Google Flips The Checkout Switch

[dutter]

The Google Checkout process officially launched, offering its users a unified shopping process that emphasizes safety and user control of the online retail experience.

"Want a faster, safer and more convenient way to shop online? You got it," Google says on the main page for Google Checkout. The service allows its users to shop from multiple online stores with a single login.

Google also addressed consumer confidence with the debut. It has a fraud protection policy in place to protect against unauthorized purchases made through Checkout. Also, Google said it does not share full credit card numbers or purchase history with sellers.

The Checkout homepage also displays a cross-promotion opportunity with credit card issuer Citi. Holders of Citi credit cards can optionally register them with checkout in exchange for $5 or 1000 ThankYou points.

Logging in to Checkout with a Google Account prompts the visitor to register a credit card and personal information like name, address, and phone number. Submitting the registration means agreeing to Checkout's recently updated terms of service.

(Hey Google, in section 4 of the TOS, it should be "bona fide" not "bone fide." Just trying to help.)

Once registered, Checkout returns its welcome screen and explains how to use the service. When searching Google for items, a green shopping cart icon next to a search result means the store accepts Google Checkout.

The user can shop as normal, and when it's time to checkout, clicking the Google Checkout button starts the process to complete the order.

On Checkout's welcome page, Google has listed a handful of retailers, like Timberland and Dick's Sporting Goods, that accept its payments. Also, a number of stores have coupon codes for $10 off a $20 or more purchase posted on the page.

The Account view of Checkout shows the default shipping address and payment method registered by the user. Any purchases made through Checkout will be listed in the Purchase History. The Account page also tracks the sellers the user has reviewed previously.

Debuts of new Google products always generate Apple-like buzz online, and Google Checkout is no exception, despite being a pretty mundane service at its core. Search Engine Watch editor Chris Sherman observed that Checkout isn't GBuy, the rumored PayPal killer some expected to debut this week.

Saul Hansell's report in the New York Times noted that Google CEO Eric Schmidt does not mind the prospect of Checkout being a loss leader if it leads to more advertiser spending with AdWords. Google will waive some or all of its 20 cents plus 2 percent of the purchase price fees for AdWords clients who sign on to accept Checkout.

Google's official blog entry emphasizes how Checkout speeds up the purchase process online. That streamlining should benefit buyers who use it.

To drive adoption of Checkout, and serve as a gateway to its AdWords products, Google offers features for sellers. The blog noted Google has worked to keep integration of Checkout into websites simple, and crafted "a range of integration alternatives such as cut and paste buy buttons, pre-integrated ecommerce partner offerings, and an API that supports more advanced integration."

[advancedmerchant]

Nice try, but no cigar. Hey, I love Google, I am the one who moved 80% of my Yahoo funds to the "big G" after Yahoo's exposure of click fraud through 180 solutions.

I am a merchant service provider, and I have a problem with a number of their policies, many merchants go "above and beyond" the usual (and poor) standard fraud detection (especially on high dollar items)

1) By not allowing the merchant to see the card number, the merchant is prevented from calling the card issuing bank (using the first 6 digits, merchants can look up the bank) to call for further verification.

2) Without an IP address, the merchant cannot tell if the order originated, say in Nigeria, for shipment to a freight forwarder.

3) If the customer can mask his email address, merchants who insist on getting an email from a legitimate ISP (which allows tracking him down), vs. a free email address (which does not) is disabled.

4) Google SEEMS (from what I can read) to have a panel where they will tell YOU (after the fact) if their protection policy covers the transaction. Without the abovementioned tools, merchants cannot be sure of ANYTHING. If it is a fraud order, the real cardholder never got the product, so this falls under their unprotected "Item not received" so there is NO PROTECTION ALL.

I spend enough with Google to WIPE OUT my transaction fees completely, but until they learn what MERCHANTS need, I cannot see any large number of merchants using them (with the exception of low-fraud "safe" items, like yarn. Fraud is a BIG problem for merchants, and there are ways to fool the Address Verification System (AVS) very easily and completely, allowing delivery to any address. Merchants get "double hit" on fraud. First they lose the merchandise, then they lose the money, then they pay chargeback fees on top of that!

Finally, Google's "Checkout Page", off the merchant's site is a problem for many. Most site owners have paid BIG $$ for an integrated shopping experience, and do NOT want the customer to click away where they lose control, even momentarily. What if Google puts a competitor's ad on YOUR checkout page? Surely not? Hey, if their stock ever dips who knows what they would do to meet projected earnings?

