Google Checkout Free For The Holidays
It’s not often Google has to play catch-up. With the exception of the Google Instant Messenger and Google Checkout, most of their newer services do quite well for themselves. However there are times, especially with the two aforementioned products, when a particular launch didn’t set the world on fire because of existing competitors like AIM and PayPal.
So what do you in such a situation? You can either scrap the product or try to improve its exposure, which is exactly what Google’s doing with their online payment service, Google Checkout. As with other merchant providers, Google charges a processing fee for transactions utilizing Checkout. There were some specials in place reserved for AdWords members that reduced costs, but for the average site owner, you had to pay to play.
Now, and just in time for the holiday shopping season, Google announced they are waiving the processing fee for all Google Checkout users. The free period started yesterday (11-08) and runs until December 31, 2006. This is a brilliant move on Google’s behalf, especially when you consider the fact they are trying to increase visibility to their merchant service. Providing free payment processing during the busiest shopping time of the year can only be seen as a positive, unless you are a PayPal-type of business hoping your long-established death grip stays firm.
Chris Richardson
Staff Writer | WebProNews Blog
Have been using Google Checkout since it started. No complaints. Fast easy processing and best of all it’s free! Consumers still prefer pay pal or their credit cards for processing, but that will change in time. I see both checkout and paypal growing as a way to prevent fraudulant credit card and idenity theft.