FAIR SHAKE

Here is an Auctionbytes article on the Draft, with a link to the entire Draft Document.

Editorial Note: The draft is very long, but a good read for anyone who wants to see the opinions of ALL concerned with eBay's policies considered, and the arguments of eBay shown for what they are. The last few pages, in particular, are well worth at least skimming through. This is a huge victory, in my opinion! :o)


http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/bl ... 72308.html

Australia Says No to eBay's PayPal-Only Policy
By: Ina Steiner
Thu June 12 2008 012:05:08

The Australian government told eBay it could not implement its PayPal-only policy in Australia next week and would make a final determination on the matter. It issued a 42-page draft notice today that said consumers are in the best position to determine which service offers the best features. The agency waded through submissions by eBay buyers and sellers, online payment providers, financial industry organizations and other interested parties.

Interestingly, the ACCC used the May 26 submission, believed to have been submitted by Google, to help determine the competitive landscape. The filing showed data from Hitwise that revealed eBay dominated traffic in the "Shopping and Classifieds - Auctions" sector in Australia.

The ACCC noted that the second largest online marketplace after eBay is OZtion, which "is currently not a significant competitive constraint on eBay."

The agency received over 600 submissions from eBay users and said, "The overwhelming majority of these submissions were opposed to the notified conduct and raised concerns regarding restriction of choice, increased fees and issues associated with PayPal’s security, dispute resolution and customer service."

eBay and interested parties now have time to lodge submissions in response to the draft notice, before the ACCC decides whether to issue a final notice revoking the notification.

It would be interesting if this case draws attention from government regulators in other countries over eBay's payment restrictions. eBay has implemented policlies on its other sites that push users into using PayPal, just shy of an official PayPal-only policy. There's also speculation that eBay has plans to do away with checks and money orders in the US.

More on the ACCC ruling in today's AuctionBytes Newsflash article, including a link to the full ACCC notice.

Australia Throws Roadblock in eBay's PayPal-Only Plans
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
June 12, 2008


Government regulators in Australia have told eBay to hold off on plans to move to a PayPal-only marketplace in Australia on June 17, 2008. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it believes consumers are in the best position to determine whether, for their particular transaction, PayPal offers the best features in terms of security, fraud protection, dispute resolution and insurance, at the price offered. It also said that having a single payment provider on eBay may reduce the incentive for other payment systems to develop more secure and cost effective systems.

The ACCC issued the draft notice on June 12 proposing to revoke a notification lodged by eBay International A.G. on April 11, 2008. The ACCC took into account 650 submissions by buyers and sellers as well as by online payment providers; financial industry participants and organizations; the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance; government authorities; and consumer and community associations. The ACCC also sought information from eBay's main competitors, including OZtion and Sensis, which operates the Trading Post online classifieds site.

ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel issued a statement published in an ACCC press release on Thursday. "Given eBay's position as Australia's leading online marketplace, the notified conduct will substantially reduce competition to supply online payment services to users of online marketplaces more generally." While the organization believes a PayPal-only policy has the potential to deliver some benefits to users, such as increased buyer protection insurance in certain circumstances, it believes that "consumers are in the best position to decide which payment method is most suitable for them."

The ACCC said 650 eBay users - half of them from buyers - sent submissions with the overwhelming majority of them opposed to the notified conduct. They raised concerns regarding restriction of choice, increased fees and issues associated with PayPal's security, dispute resolution and customer service.

Interested parties identified themselves as follows: approximately 5% were PowerSellers (i.e. sales average greater than $2000 per month); approximately 50% were regularly buyers on eBay approximately 33% were sellers.

The agency noted that the second largest online marketplace after eBay is OZtion, which "is currently not a significant competitive constraint on eBay," and said " the threat of effective new entry into the supply of online marketplaces in Australia is low." It cited "powerful network effects" as significant barriers to competition.

The ACCC examined the supply side and demand side market in Australia, and concluded that "the evidence available suggests that there are few, if any, close demand side or supply side substitutes for online marketplaces offering a combination of search, list and transaction functions."

"The ACCC is concerned that the notified conduct will allow eBay to use its market power in the supply of online marketplaces to substantially lessen competition in the market in which PayPal operates," Samuel said.

eBay implemented the PayPal only in two stages. From May 21, 2008, all sellers on eBay were required to offer PayPal as one of their accepted payment methods. eBay said it would require that all transactions be paid for using PayPal or cash on pickup beginning June 17.