I LOVE Google, but I don't trust ANYONE that much.

[PureApple]

I am merchant of a middle size website. We are fighting with fraud credit card payment everyday. Checking IP, calling bank with credit card# to verify shipping address or sugguestion international customer use TT is most of ways to fight back. Even though, we still get charge back letters from bank.

[TrafficProducer]

United Kingdom comes in last again!

By agreeing to this Terms of Service for Buyers, you represent that you are:

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capable of entering into a legally binding agreement; and
a resident of the United States.

PayPal Support Club. Review and helpful links, coding examples, warnings, other shopping cart links, etc. PayPal is a on-link banking system that allows website owners to integrate shopping cart technology into their site. Find out more, includes links to helpful site about PayPal shopping cart technology.

[davidmg]

I am a mid-size company I would love to take advantage of this offering. I estimate saving $3,000-4,000+ a month in processing fees with my adwords. But I also would like to have the other info.

With an email address the customer receives a copy of their invoice and then when product is shipped the tracking info is also emailed to them.

We realy don't deal with fraud issues. It must be the products we sell. In 4 yrs we have had 2 fraud charges. I have a friend who sells electronics and he has to triple check every order.

fireplacedistributor.com

[Tamaloo]

United Kingdom comes in last again!

Yes, that's an important point to note. Checkout is currently only available in the US. The BBC's take on the story yesterday is HERE

[rachit]

So, Google doesn't respect International advertisers?

I had to read 15 articles and go halfway through the sign-up process ... before discovering that there's no way Google allows International users.

I mean, me and my clients do enough to fill up Google's bank account ... but they couldn't even bother to mention the "only U.S." part in the Press Release.

Geez ... I'm already pissed that Qualified Google Advertising Professionals in Africa can get credits to pass to their clients ... but they won't allow GAPs in Singpaore to have the same benefits ... and now they don't even bother to mention us international users (no note on the blog or side note in the help pages).

I love Google ... but they just lost a lot of brownie points with this advertiser ...

[davidmg]

I'm sure Singapore and other countries will be open soon. It's a major step just opening the US. I'm sure there are still a few bugs to be worked out. If your going to do something right you should take it a step at a time and that's what Google is doing. I just hope that they listen to some of the questions us merchants are asking. Like I stated earlier info like phone #'s and email address are important. Many times you have to contact a customer for something pertainimg to their order. Aside from our Ecommerce we also put close-outs etc on Ebay. Sometimes you have to contact the customer for something and have to wait for them to respond through ebay email. There have been instances when the shipping company calls because they can't find an address and you have to wait for a response through email. Stuff like this only slows down the process and creates more headaches. I can see how Google wants to attract consumers by prommising privacy but a merchant needs to know who they are dealing with. Our Company doesn't spam with emails or sell info. We only need the info for the "Murphy's Law" instances, "If you don't have it you will need it"!

whitehallgardens.com

[advancedmerchant]

I am sure Google will want to process for the entire WORLD, but they have to contend with VISA OPERATING REGULATIONS. Visa has a prohibition against "cross border acquisition". This prevents a merchant service company from establishing a relationship with a US bank, and getting a US "Buy rate" (say 2.1% for Internet Sales), then offering it to merchants in Japan, where the "buy rate" is around 5%.

Visa/MC have split the world into regions (North America, South America, Pacific Rim, Europe, etc), and each one has its unique rates and regulations (whatever they can get away with), and they will NOT allow you to cross a boundary when processing transactions for merchants. (A US merchant can accept foreign cards, but a US Merchant Bank cannot sponsor a merchant in another country/region)

This opens up a possibility, since Google does not require the "due diligence" normally associated with getting a merchant account, a foreign company could register a web site to a US citizen's name, host it here in the US, and get US rates. All they would need is a US mailing address, and there are plenty of companies that sell these to foreign nationals on the web. This could also open up a wide window for Merchant Fraud, since they do not ask for the Social Security Number of the web site owner, they are not checked against the MATCH (formerly Terminated Merchant's File or TMF), allowing merchants who have been forbidden to take credit cards due to fraudulent activity to begin accepting them again.. through Google. But PayPal will let you do this as well, so no big deal?

[nuttymarketer]

Thanks to you guys. you saved me a lot of time. I was just going to try checkout. And wanted to research something before hand. But now I will not.

I am using Paypal for the transaction at my site. My per transactions are in the range of $4 to $8. So the total rates Paypal charge me is way high. in the range of 7.5% to 8%.

is there any other good service who charge less but still have reliable name and service.

Nuttymarketer[/google]