Sir, may I pay you for a free service? (updated 6/02)
Written: May 19 '00 (Updated Jun 29 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Somewhat integrated with Ebay, allows international bidders
Cons: Doubles the cost of an auction if buyer uses it
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| wgrace's Full Review: BillPoint |
If you had the choice of two services that are virtually equivilent, and the only differences were that one is free, and the other charges you, I would imagine there would be no hesitation in choosing the free service. This is exactly the situation that exists when choosing between Billpoint and PayPal, and Billpoint comes out on the short end of the stick.
A quick word on these services. Both Billpoint and PayPal allow users to pay amounts due with online auctions. Both require the buyer and seller to have accounts to make the transactions. They also allow the buyer to add funds through a credit card or checking account, and will send accumulated money when requested.
Pros:
Billpoint is a very good option for international bidders. There is a fair amount of cost involved in purchasing internationally negotiable money orders or equivilent tools, and the fees on Billpoint compare very favorably. Billpoint is integrated with Ebay, so it is very easy to indicate that you will take Billpoint. Finally, Billpoint makes navigation very easy when doing online payments.
Billpoint also features more extensive transaction information than PayPal. While PayPal only keeps track of debits and credits, Billpoint associates these items with the auctions involved, sends notices with minimal user intervention, and stores tracking information.
Cons:
One major con comes to mind: the price!! Transactions up to $10 cost 39 cents, with transactions over $10 costing 39 cents plus 3.9% of the transaction. Inexplicably, this jumps a $10.01 auction to a 78 cent charge from a 39 cent charge if the auction was $10 even. In addition, international transactions tack on another 1% of the auction value to the fee.
The other major con with Billpoint versus PayPal is being open to chargebacks. This is when a buyer submits a complaint to their credit card company about a particular purchase, such as a purchase being unauthorized or an item was not received. Paypal treats purchases much like other snail mail E-bay payments, with the buyer's recourse being directly with the seller. If a successful chargeback is submitted to Billpoint, they will bill your account the value of the transaction plus a $10 service fee. As they say, while they will make their best effort to defend you with chargebacks, they are ultimately your responsibility. I'm sure this position will spur Billpoint's defense efforts on. Make sure you keep good records with Billpoint transactions.
Summary:
The only use I have for the system is through some of the special offers that were made available to me. I posted several auction for free on May 18th because I allowed Billpoint payments, and I hope the buyers don't choose to use it. I will make comments about how the transactions go if anyone chooses to use Billpoint on those auctions. Also, if you can convince your bidders to use Visa, Billpoint will not charge transaction fees through June 30th.
Followup: One user choose to use Billpoint with my auction. The actual usage was straightforward, even if one had to fill out their forms rather than ask the buyer to just send a payment. This might be an issue for larger volume dealers. Of course, my bidder couldn't pay with Visa, and I was out another 80 cents on $11 in sales. :<
The free competition to Billpoint is just too strong. PayPal is easy enough to use, and costs nothing. Just don't do Billpoint!
Link for Billpoint info and tutorial:
http://www.billpoint.com/help/tutorial.html
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
wgrace
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Member: Bill
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 68
Trusted by: 22 members
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