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Once again, I have to point out that PayPal did *exactly* the same thing
when they first started -- they put a cash credit into the account of everyone
who signed up. At first I think the amount was $15.00, and then was dropped over
time to $10.00, and then $5.00 and finally eventually eliminated. Funny how no
one questioned PayPal when they made this type of offer when they first started.
For that matter, I don't remember anyone scrutinizing PayPal this way when they
were first trying to get off the ground. People just rushed in to
participate, get their free cash sign-up bonus, and start accepting PayPal for
their auctions. Of course, the internet was a more innocent place at that time,
and primarily confirmed to the US of A (at first PayPal only offered services to
those in the US).
As for them operating out of "a Ralph's Grocery Store someplace in
California" that is a rumor that was posted by one person (which Ralph's
Grocery Store? The rumor doesn't say...) and has not been substantiated by
anyone else that I can find, and is simply being repeated parrot-fashion by
everyone else on the internet, including the author of this article. C'mon, with
the easy availability of anonymous email addresses these days, do you really
think these guys would be using an address that could be easily traced to a
"Ralph's Grocery Store someplace in California" -- whether they were
genuine or a scam (particularly if it were a scam)?
Finally, does it surprise anyone that "members of the eBay community" are
voicing concern over this potential competitor to PayPal? After all, eBay does
own PayPal.
We don't have enough information on GreenZap to know what their story is at
this point, and this article certainly doesn't offer any.
-- JR
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 13:45
Subject: [MOPO] GreenZap Raises
Skepticism of Some eBay Community Members
GreenZap Raises Skepticism of Some eBay
Community
Members
May 02, 2005
GreenZap.com issued a press
release on April 11, 2005,
to announce its new online payment service,
which it
is positioning as a competitor to eBay's PayPal
service.
GreenZap said during the pre-launch
registration phase, it is putting $25
in users
accounts for signing up, and skeptics are raising
questions
about the offer.
According to an interview with Greenzap's CEO
on
eAuction Air's radio program, users will not be able
to cash out the
$25, it can only be applied toward
purchases made using GreenZap, which has
not yet
launched. Michael Donahue interviewed the CEO, Alex
Sonkin, last
week on his Internet radio program
eAuction Air. You can listen to the
two-part interview
at http://www.eauctionair.com (4/24/05
edition).
Some skeptics have created websites
(http://greenzapscam.com) and started
threads on
discussion boards
(http://freeauctionscripts.com/community/ecommerce4839-0-asc-0.html
and
http://www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=28926)
raising
questions about the service, which says it
will launch in June.
This
is not the first time eBay community members have
turned a skeptical eye on
pre-launch services; earlier
this year, AuctionBytes wrote about user
reaction to
Wagglepop
(http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m02/i23/s01),
and
in 2001, AuctionBytes wrote about an auction site
that apparently never
made it off the ground
(http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y01/m07/i06/s01).
Greenzap
is headquartered in La Jolla, California, but
according to Sonkin, the
company accepts mail at
"Ralph's Grocery Store" while they are in the
process
of moving into a new building located east of
La
Jolla.
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