Apparently Australia is the testing ground for a new paypal only policy for eBay, where they will implement new policies for the first time.
From June 17th onwards Aussies selling on eBay will only be allowed to accept paypal - or cold hard cash. Since I doubt a buyer in Perth will really stroll to Melbourne to pay, that basically leaves paypal as the only realistic payment processor for many.
Some people are not too pleased about it due to higher pricing on paypal transactions from the sellers vantage point.
Wow, surprise surprise - paypal is owned by eBay, who would have guessed?
If you happen to be totally irate over this, and want to tell off some eBay executives you have the chance to do so in person on in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney from May 5 - 8, 2008 where eBay will be holding workshops to address this: link
Australia = Guinea Pig for eBay
Online Shopping
Retail sales online is the fastest growing segment of the retail market worldwide, bit Australia seems not to have quite caught the trend yet.
Research by consultancy firm Leading Edge has found that online purchasing is not booming within Australia, very slowly in comparison to most of the developed world. Approximately 1,215 consumers were surveyed who noted certain things such as slow Australian broadband speeds, lack of return policies, and delivery charges for their lack of online shopping.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics informs us that 61 per cent of Australians made online purchases during the fiscal 2007, with 80% of those having used the wildy popular ebay. Amazon.com and Grays online were also noted as popular sites.
