Why a Monopoly is always a Bad Idea. Ebay, Paypal, and the Continued Suckering of America.
When I had heard of the purchase of Paypal by Ebay, I didn't have my thinking cap on. But now a few years later, I have started to see the effects of the Libertarian philosophy in full swing.
I have written before about Ebay and how it cons its buyers into making bad choices that increase its bottom line. I have written how they allow bogus bidding to occur and how they do their darnedest to increase the feverish pitch of the bidding. So, it really comes as no surprise that Paypal, a good company providing a good service now finds itself becoming just as conning as its Papa.
Initially, we joined Paypal because it afforded us an ability to pay merchants who did not accept credit cards. It was a godsend to Ebay and bidders appreciated it. Later, some of us came to see that a Paypal account also seemed to add an element of security to our online transactions as we didn't need to keep entering our credit card information. After all, could everyone in the office of the small merchant be trusted with your financial information? Could their security procedures be trusted?
Fast forward to today. On two occasions, I have clicked on the Paypal logo at the websites of small online merchants. On both occasions, I was asked to input my credit card information. Now, they could have asked me for my CCV or whatever those three digits on the back of your credit card are now called. They could have asked me for the last four digits of my number. They didn't. Instead, it was required that I enter not only my credit card information but my name, address--the works.
Why does Paypal do this? Well, if you don't have a Paypal account, it becomes an easy step (after entering your CC info) to say yes when asked if you want a Paypal account and then Paypal (Ebay) gains another customer. But, CAVEAT, having a Paypal account DOES NOT mean you will have an easier time paying for something via Paypal. As I discovered, having a Paypal account is ONLY advantageous for something like Ebay which has some sellers ONLY accepting Paypal.
So, what I have done is to have a program like Dashlane password manager enter all the necessary fields for me. If I see a Paypal button and I am given a choice of entering my credit card, I'll opt for the latter. If I see only a Paypal button, I'll click on it, enter my data through Dashlane and then click on "NO, I do not want a paypal account." If this works. I'll then be in position to cancel my Paypal account and if I never buy anything from Ebay again, I'll be that much richer at the end of the year. Why should I give money to another middle man especially one as disreputable as Ebay/Paypal. Sure, the merchant pays them the percentage but he passes it along to us. To Ebay, I say, check your records to see if I've purchased anything else through your venue. I'll stay away from you until you learn to regain some respectability or a better auction house comes along.
I have written before about Ebay and how it cons its buyers into making bad choices that increase its bottom line. I have written how they allow bogus bidding to occur and how they do their darnedest to increase the feverish pitch of the bidding. So, it really comes as no surprise that Paypal, a good company providing a good service now finds itself becoming just as conning as its Papa.
Initially, we joined Paypal because it afforded us an ability to pay merchants who did not accept credit cards. It was a godsend to Ebay and bidders appreciated it. Later, some of us came to see that a Paypal account also seemed to add an element of security to our online transactions as we didn't need to keep entering our credit card information. After all, could everyone in the office of the small merchant be trusted with your financial information? Could their security procedures be trusted?
Fast forward to today. On two occasions, I have clicked on the Paypal logo at the websites of small online merchants. On both occasions, I was asked to input my credit card information. Now, they could have asked me for my CCV or whatever those three digits on the back of your credit card are now called. They could have asked me for the last four digits of my number. They didn't. Instead, it was required that I enter not only my credit card information but my name, address--the works.
Why does Paypal do this? Well, if you don't have a Paypal account, it becomes an easy step (after entering your CC info) to say yes when asked if you want a Paypal account and then Paypal (Ebay) gains another customer. But, CAVEAT, having a Paypal account DOES NOT mean you will have an easier time paying for something via Paypal. As I discovered, having a Paypal account is ONLY advantageous for something like Ebay which has some sellers ONLY accepting Paypal.
So, what I have done is to have a program like Dashlane password manager enter all the necessary fields for me. If I see a Paypal button and I am given a choice of entering my credit card, I'll opt for the latter. If I see only a Paypal button, I'll click on it, enter my data through Dashlane and then click on "NO, I do not want a paypal account." If this works. I'll then be in position to cancel my Paypal account and if I never buy anything from Ebay again, I'll be that much richer at the end of the year. Why should I give money to another middle man especially one as disreputable as Ebay/Paypal. Sure, the merchant pays them the percentage but he passes it along to us. To Ebay, I say, check your records to see if I've purchased anything else through your venue. I'll stay away from you until you learn to regain some respectability or a better auction house comes along.
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