Five Reasons Why You Won’t Use Google Checkout (and 5 Reasons You Will)

It’s not that I like making lists. (Although Merlin Mann’s 5ives is one of my favorite sites ever.) It’s just that the list format does a good job of breaking down a complicated service (Google Checkout) into its component pros and cons. (By the way, if you haven’t heard, Google Checkout launched today. Check out the screenshots.)

Besides, I received so much good feedback yesterday from you, the readers, that I thought it would be helpful to consolidate everyone’s excitement and suspicion into one post. I hope I’ve done your reasons justice.

Five Reasons You Won’t Use Google Checkout

1. You make your living on eBay, and eBay may not allow you to use Google Checkout. Or, eBay may offer new competitive discounts if you continue to use PayPal. Even better, you think the eBay/Yahoo partnership will eventually launch a competing product that will mimic the search/advertising tie-in.
2. As a merchant, you are wary of switching services because you don’t want to upset your conversion rate. You know your users are familiar with PayPal.
3. You think Google knows too much.
4. You’re suspicious of how Google will mix Checkout, AdWords and search results. Perhaps you bemoan the increasing commercialization of the Net, or believe that search results should be pure and should not reflect consumers’ purchasing decisions.
5. Google Checkout isn’t a proven system. For now, you’re going to stick with PayPal, which, with 100 million customers, is the established service in the marketplace. Plus, you can’t currently link your checking account to Google Checkout.

Bonus reason: You missed out on the Google IPO, don’t own any Google stock and shun their services because you don’t want to see them succeed and/or see their stock price rise. Your mother is sooooo not proud.

And Five Reasons You Will

1. As a site operator, you have the ability to block competing AdSense ads from your site. Thus, you don’t have to worry about Google’s easy-to-use checkout service competing directly with your shopping cart software and process.
2. PayPal has horrendous customer service. Accoding to reader AG: “I for one cannot stand Paypal as I have been ripped off before and when I had an account I was a victim of identity theft. In trying to work things out with them, they were complete a**holes. They even accused me of stealing which is totally false because I had it researched by my credit card company and bank. It took numerous hours over the phone with paypal and several months to get my money back. Paypal IMO has lousy service and charges too much.” And thanks to Digg user tuna1 for this insight: “As long as GBuy isn’t the total a** rape that PayPal is, I’ll be happy.”

   Bonus if you’re a developer and think PayPal’s APIs are horrible. Google’s gotta be easier, right?

3. As a merchant or advertiser, you depend 100 percent on Google’s AdWords. Google Checkout will only help you convert sales faster. Combined with Google’s CPA (Cost Per Action) system, you are also more confident that click fraud will become a problem of the past.
4. As an AdWords and AdSense customer, your cost to use Google Checkout is nil. And, for every one dollar you spend on AdWords advertising, Google will waive its transaction fees on $10 worth of purchasing. Even if you pay the 2 percent credit card fee, you still reduce your advertising spending by about 20 percent.
5. You already use Gmail, Calendar, Reader, Finance, Trends, Desktop and every other Google creation. You don’t mind consolidating all your info in one place, and single sign-on sounds pretty cool.

I’m sure I missed some things, so pile on. I’m done with lists for the forseeable future. at least this week. I know, I lied. My mother is sooooo not proud.