Google launches Paypal rival!

Stuart_P

ericpode wrote: »

Isn't that when someone has COMPLETED a purchase though on ebay? I don't mind purchasers knowing my address, at which point I'll probably know their address aswell; but it seems that anyone clicking your Google Checkout buy button will see the address without actually going any further with a purchase. That's why I said all and sundry would be able to view my home address.

At least paypal doesn't display my home address in that way.

where exactly would the google checkout button be?

ericpode

exactly where would they click the google checkout button you mention?

I assumed it would work in a similar way to Paypal where you embed a bit of HTML in your page under a BUY NOW button, the user clicks the button and it takes them to a Paypal payments page.

So I googled for a merchant who already uses Google Checkout so that I could see how it worked. For example, bigmaggot.co.uk. I added an item to my basket and then clicked the Google Checkout button. This takes you to a Google Checkout page which displays the seller's address. You don't have to buy or identify yourself. That's fine when it is a business address, but I'm a bit concerned about my HOME address being available to anyone that clicks a button on my web page.

Stuart_P

where are you gonna be using google checkout as a payment provider? ebay or your own www?

ericpode

My own web site. I only expect to make very occasional small value sales, so I have to decide whether the lesser fees (none until end of 2007) of Google Checkout is worth me having to publish my home address to everyone.

Stuart_P

ericpode wrote: »

My own web site. I only expect to make very occasional small value sales, so I have to decide whether the lesser fees (none until end of 2007) of Google Checkout is worth me having to publish my home address to everyone.

not sure then - maybe a question for the checkout staff - i've had to email them a few times and each time i have had a reply the same day and got my questions answered

dogsbreath

I am the nervous sort which is why I avoid direct debits like the plague. They are supposed to be safe, but my ex-wife worked in a building society and used to tell me the horror stories of companies drawing the same large payment from a customer account, putting the customer in the red and the amount of trouble that the customer was put to trying to put it right.

Opening a PayPal account is much like a direct debit. You give PayPal unfettered access to your account. Many don't realise the dangers of that.

Often I will be interested in something an eBay seller has up for sale. If they only accept PayPal I usually drop them a line and telll themthat I feel it is too dangerous to use PayPal and cite a few sites around the net with PayPal horror stories on them. I usually offer to pay by direct transfer to their account or by cheque, and on the whole people accept this. Every so often there will be someone who feels that PayPal is safer and it always tempts me to open a PayPal account, win the item and once I have it use the chargeback scam to prove to them that PayPal is not safe. Honesty prevents me from doing it though.

There always seems to be some get out in the PayPal guarantees so they are not worth the paper that they may be wrintten on IMHO.

Ironically I have opened a PayPal account recently, just because a deal was too good to miss, but as soon as the goods arrive the account will be closed down.

For some reason I feel much more secure about Google and have placed an order using the Google Checkout today. My advice though is don't risk PayPal.

glossy123

To be honest dogsbreath i don't see why you are nervous of Paypal if you are a buyer - it is we sellers who need to be nervous.:eek: It is sellers as far as I can gather who suffer when Paypal unilaterally refunds buyers without proper investigation of facts.:eek:

To my certain knowledge if you want to buy using PayPal you don't need an account - I have buyers via my website who pay me using a PayPal money request but don't have an account and so far we don't have any problems.:j

Having said all that, PayPal makes me seriously nervous, and charges too much so I am looking seriously at Google checkout for my web site once the initial teething problems are resolved.