Not sure how long this has been a thing. It says it's a new government requirement in Australia that they need to verify who you are before you can accept payments, which I find a load of shit. So we can't even sell unwanted items anymore without giving up our identity to some global megacorp that needs to keep tabs on us.
Has anybody else stopped selling due to this or did you just give in and provide your personal details?
or just like Loren Allred says:
NEVER ENOUGH
You had to give your identity to PayPal as well when they used to go through PayPal, it isn't something new. I presume it is to cut down on money laundering.
More specifically, it's the Know Your Customer (KYC) rules that came in as part of the AML/CTL package.
https://www.austrac.gov.au/business/how-comply-and-report-gu…
But they're not a bank (tongue in cheek..)
It's their sandpit and if you want to play in it then you go by their rules.
then you go by their rules.
if it is within the law….
But my rights!!!!!!
What if you don't drive and don't travel overseas?
Simple - you don't sell on eBay.
Isn't that discriminatory, especially against lower-class or historically displaced First Nations who don't have ID?
Why are you so eager to tow global interests that leave regular people behind? Are you hoping they'll let you join the elitist club if you behave?
Where was this concern in your thread about voting? That's the reason ID isn't required, as it would disproportionately disadvantage Indigenous access to democracy.
@Quantumcat: We can solve the problem of voter ID quite easily. Nobody, even hardcore Republicans in the US, would be opposed to handing out free ID to all citizens. The cost would be trivial. I'm more than happy for my taxes to go towards this.
But when you're talking about a private company wanting to track your identity, no I don't think our taxes should go towards that.
Besides, any arguments against voter ID went our the windoe completely during 2 years of vax passports and QR check-ins.
@SlavOz: Indigenous ID doesn't have anything to do with the cost. It is because many live in very remote communities where there are no services, and many don't have birth certificates.
Add to your list of "discriminatory things that I've seen in Australia"
My (unwritten) list is quite long…
Still, there are options:
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/ra010
If someone has access to internet and eBay, and is willing to go through the hassle of selling something online, this person should be able to get confirmation of identity.
To be honest, I probably agree with the new policy. It should be extended to buyers, although I suppose sellers and buyers will still be able to scam people…
Isn't that discriminatory, especially against lower-class or historically displaced First Nations who don't have ID?
I need to provide ID if I want to open a bank account or get basic services like water or electricity. Is that discriminatory?
What methods would you suggest to companies to raise the barriers for fraud on their platform?
@eug: This was not done to prevent fraud. The government is forcing these measures onto companies simply as a way to maintain tabs on everyone.
They're not going to catch global money smugglers or international drug dealers on eBay. These measures are purely designed to catch out the working class for petty crimes at best.
The government is forcing these measures onto companies simply as a way to maintain tabs on everyone.
Is that your opinion or is it fact? What evidence do you have to back your statement?
They're not going to catch global money smugglers or international drug dealers on eBay.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/17/cyberlaun…
Products listed at astronomically high prices on eBay appear to be real transactions when sold but are in fact methods to launder and secretly send cash. This simple, popular ruse has been used by Islamic State to funnel cash to operatives in the Middle East.
@SlavOz: I would have thought you'd be going hard on the "dole bludgers on my tax dollars but running a business on eBay for extra cash" rorters, but I guess if you line yourself up as a contraraian you're eventually going to be opposing something that opposes something that you oppose, and round the dog spins chasing his tail.
ATO has gathered this sort of data for years, for the record: https://www.accountantsdaily.com.au/tax-compliance/15127-ato…
Proof of Age card would probably be the cheapest form of photo identification
Yes, that's possible… And sad…
maybe new account only or never sell before?
No, they've required it for all sellers since they removed PayPal as a way to get paid
They no longer accept PayPal? Man I've been off ebay for way too long, I never knew this. This to me was the entire selling point in eBay.
Looks like I'll be switching over to something else. Gumtree is looking better.
Yep, it's been gone for a while. eBay manages the payments and deposits it into your bank account.
Might depend on your area but Gumtree is pretty bad in my local area. Lots of low ballers and time wasters.
I generally list on both and even after adjusting the price to cover eBay fees, I usually get the sale through eBay
Isnt Gumtree owned by them too?
@SlavOz: ebay did own it but sold it for 9 billion.
Ebay has officially sold Gumtree in a deal worth over $9 billion to Adevinta which will now become the world’s largest classified ads business.
Adevinta paid Ebay $9.2 billion (£7.26 billion) in a cash and stock deal to merge its classified ads business (including Gumtree) with its own.
This merger will form the largest classified ads business on earth, spanning 20 countries and achieving revenues of around $1.8 billion last year, including an operating profit of $600 million.
