Ebay - the first tech giant to accept Bitcoin?

[SomethingElse]

Since ebay owns PayPal, this is unlikely to happen.

They just need a push in the right direction  

Paypal president David Marcus - "I really like Bitcoin"

https://coinreport.net/david-marcus-paypal-bitcoin/

Paypal is not considered a bank but in many ways it operates like one. You can keep money in your account, spend it and accept money into the account like a bank . Also they offer debit card services, just like a bank would.

The reality is Bitcoin and Paypal are direct competition. More so than fiat and Bitcoin. Paypal is an internet Payment processor, dealing in cash. Bitcoin is a currency and payment platform that seeks to circumvent the need for middlemen. Bitcoin is designed to cut companies like Paypal out of the picture.

So in order for Ebay to accept Bitcoin, they will be making a conscious decision to accept less money via Paypal. I don't know if that is a good business decision for them. They pretty much have a lock down on their customer base by requiring Paypal on most transactions. And of course they levy a nice fee on all of those transactions. Why would they change that? If they did accept Bitcoin I can almost guarantee that they will have some sort of "service fee" attached to all bitcoin transactions in order to recoup lost Paypal money.

Apple worried that ipad mini might cannibalize sells of ipad air.  They were right and it did, but the end result was more ipads total sold and therefore more money for Apple.  Ebay is in the making money business.  Remember the scene from Fight Club where the guy explains about the formulas big insurance companies use when deciding to pay or not pay, well..... Ebay has those same sleazy number crunchers and when one of them says Ebay will make more money and not less by accepting bitcoin, they will.  Same with Amazon, and same with all the rest.  Ebay will let PayPal slip down some if it means more profit total.  That is the rule of for profit companies and those that don't follow fall away.  Ebay know this and so do the rest. 

TigerDirect did the numbers and realized they would get a bump, not so much from the bitcoin, but from the publicity.  It worked. Bitcoin wasn't a revolutionary new way to make money for Tiger or Overstock, it was cheap advertising.  Ebay and Amazon don't need that advertising.  If bitcoin wins them, bitcoin has become a very serious player. 

[Lauda]

Since ebay owns PayPal, this is unlikely to happen.

Actually they will/have separated those 2 companies I believe.

Indeed, paypal owns ebay and paypal suspends account if any bitcoin - related transaction is done with paypal. That tells that they are strongly agains bitcoin?

Yet Ebay has an category for cryptocurrencies. No, the policy isn't really the same with both companies.

[CoinDiver]

I don't think you guys understand how small of a profit margin some of these companies work on. Eliminating credit card fees is HUGE.

[jubalix]

moneys not in retail. Ebay/Amazon, would not benefit BTC much inmho

It wouldn't benefit BTC? Are you nuts? Bitcoin is a currency, what good is it if we can't even buy things at two of the largest online retailers?

retail, is a small part of the economy, ebay and amazon sell alot of plascraptic deprecating assets. Real money is in financial instruments, forex, appreciating assets etc.

what does anyone even buy from ebay/amazon that is so essential?

Forex in one day is near 3 Trillion. That's more than ebay+amazon+ whoever else you want to put in, in a day.

ebay is worth what...6000 houses in a decent metro area, soo can house 18000 - 24000 people. That's not that much.

[Bitcoinpro]

Since ebay owns PayPal, this is unlikely to happen.

paypal insurance is how they made it big this business is not threatened by Bitcoin at all

[SomethingElse]

I don't think you guys understand how small of a profit margin some of these companies work on. Eliminating credit card fees is HUGE.

I know that Ebay gets a cut and then Paypal takes a cut so that for each sell the buyer pays the price bid, but the seller can get 5-10% taken out of the total.  Of course the sellers want to accept bitcoin, but does Ebay want to let them do that.  Buyers don't see the charges, but the sellers are including those fees in the prices they want to charge.  So yes, bitcoin can save buyers and sellers money, but not Ebay.  What do you think Ebay is going to do?

[titan86]

Ebay is the best company to target in accepting Bitcoin. but it will never does!

[Chronikka]

moneys not in retail. Ebay/Amazon, would not benefit BTC much inmho

It wouldn't benefit BTC? Are you nuts? Bitcoin is a currency, what good is it if we can't even buy things at two of the largest online retailers?

retail, is a small part of the economy, ebay and amazon sell alot of plascraptic deprecating assets. Real money is in financial instruments, forex, appreciating assets etc.

what does anyone even buy from ebay/amazon that is so essential?

Forex in one day is near 3 Trillion. That's more than ebay+amazon+ whoever else you want to put in, in a day.

ebay is worth what...6000 houses in a decent metro area, soo can house 18000 - 24000 people. That's not that much.

It has nothing to do with the value of Ebay or any other retail company. It has nothing to do with how much money is in the retail industry.

We are trying to create a decentralized CURRENCY. What is the number one thing we use currency for? To BUY things...Nobody will take Bitcoin seriously until every day online activities are seamless with bitcoin. That means retail purchases.

