Ina Steiner again;
eBay Cancels Plans to Go PayPal-Only in Australia
“eBay has cancelled plans to go to a PayPal-only marketplace in Australia. It had intended to limit buyers and sellers to using its own payment service exclusively, but withdrew its notification to government regulators after the agency indicated its intention to prohibit eBay from doing so.”
In a refreshing comment by one of Auctionbytes readers;
“How refreshing it is to actually see a government in action whose primary interest is protecting its constituents rather than acting as a rubber stamp for the interests of big business.”

Dee makes an excellent point in her comment at eBay Ink…
Referencing the current results (subject to change) of the attempt to impose a PayPal only payment process on eBay Australia which eBay has been told by the Australian government it could not implement and the latest $63 Million fine by a French court for not properly policing the eBay site for counterfeits Dee reminded us;
eBay: In France – “today’s ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers everyday.”
The ACCC in Australia …read more

Even though the Australian government told eBay they could not implement their PayPal only plan this month, that the ACCC would make a final determination whether this would be approved or not, eBay insists;
Developments In eBay Plan To Go PayPal Only
“The Australian IT website reported that eBay Australia sent a “strongly worded” letter this week to users warning that failure to comply with the new policy would result in an immediate removal of product listings and repeatedly emphasizing the deadline.”
After they told everyone that the date for implementation of the new policy would be pushed back to July. So, eBay …read more

Extremely interesting…
Australia Says No to eBay’s PayPal-Only Policy
“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.”
Ooops! In another article on the same topic, Ina quotes the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Graeme Samuel, saying something that strikes me …read more

For eBay sellers unhappy with the current state of affairs regarding feedback…
Another h/t to Ina at Auctionbytes for this news;
eBay Feedback Extortion Alerting Service
Which introduces AfterTheGavel.com. Dr. Ben Bishop, the founder, describes his site as
“A way for sellers to leave feedback about buyers to prevent problems. ‘Perhaps the buyer is trying to threaten the seller with negative feedback to try to extort a lower price,’ he said. ‘This is a mechanism for sellers to report that to other sellers so this buyer can’t go on doing this indefinitely, hopefully.’”
From the FAQ’s at the site itself;
“AfterTheGavel is for sellers to be …read more

How’s that workin’ for ya’?
Ina Steiner at Auctionbytes gives us the scoop;
OZtion Sees Sales Spike after eBay Plans PayPal-Only Policy
“OZtion, an online auction site based in Australia, issued a press release to announce it has seen a 50% increase in sales for the month of May compared to the month of March. The company has seen a significant increase in sales since eBay Australia announced in April that all items must be paid for using PayPal.”
Ouch – 50%??? Could statistics be misleading? It doesn’t look like it as Ina also tells us;
“It has experienced a 65% increase in Gross Merchandise …read more

Referring again to this definition of Restraint of Trade, giving consideration to current events;
We’ll take a look at the second court determined legal standard, the Per Se Test.
In Northern Pacific Railroad Co. v. United States (1958), the U.S. Supreme Court found that illegal restraints can sometimes fall outside a rule of reason analysis. In such cases carefully defined categories of restraint are illegal per se because “their pernicious effect on competition and lack of any redeeming virtue are conclusively presumed to be unreasonable and therefore illegal without elaborate inquiry as to the precise harm they have caused.” Related is the …read more

But what does it really mean? Will eBay’s future success or failure be measured in pageviews?
Ina Steiner has attempted some analysis at Auctionbytes;
“I was curious if the numbers might hint at any boycott effect. Looking at the numbers month-to-month, it shows a 13.21 percent drop in page views from January 2008 to February, and a 6.48 percent increase from February to March. There was also a 10.85 percent drop in time spent per person from January 2008 to February. It’s always tricky looking at month-to-month numbers, as seasonal effects can cause swings.”
Once again, the action is really in the comments!
This …read more