After repeated queries, the online auction company said late Friday it will not institute such a rule in the United States. But it remains unclear whether EBay will still try it in other countries. EBay often tests big changes in smaller markets before expanding them worldwide, and says it is open to that in this case.

"We are going to take learnings from it and apply them accordingly," said EBay spokesman Usher Lieberman.

EBay says it wants to reduce disputes and restore trust in its marketplace with the PayPal-only plan. Because EBay and PayPal can share information on each transaction, EBay says use of PayPal allows it to stop fraud more efficiently than outside payment services. Pressing that safety argument in a heated discussion with Australian users, an EBay executive compared the new rule to banning the sale of heroin on street corners.

But critics lament that PayPal is costlier than other payment options, and they suspect EBay is just interested in increasing PayPal's revenue. Australian banks say the plan will eliminate competition for the sake of exaggerated benefits.

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Posted at 08:15AM May 10, 2008 by Kevin P McAuliffe in Inform  |  Comments[0]