posted on September 19, 2000 03:49:27 AM new
It turns out that ebay has actually reacted to the recent paypal mishap. Check out some text from an e-mail I received just moments ago.
Dear eBay Seller:
Providing you a trusted, convenient payment service at a fair price has been Billpoint's mission from the outset. We are delighted to share some terrific news with you -- eBay Online Payments is waiving all fees associated with electronic check and lowering credit card fees for transactions under $15! We have also re-structured our overall pricing so that it is easier for you to comparison shop with other payment providers. Here's a quick summary of the exciting changes that will be effective October 1.
* According to a new PayPal policy, a Business/Premier Account is now required for all "auction sellers -- both individuals who make it a full time job and those who sell on a recurring part-time basis." It is the only way to use auto-deposit and instant purchase -- features Billpoint already has.
** All Billpoint credit card transactions $15 or less now qualify for a flat transaction fee of $0.35 -- previously it was $10!
*** Blended rate for credit card and electronic check -- average selling price of $100, 2/3 of transactions credit card, 1/3 electronic check.
LOWER FEES FOR TRANSACTIONS UNDER $15- We have raised the dollar size of transactions that qualify for our flat $0.35 transaction rate from $10 to $15! For transactions above $15, your transaction fee will be only 1.75% + $0.35. In both cases, funds will then be deposited to the bank account of your choice for an additional 0.5%.
FREE ELECTRONIC CHECK- With Billpoint, you will always enjoy the benefits of electronic check, including guaranteed payment, at a fraction of the cost of credit cards! Our low credit card fees and FREE ELECTRONIC CHECK combine to give you the lowest net rate in the business. And remember, the more you encourage buyers to use electronic check, the more your net rate will fall!
BETTER PRODUCT
eBay Online Payments PayPal
Owned and endorsed by eBay
Yes No
Endorsed by Wells Fargo and Visa USA
Yes No
Seamlessly integrated into eBay
Yes No
Does not require opening a separate payments account that is not interest bearing and not FDIC-insured
Yes No
Money automatically transferred to existing bank account
Yes No
Offers guaranteed electronic check payment
Yes No
First to offer usage of service to international buyers
Yes No
First to offer service to international sellers
Yes No
First to offer instant purchase
Yes No
Let us highlight some other important product features:
NEXT DAY FUNDS – Funds from your credit card and electronic check transactions will automatically be disbursed to your bank account every day in one single deposit! With Billpoint, there’s no need to open a separate account -– just use the FDIC-insured, interest-bearing bank account you already have at your financial institution.
INSTANT PURCHASE – Getting paid just got even easier! With Billpoint’s new instant purchase option, your buyers can pay immediately after the auction closes by simply clicking on the "Pay Now" button that automatically appears on the View Item page. No invoices, no e-mails, no hassles –- just immediate payment! Click the "instant purchase" option on the Sell Your Item form, input shipping and sales tax information, and you are finished –- it’s that easy!
UNPARALLELED CUSTOMER SUPPORT - We take your business very seriously and are committed to responding to your inquiries within 24 hours. As evidenced by the dozens of threads on the eBay discussion boards, Billpoint’s responsive customer support team is second to none in resolving your payments-related questions.
WELLS FARGO EXPERTISE – Rest comfortably knowing that your money is being handled and processed by one of the world’s most respected names in Internet payments and the world’s largest Internet bank, Wells Fargo. With its decades of expertise in detecting suspicious and fraudulent payment activity, Wells Fargo also provides you valuable "behind-the-scenes" protections –- protections that will take years for Internet payment newcomers to build.
We appreciate your business and look forward to serving your payment needs. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
posted on September 19, 2000 03:53:25 AM new
I just got the same email from Billpoint a few minutes ago. I think Billpoint smells blood in the water...
posted on September 19, 2000 04:14:28 AM new
Must be a high volume seller's rate, my account is still a 3.5% rate. I guess that's one way to offer lower rates, offer it to a select group. One of my objections to BillPoint is the wide variety of rates they offer and they make sure not to post them for public access.
Edited to say:
I guess my mail was slow, I received the same notice. I'm not sure I want to get into bed in further than I have with eBay, we'll see.
posted on September 19, 2000 04:16:30 AM new
The e-mail says that these rates are effective October 1, 2000. There is no reference to these rates on the Billpoint site, but I have e-mailed them asking to clarify this.
posted on September 19, 2000 04:35:20 AM new
Thanks for posting this I was just looking around billpoint this morning and thinking if the rates were a tad lower. It still is a more then I would have to pay with paypal but with all the changes and the willie nilly and double talk back talk and trying to make the sellers look like the bad guys I have had it with Paypal. They are not at all who I want handling my money I prefer a porfesional service. It is not the fees that Paypal is now charging the makes me mad it is the way they have gone about it. Anyway,
I am switching all my Yahoo auctions over to Paydirect and getting rid of the paypal logos. It is taking a little while I have over 1,000 to do and I am using paydirect in my ebay auctions also. However, since I can't link directly to them because they are a Yahoo service I am thinking of also doing billpoint for my Ebay Auction starting Thursay so please post any new information.
posted on September 19, 2000 05:50:13 AM new
Let's see, this is an Ebay service, right? Just to play devil's advocate, how long can we expect these discounted rates to continue? Until PayPal and some of the other competitors fold? THEN what will Ebay do? Remember, we're talking about the same folks who promoted reserves in case of server outages, then started charging for them. It's all business, folks. Granted that some people are just a lot smoother about getting their hands in our pockets than others.
posted on September 19, 2000 05:52:58 AM newVery Modem I got the same rate notice for the new fees beginning Oct 1st in my email and I'm anything BUT a high volume seller. I didn't even qualify for the PayPal upgrade notice.
posted on September 19, 2000 06:10:27 AM new
Although ebaY does own Billpoint,Billpoint has its own management team and is run as a seperate company.
They are very much aware of the of the competition out there.They want us to stay with them so I doubt unless they are stupid that they will pull some fast stunt.
I have used them for quite a while and my international sellers like the service too.
You do not have to request the money being transferred it goes in automatically within a few days and I like that too.
It would not suprise me if you seem them down the road allow you to generate an invoice for non ebaY sales.
So you could sell on Yahoo and bill through Billpoint.
There are a few things I do not like,I wish they would combine multiple items bid on by one person.Though you can play around with the amount of money you need for payment from a buyer who wishes to combine payments.
posted on September 19, 2000 08:06:29 AM new"Yes, and I just posted that to you on the ebay board"
Give me a break, my wife made the weak ass coffee this morning. Okay, I guess the only question is why didn't BillPoint offer a rate of 1.4% and further down the line mention causually .85% deposit. Maybe because breaking it up the way they did they have a lower percentage rate on PayPal's charge and PayPal's deposit rate. Personally I'd never opt for the .60% deposit fee with PayPal, with BillPoint the deposit fee is mandatory.
Still, it's nice to see them take notice of lower rates.
