>
> Best to read this before you trust PayPal with very much of your money:
>
> http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/02/23/pay_pal/index.html
>
> Gary Reese
> Las Vegas, NV
Give me a break. Who does this fellow think he's kidding? Why would anyone
pay him to buy "e-gold" (which has no gold involved), when they
could just buy it themselves? Why would anyone pass money through multiple
unregulated payment systems in multiple jurisdictions, paying commissions
at each step, just to get less money out at the end? When I pay my electric
bill,
I write a check to the utility. I don't send money to a credit card, to send
money to paypal, to send money to some guy, to send money to e-gold, and
who nows how may more steps through weird Caribbean offshore operations
on its way to the electric company. Why would people pay big premiums to
make their transactions as difficult as possible to trace (as by IRS, DEA,
Interpol, FBI, RCMP)? www.quatloos.com is a good site on such operations.
Paypal had an unrealistic business model. They thought people would use
it for minor payments and everyone would keep a small balance to pay out
of, and Paypal would make money on the float. What happened
was that they found themselves providing free merchant services to ebay's
ragpicker "power sellers". Who expected them to carry the float for free,
and whined bitterly on Auction Watch boards if they didn't get checks
for real money instantly, while Paypal waited months for payment, and
often didn't get it at all because of fraud and chargebacks.
Well that business model didn't last long. The next thing that will probably go
is that banks will start charging fees for Paypal's electronic withdrawals.
They're not in business to provide free transfer service for an unregulated
rival.
Paypal probably will survive, but not as a free ride system.
Paul
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|