stuff.

This is an area that did not need fixing.

I’m unimpressed.

If eBay wants to win sellers over to this idea which is clearly a fait accomplit, it would be smart to start selling it as an improvement. With tangible promises. Otherwise, the company is just messing around with us and our ability to conduct proper business again.

My guts already start hurting today when I began to think about how close the Spring Seller 2018 Update might be and then you just dump this into our plates from nowhere? Gee whiz.

[happy_pigeon]

@momcqueen You will still be able to accept PayPal! You won't have to accept other forms of payment via Adyen if you don't wish to.

[momcqueen]

Thank you for that reassurance.

Did I miss the part where ebay shared copious amounts of information about who and what this new company might be, what specific services they will offer, and how it's supposed to make easier and less costly the lives of ebay sellers? 

None of that was in the message I received to my email.

I will look again in the Announcements.

If I were ebay and this was my Big Idea of Something Great, I would be selling it like it's the next best thing since sliced bread. Not just dumping in on the table like a stack of soggy toast and saying,"Here, dig in."

Make this sound like a tasty treat that I want, please! 

[momcqueen]

Oh, I see. This: https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/ebay-to-intermediate-payments-on-its-marketplace-platform/?utm_...

[femmefan1946]

I lost all confidence in the new processor when the press release used the word 'intermediation'.

'Mediation' is the word.

When bureaucrats make up new words because they don't know the existing ones, I doubt their ability to choose the best alternative to an existing programme.

In fact, a better word would have been 'processing'.

The one thing that would interest me in this new processor (see what I did there?) would be how they will handle disputes and refunds. In particular, how they will handle chargebacks from credit cards.

[momcqueen]

Okay, so I *get* what this is now and what it is supposed to do.

But, uh. Okay. On any given week, there are a a minimum of a half-dozen threads from users experiencing glitches. And that's on ebay Canada where there are like 150 people using the site at any given time, never mind ebayUSA or ebayUK. Does ebay San Jose really think ebay is ready for this? Half the time sellers don't feel like they can trust ebay to keep the doors unlocked and the lights on, never mind taking the sack of money to the bank at the end of the day.  And too many buyers think ebay is a den of thieves as it is with counterfeit items or bait-and-switch listing manipulation. 

I have to assume the corporation focus-grouped this first.

I'm not certain it's the panacea the Boss Men think it will be.

[momcqueen]

Thank you, femme. There's that too. I stumbled on 'intermediation' as well. Like, talk about concocting a $20-word where a 20-cent one will do. 

[mayfairsuperdog]

Lol,

 The reasons are comical. 

-simplified pricing structure and more predictable access to their funds - already exists

- solutions to provide sellers with information about their eBay business, inclusive of payments information, in one place so that sellers can easily track and manage all of their transactions and customer interactions on eBay

already exists

- By offering buyers more choice in how they pay and expanding payment options into more geographies, eBay believes sellers will be able to reach more buyers and improve conversion

sure, i'm looking forward to sending heavily overchargred untracked unprotected unbacked to timbuktu because of the off chance someone has a payment intermediary method that almost nobody has heard of until today.

 As well, the business partners have agreed to push the cost of items so high that nobody in these new geographies will be able to afford anything.

But Hey! At least we were treated to some fabulous corporate speak. The future has never looked brighter.

[hlmacdon]

My payments don't require mediation, they require processing. I don't need ebay jumping into the mix to fix something that isn't broken, disrupting business and cash flow just so ebay can line their pockets with a few points extra of margin and get into a catfight with paypal. As I approach the half a million dollar plus revenue milestone with ebay this, in conjunction with other recent changes is the final nail in the coffin and see me exit the platform. Adios.

[hlmacdon]

---

wrote:

I lost all confidence in the new processor when the press release used the word 'intermediation'.

'Mediation' is the word.

When bureaucrats make up new words because they don't know the existing ones, I doubt their ability to choose the best alternative to an existing programme.

