E-Bay WARNING

[overunity]

I offered to sell an item with 10% reduced price if thwy would pay in bitcoin .

Here is the result



MC018 Listing policy violation alert: Accepted Payments



Hello madscientistpaul,
After reviewing your eBay account, it appears that you have violated eBay's Accepted Payments policy. As a result, we've taken the following action on your account:
- Violating listings have been removed. A list of removed items is available further down in this email.
- We have credited all associated fees except for the final value fee for your listing(s).

Discouraging buyers from using a payment method that is offered on the listing page is not allowed. Sellers may be required to offer PayPal or a merchant credit card as a payment method.

Sellers are required to accept payment from buyers via the payment methods offered in the Payment Details section of their listing. Sellers are not allowed to discourage buyers from paying via these methods.

Sellers shouldn’t tell buyers they only accept certain forms of PayPal or certain credit cards. If you offer PayPal as a payment method in a listing, you are required to accept all forms of PayPal payment options without restrictions.

For more information on accepted payments, go to:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html
You Stated ? I will offer a 10% discount if you can pay in Bitcoins ? . The listing description should not any way discourage buyers from paying by one of the methods that they offer. PayPal is not only convenient to use, but it also offers buyers and sellers protection assistance against fraud, chargebacks and theft of financial data. You mentioned ? Your bidding PER litre.I have 80ltrs ? in your listing. Sellers are not permitted to place conditions that require buyers to purchase additional items or services outside of eBay. As eBay makes its fees based on the insertion price and the final bid price of the listing the conditional required amount the buyer needs to pay after purchase goes directly to the seller which is considered as fee avoidance. You can relist after making necessary changes in the listing. I've noticed this is the first time you breached our policy, please take some time to read our help page below. If you have any further questions or doubts, please do not hesitate to contact eBay.
If you have more questions, contact our policy experts:
http://ocsnext.ebay.co.uk/ocs/home

Please be sure your future listings follow these guidelines. If they don't, they may be removed, and you may be subject to a range of other actions, including restrictions of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.
Here's a sample of the listings we removed. To see the full list, go to My eBay, click the "Activity" tab, and then click the "Unsold" link under the "Sell" heading.
171134966815 - Used Vegetable oil
We appreciate your understanding.
 
Regards,

eBay Customer Support

Does not look like e-bay are friends of bitcoin

[Magazine]

This isn't new, pretty old news that eBay don't like it when you offer payment in BTC.

[rat]

it's not about bitcoin. it's about their policies.

if someone pays in bitcoins, and the deal goes bad - how can ebay make it right?

they have no control over getting the buyer's funds back.

they are looking out for the buyer. you should understand that.


bitcoin offers protection to the seller. that's never been in eBay's agenda.   

[Chalkbot]

What rat said. Your intentions might have been well, but imagine someone looking to scam buyers out of their money on ebay and what would be the best way to do that? Encouraging them to use a payment mechanism that circumvents ebay entirely means that ebay has no recourse when the scammer fails to deliver. Allowing this sort of thing means their service could become overrun with these types of scams, and people shop elsewhere.

The fact that it was bitcoin has nothing to do with the situation.

[overunity]

it's not about bitcoin. it's about their policies.

if someone pays in bitcoins, and the deal goes bad - how can ebay make it right?

they have no control over getting the buyer's funds back.

they are looking out for the buyer. you should understand that.


bitcoin offers protection to the seller. that's never been in eBay's agenda.   

If we understand that bitcoin is electronic cash ,and we apply the same common sense approach to the transaction .

Then we would pay over bitcoins as we now do cash ,only after the item being sold meets our satisfaction .

I do not see the big deal .

The transaction should never require trust .

Any financial transaction should be done via escrow unless you are to meet in person

[overunity]

What rat said. Your intentions might have been well, but imagine someone looking to scam buyers out of their money on ebay and what would be the best way to do that? Encouraging them to use a payment mechanism that circumvents ebay entirely means that ebay has no recourse when the scammer fails to deliver. Allowing this sort of thing means their service could become overrun with these types of scams, and people shop elsewhere.

The fact that it was bitcoin has nothing to do with the situation.

Why does ebay play god over sellers ,they are there to advertise my items ,I offered all the payment options available but in the description added a line to say if anyone could pay in bitcoin I would give them a 10% discount .

Once I'am in contact with the seller I'am free to be paid cash ,if I chose to accept bitcoin how does that affect them ?

What has it got to do anyone else what ultimately I and the buyer chose to trade in ,I simply offered an alternative along side ,so why do you not think it is a bout Bitcoin???

[lucasjkr]

Any financial transaction should be done via escrow unless you are to meet in person

That hardly makes for frictionless commerce. What does escrow cost? 1%? 2%? That the buyer pays? I'd rather get the product, and let the seller pay 2% for the credit card processing. If it's acceptable, I keep it, if there are issues with it, i can return for a refund. And if the seller refuses to refund, I still have recourse. So even if the price is ultimately the same to me (X +1-2% for escrow vs X + 1-2% for seller accounting for credit card fees), going the route of the credit card is optimal. Especially in this global economy where face to face transactions often aren't feasible (I ordered some gear on eBay that was delivered from China; going to China to to the transaction in person would completely destroy the cost savings, for starters...)

