Ebay’s Australian Bid Fails

eBay has lost its battle against the competition watchdog to institute a controversial payment policy.

eBay had planned to use Australia to trial the ban on all other forms of payment apart from cash on delivery and PayPal, an electronic service it owns.

There were few voices in support of eBay’s commercial freedom to tie use of its own payments mechanism to purchases (with the Wall Street Journal and The Sheet two of the few).

Sellers were furious about the policy because PayPal charges sellers 30¢ for each transaction plus between 1.1% and 2.4% of the payment as commission.

The ACCC received about 700 submissions, including from the Reserve Bank, Australian Bankers' Association and Google, criticising the move. On June 12, the ACCC released a draft notice revoking immunity from sections of the Trade Practices Act that would shield eBay from being sued for engaging in anti-competitive conduct.

One aspect of the company’s plan remains. eBay requires all sellers to offer PayPal as a payment choice on eBay.com.au along with other permitted payment methods of their choosing.