In fact, a better word would have been 'processing'.

The one thing that would interest me in this new processor (see what I did there?) would be how they will handle disputes and refunds. In particular, how they will handle chargebacks from credit cards.

---

Mediation is unfortunately the precise term here. This will give ebay additional control over your funds a seller, when they can be disbursed, and when ebay can jump in to arbitrarily detain funds or apply chargebacks without having to go through a payment intermediary which at least offers sellers some level of recourse.  Have a read through people's experience with the conceriege program for an idea of where this is going.

[ypdc_dennis]

For those curious about the new partner: adyen.com

Someone I had not heard of before, but they do work with a lot of companies that I have heard about.

They started in 2006, signed their first big customer in 2009. The Adyen payments platform processed transactions worth $25 billion in 2014 and $50 billion in 2015.

Compared to PayPal's  $235 billion in 2014 and $282 billion in 2015

...

These changes will need to get a lot closer before I worry about them.

-..-

[katlover1952]

Have any if you read the letter eBay sent to sellers regarding payment intermediation. Don't really understand it all but I did go in the .com board & some sellers there are definitely not pleased. Of course eBay is trying to tell us it will be good for sellers but then that is what they always say & I have not seen any changes in the last few years that have actually benefited sellers. Not looking forward to another change.

[hedge88]

Sometimes I feel like Ebay is leaving me, and not the other way around.

It switched to Canadian currency, and I was used to using US dollars.  Since I list elsewhere in US dollars, this was a nuisance and makes listing take longer.

It added Shippo.  I didn't want Shippo, so I don't use it, but it means to print labels I have to go elsewhere, so things take longer.  I see a trend developing here.

Now there is a new processor coming.   My first thought is that  I don't want to share out my information with yet another organization.  Like with Shippo, it is a guest I never invited over.

My second thought:  Previously on the Etsy platform they had repeated trouble with a processor (hi World Pay!)  that at one point didn't process payments for 5 days, and then lots of customers were double or triple charged when they tried to fix it.  It took weeks to sort out charges and refunds.    Is there a backup in case the new processor messes up?

On the other hand, after all these changes my sales have dropped, so maybe in the end it won't matter as much as I think.

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

I kinda doubt I'd still be selling here by then so I'm not gonna give this much thoughts...

[esclyons]

so after reading the update.. it appears paypal will still be an option for 5 more years..

But once they roll out the new payment processor, we as seller's have to sign up for it, and accept payments in this form, but paypal will still be a payment option..

So why is a company that is struggling to keep market share, going to tell all of their buyers, that they have to sign up for a new payment processor..

When every buyer already has signed up for paypal, why would they now be required to sign up for another payment processor, sounds like a sure fire way to scare off more customers.

Bottom line is ebay must be making  more money if they can get 100% of buyers to switch to the new platform, otherwise why bother??

[ypdc_dennis]

---

wrote:

When every buyer already has signed up for paypal, why would they now be required to sign up for another payment processor, sounds like a sure fire way to scare off more customers.

---

There are lots of people out there who refuse to have a paypal account (or just can't be bothered).  Lots of potential eBay buyers.

...

Buyers won't have to sign up for the new processor -- they will use their credit card, debit card, or any other approved funding source to make a payment.  For example, a buyer has no idea who processes the payments when buying on Amazon, for a seller on the A-river it's a different matter.

...

[momcqueen]

I can see that it may take years to release any true fallout from this thing that no user wants anyway.

That's fine.

What worries me is that if this is such a probably-not-a-big-deal and we are so close to the Spring Seller Update, why not simply make this a single point of that? Is the coming Seller Update so immense and far-reaching on its own that there was no room for this? 

[ricarmic]

Another UUUUGGGHHH kinda day....

[This post was moved from a new thread created on this topic. Please keep all posts related to payment mediation in this thread so that eBay employees can address your feedback more easily. Thank you - happy_pigeon]