A RAW deal! Billpoint-Ebay's onsite payment service
Written: May 27 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: No cost to winning bidders
Cons: Ridiculous fees for sellers & hold time of funds
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| thexception's Full Review: BillPoint |
Billpoint is the newest online payment service on the internet scene. Billpoint is the official payment service of Ebay.com, put in place to help Ebay buyers and sellers expedite and complete an easy transaction; or so I thought!
Billpoint, like most of the internet payment services is free to the buyer/bidder, or person sending the money/paying for the item. Unlike most of the other services Billpoint charges the seller to process the transaction.
The winning bidder need not register to pay for an auction using Billpoint, where as the seller must be registered and submit their personal banking information; to be used to receive incoming payments and have them transferred into one's personal checking account.
Billpoint charges the seller based, NOT only on the closing bid of an auction, but the total transaction amount which they define as: the final auction price of the item plus any shipping, handling, insurance, sales tax, or other fees seller specifies.
The schedule used to impose the processing charge is as follows:
$0.01 - $10.00 0.00% + $0.35
$10.01 - $2,000.00 3.50% + $0.35
Plus, if the winning bidder resides outside the US, they add on another 1% of the total transaction. Sellers are only allowed to collect payments up to a maximum $2000.00 per transaction; so if an item sells for more than that the service cannot be used.
Billpoint states that deposits will be submitted to your bank account 3 business days after transaction, and to allow up to 2 business days before you see the funds in your bank account. Billpoint fees are automatically deducted from your upcoming deposits.
From a seller's point of view, this service is horrible! Why? It is a TOTAL rip-off! I received information about signing up to accept Billpoint payments a few months back; sent in an email from Ebay. I glanced at the fee schedule and thought, "Why would I want to PAY them, to get the same type service I was already receiving by directing my buyers to pay through PayPal.com".
I deleted the email and thought with all the competition, they would certainly not be very popular as far as payment services go. Last week, I received another email from Ebay about Billpoint. Ebay was hosting a free listing day for sellers (no cost to put an item up for auction, usually $0.25-$2.00) IF the seller was willing to accept Billpoint payments. And if the winning bidder paid with a Visa card, the seller would not be charged at all. If paid by Master Card or Discover (the other two credit cards they accept for transactions) the seller would incur the normal charges.
Well, I thought this was a good opportunity to get some free listings. I thought most people wouldn't even use Ebay's online service, and I would save a lot of money. I listed 35 auctions and I was correct in my assumption; when all the auctions were over, only two people requested to pay by Billpoint. Another 5 paid instantly with PayPal.com.
Now, before my winning bidders could pay for the auction; I had to go to Ebay's site and go through 2 pages (although simple ones) to send them a request for payment.
Easy enough, then I got the email after one bidder had paid. Was I +PISSED+! It was 5/26 and they said the deposit from the payment was due to be deposited into my account on 6/1; and then I would have to wait "about 2 days" for it to show up! Only then did I thoroughly re-read the terms.
So let me get this straight. I pay them to process the transaction, (accept the payment and direct it to my checking account), and THEN on top of that they want to unnecessarily hold MY money another week, so they can make MORE money off me and the thousands of other people. And I am paying them on the amount of the auction closing price, PLUS my shipping and handling charges in which I make no money from. I Don't Think So!
I immediately fired off an email telling them I would never use their service again and stated the above reasons as to why. I have been very happy with PayPal.com. I don't need to send an invoice in order for my winning bidders to pay me, they just send it to my email address. As soon as they send it and I receive my notification; I can instantly direct the payments into my checking account, which only takes 3 days for it to be available. Three days period, not 3 working days or more and then a few more after that! And it is FREE for me as well, I pay nothing.
These services in general, are making money hand over fist. Think about it, a few hundred thousand people leaving as little as $20-$50 in their accounts at PayPal.com for a week; talk about interest. It all adds up quickly, and I think most people don't bother taking the money out until it reaches say $100- I know I don't. This is how they can offer the service for free and why wouldn't they, it is in their best interest (literally).
Now Billpoint makes it so tempting for the winning bidders to pay by putting PayPal.com in a less than favorable light and under playing the fabulous service PayPal.com provides. They state things like: Some users have reportedly been charged fees by their banks for credit card transactions through services such as PayPal and that users should contact their bank to confirm whether any charges apply to such transactions. I have never been charged a fee by using PayPal.
Billpoint also states that since PayPal.com does not offer conventional credit card services, but instead facilitate cash payments from a buyer to a seller; that the transaction has no credit card protection as it would if they used Billpoint. Ebay states that Billpoint offers full credit card protection and that buyers have the right to dispute charges on their statement if the purchased goods do not arrive or if they are damaged.
And what if a buyer tries to "get it on" and the issuing bank of the credit card finds in their favor? If the credit card issuing bank resolves a charge back dispute in the buyer's favor, the seller will be charged the total transaction amount plus a $10 charge back investigation fee. I am an honest seller, but that doesn't mean as such I have nothing to worry about. Their are a lot of dishonest bidders and I would rather handle a dispute myself rather than someone else calling the shots, and charging me for it to boot!
Now Billpoint is not even set up to accept payments from bidders of all international regions either.
I think for the winning bidder, all is good and fine; but the seller really gets a RAW deal. So to sum it up, the seller has to spend time with invoicing, then pay for the privilege of the transaction, and then wait an unreasonable amount of time to get paid their money!
My prediction is Ebay's new online payment service will not even come close to the revenue received from the biggest and best online payment service companies: PayPal.com and X.com; who became partners at the beginning of 2000. I think Ebay had the right idea, but they were a bit late in getting the service up and running. Faced with their competitors offering a FREE service to BOTH buyer and seller, combined with the fact that their competitor expedites the transfer to the receiver's personal checking account: Billpoint payment service is going to see a disappointing customer base.
Ebay may have been the pioneer in online auctions and still remains the undisputed leader; but as far as online payment services go-"You've got a long way to go, Baby!"
Recommended:
No
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thexception
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