Ebay Forces Paypal on Buyers and Sellers

Checks and Money Orders No Longer Allowed on Ebay

I read ebay's new rule that Checks and money orders no longer allowed starting in Oct. This is an outrage. ebay is all but forcing us to use paypal and its high fees. Here is what ebay writes:

Checks and money orders no longer allowed

What's changing with payments on eBay?
Beginning in late October 2008, checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay. All items appearing on eBay.com must be paid for using either:

• PayPal (funded by PayPal account balance, credit card, debit card, bank  account, PayPal Pay Later, PayPal Buyer Credit or eBay gift certificate)
• Credit or debit card payment to a seller (through a seller's Internet merchant account)
• ProPay
• Payment upon pickup

In January 2009, all of the approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller offers credit or debit card as a payment option, buyers will be able to directly enter their credit card information securely in eBay checkout and their payment will be directly routed to the seller's Internet merchant account.

We are also working with other electronic payment providers currently included in our Accepted Payments Policy to integrate their services into eBay checkout in 2009.

Read more HERE.

Don't worry, ebay offers us a great alternative to PayPal:ProPay! Where did ProPay come from? I wouldn't doubt that ebay owns part of ProPay.

I just looked a ProPay and it's nowhere near what we "small" sellers can afford to be profitable. First off, the basic membership comes with a $34.95 annual fee. Under this package, we can only accept VISA / MasterCard with a 3.5% + $0.35 transaction fee. Bank transfer fees are $0.35. To top it off, the monthly processing limit is $1,000.00. Premium plans lift many restrictions but cost $60-$300!! ProPay is not an alternative that most of us will use.