Model Train Journal

I see now that eBay is accepting credit cards for payment directly outside of Paypal.

eBay? Or sellers that have a store? sellers that have stores (brick and mortar) Take Credit cards. If you have the ability to run a cc you can do it too. Might be part of an antitrust law.

robert. wrote:eBay? Or sellers that have a store? sellers that have stores (brick and mortar) Take Credit cards. If you have the ability to run a cc you can do it too. Might be part of an antitrust law.

Not just sellers with stores now, apparently. Seems to be a general change where eBay now will accept/broker payment directly with your credit card. Probably has to do with not being contractually linked to Paypal.....

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

robert. wrote:eBay? Or sellers that have a store? sellers that have stores (brick and mortar) Take Credit cards. If you have the ability to run a cc you can do it too. Might be part of an antitrust law.

Not just sellers with stores now, apparently. Seems to be a general change where eBay now will accept/broker payment directly with your credit card. Probably has to do with not being contractually linked to Paypal.....

Seems like a device to give sellers an alternative to having a Paypal account. I am guessing that the seller "eats" the cost of the buyer/customer using their credit card, same as a brick and mortar merchant would do. State tax is also added to transactions. Not sure if the seller or Ebay is responsible for the distribution of those taxes to the state involved, which I am guessing is the state of the seller as the buyer is electronically "visiting" the seller's location. I don't know if Ebay gains anything by this new payment alternative- other than their usual commissions and possibility of MORE sales the new option creates. I suspect your last sentence is quite accurate.

E7 wrote:

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

robert. wrote:eBay? Or sellers that have a store? sellers that have stores (brick and mortar) Take Credit cards. If you have the ability to run a cc you can do it too. Might be part of an antitrust law.

Not just sellers with stores now, apparently. Seems to be a general change where eBay now will accept/broker payment directly with your credit card. Probably has to do with not being contractually linked to Paypal.....

Seems like a device to give sellers an alternative to having a Paypal account. I am guessing that the seller "eats" the cost of the buyer/customer using their credit card, same as a brick and mortar merchant would do. State tax is also added to transactions. Not sure if the seller or Ebay is responsible for the distribution of those taxes to the state involved, which I am guessing is the state of the seller as the buyer is electronically "visiting" the seller's location. I don't know if Ebay gains anything by this new payment alternative- other than their usual commissions and possibility of MORE sales the new option creates. I suspect your last sentence is quite accurate.

The tax thing is also dependent on who and what the seller is, volume of sales, registered as a business, etc. That and more are still being worked out - complications for that make my head hurt.......

Probably more sales for eBay as they want to transition to be another Amazon vs. a platform for sellers like model RR hobbyists looking to sell a handful of items now and then, Some of the driving force was probably the businesses wanting to consolidate their operations.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:The tax thing is also dependent on who and what the seller is, volume of sales, registered as a business, etc. That and more are still being worked out - complications for that make my head hurt.......

A real can of worms, no doubt!

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:Probably more sales for eBay as they want to transition to be another Amazon vs. a platform for sellers like model RR hobbyists looking to sell a handful of items now and then, Some of the driving force was probably the businesses wanting to consolidate their operations.

I could be wrong, but I think this credit card thing will put some wind in the auction business' sails. They are taking on the BIG DOG ala Amazon trying to go retail, but then I guess GREED has no fear! If they are smart they won't dump the auction business too quickly (that said on the assumption that they seem to be moving more and more away from it).

fix typo

E7 wrote: If they are smart they won't dump the auction business too quickly (that said on the assumption that they seem to be moving more and more away from it).

Smart is not always what they do - they keep messing with the auction business making it less attractive and more complicated. You'd think that they might recall that it was their core business and make them what they are today.

Then again, if they jettison it, then there's opportunity for someone else to step in!

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:Smart is not always what they do - they keep messing with the auction business making it less attractive and more complicated. You'd think that they might recall that it was their core business and make them what they are today. Then again, if they jettison it, then there's opportunity for someone else to step in!

I am pretty sure most of the people that were around at the beginning have taken the loot and departed, particularly since we are talking a start circa 1995. Might be interesting regarding the latter!

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:The tax thing is also dependent on who and what the seller is, volume of sales, registered as a business, etc. That and more are still being worked out - complications for that make my head hurt.......

I resemble that remark, as I reach for the Bayer!