"In light of the serious competition concerns raised in the draft notice and the significant concerns raised by interested parties, I have asked eBay to delay implementation of the second stage of the conduct until a final decision is made by the ACCC," Mr Samuel said.

Daniel Feiler, the Head of Community & PR for eBay Australia & New Zealand, responded via email to an inquiry about the ACCC draft notice: "eBay is currently assessing the ACCC draft notice and will make further comment following the review process."

eBay and interested parties now have time to lodge submissions in response to the draft notice, before the ACCC decides whether to issue a final notice revoking the notification.

The full ACCC draft notice is available in PDF format on the AuctionBytes website:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/pdf/eBay_Draft_Notice.pdf

Comment on the AuctionBytes Blog:
http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/bl ... 72308.html

Note: article updated Thursday morning to include statement from eBay Australia.

The full ACCC draft notice is available in PDF format on the AuctionBytes website:

http://www.auctionbytes.com/pdf/eBay_Draft_Notice.pdf

Finally, someone says no to the behemoth! I hope to God this paves the way for any future rulings in other countries!

Did everyone miss this?

Those hooligans at the accc are undermining consumer safety --->/end sarcasm

ebay appears to be wanting to fight this.
I suppose they believe they are above the law everywhere.
reminds me of a cult more than a corportaion

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/au/200806.shtml ... 6-13165710

June 2008
***Important update regarding changes on eBay.com.au***

13 June 2008 | 05:08PM EST


eBay has released a media statement regarding the ACCC’s draft notice.

The statement reads as follows:

ACCC draft notice undermines online consumer protection

eBay will continue to fight for safety benefits for consumers

13 June 2008: eBay challenges yesterday’s Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) draft notice and is disappointed that the ACCC’s current view delays the opportunity to provide consumers a more secure way to shop on eBay.com.au with confidence.

eBay intends to work with the ACCC and hopes to achieve a final outcome which has the safety and security of eBay’s members as its paramount objective. eBay will delay the removal of other payment methods from the site until Tuesday 15 July.

PayPal offers consumers a range of payment choices, including bank transfer and credit cards. It’s a safer and easier online payment system that significantly enhances protection for eBay buyers and sellers.

eBay is pleased to confirm that PayPal buyer protection will jump to $20,000 on eBay.com.au for purchases paid for using PayPal from Tuesday 17 June.

eBay believes the consumer benefits of this initiative are worth fighting for on behalf of its buyers which will ultimately benefit sellers.

What does this mean for you?
PayPal Buyer Protection will still increase to $20,000 on 17 June 2008.

From 15 July 2008, the only payment methods sellers may offer on eBay.com.au will be PayPal and pay on pick up.

Selling on eBay.com.au
Current policies regarding accepted payment methods do still apply. This means PayPal is required on all listings on eBay.com.au. Other payment methods (i.e. bank deposit, cheque/money order) may also be offered until 15 July 2008.

As previously communicated any listings that do not comply with eBay’s Accepted Payments Policy will be removed.

There are a small number of categories excluded from these changes. Learn more about these exclusions.

Buying on eBay.com.au
To ensure you benefit from PayPal’s Buyer Protection Policy, eBay strongly recommends you use PayPal when paying for your purchases on eBay.com.au.

From 15 July 2008 the available payment methods will be limited to PayPal, Visa/MasterCard, or pay on pick up.

Please note that some of our onsite communications will still refer to changes taking place on 17 June 2008. These communications are being updated and should reflect the new date of 15 July 2008 within the coming days.

Regards,
The eBay team

I hadn't seen this yet -- but predicted it. eBay never stops until they get what they want. Extreme narcissism.

hello everyone, I've been thinking today also about the feedback changes introduced on ebay. the feedback changes are biased towards the buyer. this would be a breach of policy according to the Department of fair trading, as this promotes an unethical and unfair trading environment.

to those who remember the dixie chicks, and how they were cut off from the world. one bad word about their president, and people started ringing their local stations demanding that no more of their songs are to be played or no one will listen to their station any more.

i believe we should do the same, every time we see or hear an ebay commercial, we ring up that local station and demand that if the don't stop promoting a company that is unethical, amoral and insensitive to minority groups then we will refuse to watch or listen to that station again and we will pass this message onto our families and friends

us sellers have a legitimate claim for a law suit against ebay for pushing the paypal policy which has directly affected sales and loss of income and the should be held accountable. every thing they have done has had a direct influence, we should all file for a class action on ebay demanding c-o-m-p-e-n-s-a-t-i-o-n