@SlavOz: Gumtree has never been an Aussie platform. It was British, before being sold to eBay. eBay had it domiciled in the Netherlands under Marktplaats and then Switzerland under eBay Marketplaces. Not sure where it is now eBay sold it.
I gave up selling with them when I was slugged a final valuation fee that was more than the item I was selling. I sold a car on there for $1 no reserve and it got to $178. eBay charged me $98 in sellers fees.
When I questioned it I was told J wasn't eligible for any breaks as I had sold over $62,000 worth if stuff. That figure was impossible since I rarely sell anything and even when I do, it's the odd mobile phone or Xbox game.
Ebay lost its appeal years ago to be a seller.
Yes, it's hard to make 1 off sales profitable.
Its hard when Ebay always takes the buyers side when they say shit didnt arrive… even when you supply tracking info to the contrary and they give the $ back to the buyer.
I've not sold anything for a few years now, as mentioned before, the fees are too high.
@pharkurnell: I'm buying more through Amazon these days, than Ebay. Amazon is so quick (in Australia)
@BewareOfThe Dog: It's easier to look at eBay fees as a Cost Of Doing Business - we pay on average 13% on sales via our eBay store. This cost provides us with a shopfront, advertising and marketing
If we had a retail shop our rent and overheads would likely be around 25%.
Like any order CODB, we simply built in eBays fees to our selling price.
@Ocker: Fair enough, however if a Retailer is already paying Rent, utilities etc, it really cuts into their margins, as opposed to dealing with someone paying cheaper rent etc.
@BewareOfThe Dog: Id say its mostly private sellers that are complaining about eBay fees. You can easily calculate how much you need to list to get the amount you want, so you won't be surprised about the fees. If all this is too painful, one can always sell to cash converters, who will handle everything and offer you 1/3 of market price.
Not sure how long this has been a thing.
Is eBays New Requirement to Ditch PayPal and Use Their Internal Payment Method Legal?
From post 10/05/2021. I guess you have been pretty busy.
What makes you so special that you actually believe that they want to "keep tabs" on you?
Because they asked for my ID.
You didn't answer my question.
What makes you so special that you actually believe that they want to "keep tabs" on you?
Because they asked for my ID.
If they didn't think I was worth tracking, they wouldn't want it.
"What makes you think you're so important that somebody would want to stab you?".
"I don't know, but this knife in my chest really hurts".
@SlavOz: Verifying your identify doesn't give them the ability to "keep tabs" on you in any way shape or form.
Take your tin foil hat off dude and grow up.
@Axelstrife: LOL imagine how much of a puppet you need to be dismiss concerns around privacy in the digital age, especially in a country that is trying to roll out facial recognition in public.
"Don't be a fool, all those cameras pointed at you aren't watching you, they're just there to prevent fraud!"
You do realise, by definition, you're the conspiracy theorist right? Your attitude completely dismisses the plethora of evidence that shows digital privacy is under attack.
You do realise, by definition, you're the conspiracy theorist right?
You do realise, by definition, you're a conspiracy theorist right? :)
@SlavOz: Do you think people from eBay in black vans is going to come kidnap you or something? Seriously what do you think they are going to do? I wanna know exactly you think they are going to do to you?
While you keep cheering for global technocracy, let me remind you that all of these things have happened on a major scale in the last few years. Every single one.
Thinking they won't happen again is the conspiracy theory. It goes against all the avaliable evidence. The tinfoil hat is on you.
@SlavOz: You mean the government that you got your licence from in the first place? You gotta be trolling.
@Axelstrife: Sigh. You're either dumb or trolling.
It's not about the government knowing your name or seeing your license. It's about your identity being linked to your online activity.
Would you show your license every time you went to Woolworths or the weekend flea market? No.
You're not using your real name on Ozbargain either. I'm assuming Axelstrife is a pseudonym you came up with. Why is that?
Looks like I'm not the only one who doesn't want their personal data being stored by a private website. If you're so confident that there are no risks, go ahead and open a new account using your real name. I'll wait :)
@SlavOz: People either get these issues or they're blind and apathetic to them. Our digital privacy is something we should all value and push for.
@Axelstrife: i was literally about to make a tin foil hat comment replying to his comment then though to myself i will just quickly refresh the page first, then i saw your tin foil hat comment, good work
i wouldn't even consider selling on ebay because of the awful way they treat sellers. if i were so inclined, i could buy something very expensive, claim it's defective / not as described and send back a broken version of the same item, or even a brick of a roughly similar weight, and ebay would still side with me.
ebay is terrible for sellers.