[jubalix]

moneys not in retail. Ebay/Amazon, would not benefit BTC much inmho

It wouldn't benefit BTC? Are you nuts? Bitcoin is a currency, what good is it if we can't even buy things at two of the largest online retailers?

retail, is a small part of the economy, ebay and amazon sell alot of plascraptic deprecating assets. Real money is in financial instruments, forex, appreciating assets etc.

what does anyone even buy from ebay/amazon that is so essential?

Forex in one day is near 3 Trillion. That's more than ebay+amazon+ whoever else you want to put in, in a day.

ebay is worth what...6000 houses in a decent metro area, soo can house 18000 - 24000 people. That's not that much.

It has nothing to do with the value of Ebay or any other retail company. It has nothing to do with how much money is in the retail industry.

We are trying to create a decentralized CURRENCY. What is the number one thing we use currency for? To BUY things...Nobody will take Bitcoin seriously until every day online activities are seamless with bitcoin. That means retail purchases.

btc is a currencyfor purchaseing, but that's not it's only function, nor its main function. The store of wealth and large wealth transfer are by far more important to BTC value, as well as volume fiat in an out of BTC at will. amazon + ebay will quickly use btc when these are large enough

[Cryptopher]

Since ebay owns PayPal, this is unlikely to happen.

Maybe they would give traders the option to pay their fees in Bitcoin, though I'm not sure if that would really benefit anybody as it would only make sense if Bitcoin was a payment option.

I'm sure that they are considering the technology in some capacity.

[bitcoinvideos]

I think they might play with the idea but how would you pay listers of products? Would you convert to fiat? It seems like a strange way to do business. i.e. accept BTC for payment then convert it into paypal? Although theoretically they could just keep the BTC for ever and never use it. A relatively cheap way to hoard it to be never used again?

[Chronikka]

I think they might play with the idea but how would you pay listers of products? Would you convert to fiat? It seems like a strange way to do business. i.e. accept BTC for payment then convert it into paypal? Although theoretically they could just keep the BTC for ever and never use it. A relatively cheap way to hoard it to be never used again?

What they would do is integrate Bitcoin into Paypal. Essentially they could turn Paypal into a Bitcoin web wallet, where you deposit Bitcoin just like USD. When you go to check out on Ebay or any other site, you can choose Bitcoin or USD, but its still through Paypal...so they can continue to levy their fees.

This way Ebay can accept Bitcoin transactions, but still force the buyer to go through Paypal.

[Lauda]

I don't think you guys understand how small of a profit margin some of these companies work on. Eliminating credit card fees is HUGE.

Yet only a few accept it right now.

[rammy2k2]

ebay will never quit their own money processor for another ...

[strikeitrich]

so the news is not true?

[Zebra]

so the news is not true?

What news? The thread is made because OP believe it is good to see eBay accepting bitcoin.

I believe Ebay is the best company to target next (in accepting Bitcoin).

They have lagged behind the other tech giants and are always looking for the best way to catch-up.

Bitcoin could be the answer.

Also they have talked about it in the past ( http://smartbusinessbrief.com/ebay-considering-accepting-bitcoin-as-payment/) and they have recently added a digital-currency section (https://coinreport.net/ebay-digital-currency-section/).

If Ebay get's on board I believe there is no stopping Bitcoin then.

[Lauda]

so the news is not true?

What news? The thread is made because OP believe it is good to see eBay accepting bitcoin.

I believe Ebay is the best company to target next (in accepting Bitcoin).

They have lagged behind the other tech giants and are always looking for the best way to catch-up.

Bitcoin could be the answer.

Also they have talked about it in the past ( http://smartbusinessbrief.com/ebay-considering-accepting-bitcoin-as-payment/) and they have recently added a digital-currency section (https://coinreport.net/ebay-digital-currency-section/).

If Ebay get's on board I believe there is no stopping Bitcoin then.

Yeah there is no news here, he was just asking a question. About this being a possibility.

[freshprince]

If Ebay ever accepted bitcoin. That would be enough to crack the dam of resistance.
EBay's stamp of approval would cause a massive flight to adoption of bitcoin.

[SomethingElse]

I agree.  Metaphorically speaking things like this, "just need one single brick in the middle of the wall to be pulled out and the entire wall will eventually fall apart".  With the financial system and bitcoin we need to know how big must that metaphorical brick be, and I am guessing ebay is a big enough brick. 

[mShz]

I believe Ebay is the best company to target next (in accepting Bitcoin).

They have lagged behind the other tech giants and are always looking for the best way to catch-up.

Bitcoin could be the answer.

Also they have talked about it in the past ( http://smartbusinessbrief.com/ebay-considering-accepting-bitcoin-as-payment/) and they have recently added a digital-currency section (https://coinreport.net/ebay-digital-currency-section/).

If Ebay get's on board I believe there is no stopping Bitcoin then.

maybe this would happen only when PayPal start to accept BitCoin = never