Power Sellers Unite

elgato · Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 17242 Location: Texas

DAVOS, Switzerland -(Dow Jones)- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is developing on an online payment system that will be cheaper than credit card transactions, making it possible for companies to charge small fees for Web-based content and services they now offer for free.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told a breakfast meeting here at the World Economic Forum that he reviewed a plan to enter the online payments business during his "think week," a twice-yearly ritual where he usually isolates himself in a backwoods cabin to study new ideas. Over the years, these sessions have propelled products such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Tablet PC and an online videogame business.

Microsoft's move into Internet payments could threaten credit card companies' online profits. Gates described a system that would undercut credit card fees, making it profitable for an online newspaper to charge small fees for individual articles, for example.

"If you want to charge somebody $0.10 or $1 a month, that will just be a click...you won't have to manage some funny thing or pay some big credit charge, where half of it goes to the clearing," Gates said.

more.. link to news article

terryp · Joined: 06 Sep 2006 Posts: 540

“Or pay some greedy Company for terrible aloof service” :evil:

This is more like it…GC & Microsoft, just what Paypal needs…big competition, start dropping those fees
LOL
:P

HowardH · Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 159

From the company that brought you MS Bob*

*In MS Bob, if you entered an incorrect password three times, it would prompt you for an easier-to-remember password, which it would then accept.

knappschiles · Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 4035 Location: Wi

Just another service that will be "blackballed" at you know where. LOL

But seriously, if you listen to Clark Howard at all, he always says that it takes at least 3 competing companies to keep prices in check for consumers.

If you only have 2, they can work together to more or less set prices. But with 3, there is always 1 of them that will break ranks and undercut the others and that is what keeps prices from getting out of hand.

The only problem with MS doing it, is that they somehow always seem to be a day late and somehow manage to mess up a good thing in the process.

But MS and Google are about the only ones with the money to take on PP it seems.

Carol

GAELICTITCA · Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 1384

knappschiles wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")Just another service that will be "blackballed" at you know where.

Ain't that the truth. I can see Ebay's "logic" now --- "We cannot allow
payments via "MicroSoft E-payment" since the company has no track
record".

Bit by bit Ebay's foundations are being eroded by the tides of change.
Competition by other selling venues, new payment systems coming online
to suck the life from their cash cow PayPal....... poor poor Meggie & Co.

angelsolutions

Quote: › docWrite("quote")The only problem with MS doing it, is that they somehow always seem to be a day late and somehow manage to mess up a good thing in the process.

LOL @ Carol...you're assuming it will even work! :twisted: sowwy...couldn't resist....hehehehe

sylvia

xbaystores · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 562

Yep, I agree... but Microsoft has the power to fight a blacklist like that. Such as eliminating eBay toolbar use? Maybe setting up IE and Windows updates to automatically block eBay pages for security risks, or even block their SSL certificates? eBay and Paypal certainly aren't secure, and Microsoft would gladly expose it if they were blacklisted by eBay. There are lots of things Microsoft can do that won't hurt them nearly as much financially as if Google would have fought back. Google had hundreds of millions in ad revenue from eBay to lose, but Microsoft? Well, Windows users would simply have to download Firefox, but they'd still be using the Microsoft system!

knappschiles · Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 4035 Location: Wi

NO, Sylvia, you're right.

MS has screwed up so many times and we are usually the ones that end up paying for it. That's why I usually write MS as M$ since all they usually mean is money out of my pocket.

If it wasn't for the fack that some programs "piggy-back" on IE, I wouldn't even have that crummy program on my computer. I use Mozilla for my browser/email client and OpenOffice for my Office suite.

Now if the Open Source people would just make a version of Linux that would run all my other programs and be a bit easier to figure out, I wouldn't have M$ on my computer at all.

Carol

mojavelyn · Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:57 pm Post subject:

Oh and I thought MS meant Micro Satan????

I realyl do have a love-hate relationship with M$ ... like that of an abused spouse.

And I really do like OpenOffice!!!