Perfect Pieces Specialists in British Pottery

eBay Australia’s battle to win user and regulatory acceptance for their proposed PayPal-only payment policy looks like it will continue for some time.

The company has had to suspend the introduction of its PayPal-only payment policy pending the outcome of an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC is concerned that eBay may be abusing its position as the clear leader in online auctions by using it to eliminate competition in the online payment sector.

As I’ve documented before, one of the largest objectors to eBay’s proposed policy was Google itself, presumably anxious that its PayPal competitor, Google Checkout, will be unfairly disadvantaged by the planned restriction.

Naturally eBay simply claim that the policy will help eliminate fraud and provide a better user experience… This seems to be their explanation for every unpopular change they make (of which there are an increasing number).

Somehow I suspect the real reason may be that eBay spent a lot of money when they bought PayPal…