One plus is as a buyer, if something is damaged, you can work something out with the seller. I had a Midi Controller turn up and the box was damaged. I told them I wanted to return it etc, as I would have to buy local as a present for a 12 yo girl etc and they gave me I think 40% off.
Yeah, it's great if you are a buyer. I buy plenty of stuff from there and 99% of my experiences have been positive.
It may be terrible for sellers, but then so is Marketplace.
At least with Ebay you don't deal with as many lowballers and timewasters.
Old news
Ebay hasn't cared about individual sellers for quite a while.
But why do you think the better option is to allow sellers to he complelty anonymous? As a site that is predominantly aimed at buyers, isn't it performing a better service by at least trying to identify sellers with some degree of validity.
eBay's biggest appeal was that you could sell your unwanted items hassle-free. Now it's at the point where individuals looking to pawn their ps4 games have to pass a security check and be treated like corporate shopfronts.
I can understand such verifications if you're running a registered business account and processing thousands of dollars a week. But that's not me.
This ties into my biggest gripe about all tech platforms - they were originally built and promoted as a way of empowering everyday users, ie individuals like you and me. But over time, they just became corporate megamalls.
Probably only a matter of time until most websites like Ozbargain and Facebook are obliged to verify your identity too. The government has been trying to enact this for a while.
Like, is there not a single place where can get away from government control? They literally have to be everywhere, don't they?
Probably only a matter of time until most websites like Ozbargain and Facebook are obliged to verify your identity too
Like, is there not a single place where can get away from government control
You were in favour of Elon doing just that for Twitter last week
Twitter, much like eBay is a cesspit. I would be totally ok if they both faded into oblivion.
@HelpMeiCantSee: I think most people feel that way about social media, which raises the question why is everyone so upset that Musk will "ruin" Twitter. It can only go up from here, both financially and as a tool for public discussion.
If his vision comes to life, then free speech will allow good ideas to drown out the bad toxicity, just like in real life. People can't be moderated out of bad ideas - they need to be educated with good ones.
No I wasn't. I was supportive of Musk verifying humans and getting rid of bots. You can certainly do that without collecting the passport or license of millions of users.
@SlavOz: "And authenticate all real humans" was his comment. He wants to remove bots and dummy/duplicate accounts.
How do you expect to authenticate all real humans without ID? verifying and authenticating arent the same thing
@SBOB: Not sure about duplicate accounts. Never heard of this being an issue on Twitter. They already do track your IP address so it's quite easy to determine if someone is using multiple accounts.
In terms of filtering out bots, it's quite easy to do this with visual puzzles or other things you need to solve. Phone number verification would work too.
As a business man with a goal of bringing more people to Twitter, I don't think Musk is silly enough to require ID from all users. It would only dress him in even more controversy and drive people away due to all the media backlash he's already getting.
You can certainly do that without collecting the passport or license of millions of users.
How?
They already do track your IP address so it's quite easy to determine if someone is using multiple accounts.
An IP address is not tied to a user, unless they paid extra for a static IP. Hundreds of users can use one single IP address thanks to CGNAT which is used on all standard mobile phone network APNs due to IPv4 address exhaustion. Some telcos will give you a public IP or use IPv6 but they're dynamic anyway, so they cannot be tied to a user.
@eug: As far as I know, most social media companies already have ways of tracking accounts from the same internet connection or even device. I'm not the tech whiz but the infrastructure for it is already in place. This how these platforms hand out permanent bans/IP blocks.
Yeah, i was surprised when I saw it too. Saw it almost 12 months ago or something. Use gumtree, marketplace instead. Not worth all the hoops on eBay. I also agree, why should I have to give that info and why are so many happy to do so, without question.
They need the information because the ATO is breathing down their neck.
This is precisely my concern as well. It just adds another footprint that can traced back to you and followed. This information is rarely used for good. It's a reserve for the government to pry into your life should the need ever come up.
We've already had our share of witch hunts in this country.
This is precisely why they are required to confirm your identity.
They feed any sales above $10k back to the ATO so you can be further taxed on it.
It only take the sale of a car or similar to breach this threshold and on top of Ebay's exorbitant fees, you are then forced to pay tax to the ATO on top!
I was only concerned because the emails asking me to verify my bank account and ID sounded scammy.
Then they showed up on the app and I’m like okay. It’s legit.
Ebay is simply trying to ensure safety for all users. There is so much scamming on eBay it has tarnished the brand.
I have had eBay contact me and inform the item I purchased is FAKE, and immediately refunded the money.
People are simply uploading product images, and selling items they don't even possess.
This is why eBay is attempting to ensure you are ligit….. do it for all of us
You really should make like Elsa and ….
LET IT GO