Customized payment systems on ebay?

[Christophero Sly]

I just purchased a small item from an ebay retailer, and when I clicked the "Pay Now" button, the payment process was routed to a third party checkout framework. I've never encountered this before and had no idea it was even possible. Needless to say, I'm not at all comfortable involving a third party in the details of this transaction. Had there been any indication in the auction that the retailer used a non-standard checkout process, I wouldn't have purchased the item.

 

I have no formal relationship with this third party, so why should I be willing to share my personal information with them? Why would I allow them to place cookies, etc. on my computer? How am I to even establish the validity of the third party?

 

Am I alone in thinking that this is unacceptable? Am I overreacting?

 

I've asked the seller to provide me with a standard ebay invoice that skips the non-standard checkout, but if they refuse or are unable to do so, the transaction will likely go sour.

 

I couldn't find any mention of CPS's in a search of the ebay help pages and I don't have the time and energy at the moment to scour ebay's TOS to find out if I'm obligated to accept the situation.

 

Does anyone have any experience with these customized payment systems? Advice?

 

Obviously, I'm more than a little irritated by this whole thing.

Edited January 4, 2009 by Christophero Sly

[Shawn]

I've used them before 3 or 4 times from various power sellers. It was all legit each time I used them. At the end of it all it still redirects to paypal for your payment to be made.

[+remowilliams]

Same experience here with the customized checkout systems. I've gone through quite a few of them with the larger sellers without issue.

[Christophero Sly]

Alright. I just went ahead and paid. Probably more hassle than it's worth to raise a stink about it. Not happy though.

 

On relevant auctions, ebay needs to provide some clear indication that a retailer uses a customized payment system.

[godsey1]

I've went through them a few times also. Nothing to worry about. There is one, I can't remember their name, but you get like 7 or 8 emails from them telling you, you won their aucion and you get 3 or 4 whe you make payment.

[shadow460]

I went through one with vpgames. It had options for money order, PayPal, checks, etc. It was kinda like a speed bump, then the rest went smooth.

[Christophero Sly]

To be clear, it wasn't the legitimacy of the customized checkout provider that bothered me. It was the need for an outside intermediary to be party to the transaction in the first place.

 

I have no formal relationship with the custom checkout provider. I've never been given the opportunity to review their policies or protocols and choose whether or not to accept them. I'm just suddenly obligated to agree to their terms of service and allow them to collect my personal information, place cookies on my computer, etc.

 

If sellers are using customized checkout providers, then a clear indication of this fact needs to be indicated in the auction listing, so buyers are aware of it and can make an informed decision as to whether or not they want to proceed with a purchase.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Christophero Sly