Once I'am in contact with the seller I'am free to be paid cash ,if I chose to accept bitcoin how does that affect them ?

Sure, upon making contact with the buyer, you can both change the terms to whatever meets both of your likings. But advertising in your listing you'll charge 10% less to buyers who use Bitcoin, could be seen as having the affect of discouraging people from using anything buy Bitcoin, which is eBays gripe. They'd also call foul if you were using your own credit card processor and stated that Discover users were entitled to a 2% discount, Visa and MC users could get a 1% discount, but Amex buyers had to pay full price...

Besides all that, I'm actually surprised that they let you sell used vegetable oil..... good to know!

[wuala]

Ebay is loosing an oportunity...

Go to Bitmit.net

 

[msc]

It doesn't say you can't accept Bitcoin.  It just says if you accept Paypal you have to accept it equally.

[Chalkbot]

Why does ebay play god over sellers ,they are there to advertise my items ,I offered all the payment options available but in the description added a line to say if anyone could pay in bitcoin I would give them a 10% discount .

Because they provide a service to sellers and buyers. For sellers, you get mass market exposure to ensure the best price for your wares, for buyers it is superior selection and the protection granted by a 3rd party. When you offer to take bitcoin, you are taking away the buyers protection. The buyer might not even realize that (and I guess you are failing to realize that too). Furthermore, you are violating the terms you agreed to as a seller. So they have great reasons to enforce this policy.

Once I'am in contact with the seller I'am free to be paid cash ,if I chose to accept bitcoin how does that affect them ?

That's not entirely true. The only circumstance where you're free to be paid cash is upon pickup. Guess what? You're also allowed to take bitcoin upon pickup, so this argument is entirey invalid.

What has it got to do anyone else what ultimately I and the buyer chose to trade in ,I simply offered an alternative along side ,so why do you not think it is a bout Bitcoin???

Well, I thought I (and others here) already explained what it had to do with everyone else, but I'm sensing that you don't care to hear about that. There are 3 parties involved in an ebay transaction, and by incentivising bitcoin payments you are violating the terms of service as a seller and circumventing the buyer's 3rd party protection. So while you're right that YOU remain uneffected, that is not the case for the other two. Furthermore, you're not just offering an alternative (which is allowed) you're offering a discount for an alternative (which is not allowed).

[overunity]

Any financial transaction should be done via escrow unless you are to meet in person

That hardly makes for frictionless commerce. What does escrow cost? 1%? 2%? That the buyer pays? I'd rather get the product, and let the seller pay 2% for the credit card processing. If it's acceptable, I keep it, if there are issues with it, i can return for a refund. And if the seller refuses to refund, I still have recourse. So even if the price is ultimately the same to me (X +1-2% for escrow vs X + 1-2% for seller accounting for credit card fees), going the route of the credit card is optimal. Especially in this global economy where face to face transactions often aren't feasible (I ordered some gear on eBay that was delivered from China; going to China to to the transaction in person would completely destroy the cost savings, for starters...)

Once I'am in contact with the seller I'am free to be paid cash ,if I chose to accept bitcoin how does that affect them ?

Sure, upon making contact with the buyer, you can both change the terms to whatever meets both of your likings. But advertising in your listing you'll charge 10% less to buyers who use Bitcoin, could be seen as having the affect of discouraging people from using anything buy Bitcoin, which is eBays gripe. They'd also call foul if you were using your own credit card processor and stated that Discover users were entitled to a 2% discount, Visa and MC users could get a 1% discount, but Amex buyers had to pay full price...

Besides all that, I'm actually surprised that they let you sell used vegetable oil..... good to know!

Thank you for your reply ,

I may have stated my case wrong in my first post , with my item being liquid oil,it is always the case that me and the buyer have to meet because the weight and nature of the product .
I understand the replies so far and can totally agree that items that do not require personal meetings is another ballgame but I have traded my oil for years with no issue .
If I understand correctly e-bay own paypal which in turn is in bed with the credit card mafia lol.
Reading the replies I think it may be possible to offer bitcoin as a trade for my oil but not offering any incentive to do so ,which is a pity but at least offering it as a payment option could help spread the word .

I feel that if we could offer items with a side by side comparison we could sell items 10% cheaper than other retail outlets .

Credit card fees and interest can add 8% to the overall cost of an item .
fiat is losing value every week you have it,while bitcoin is steady ish or increasing in value as the market cap rises and more recognised it becomes .

I personally feel comfortable offering 10% incentive even for fiat currency but were is the marketplace to publish such an incentive locally for me ??

[vm1990]

yeh because theres no scammers on ebay at all.... screw ebay and everything it stands for