eBay is reportedly deleting auction listings accepting cash payments. This policy reminds me of selling our pinball machine last year. It wasn’t listed on eBay, it was listed on a pinball machine specific forum and the guy drove up in person and dissembled the machine to fit into his car (yes, not a truck, we were surprised). How did he pay? Cash.

digg story:

eBay has outlawed cash payments among its 100 million members. The company is deleting auctions from sellers offering to accept cash, arguing that these sellers tend to be involved in scams.

This just seems like a silly thing to ban altogether. What’s wrong with paying cash in person and for pickup items? Yeah, they aren’t getting their PayPal fees. Cash is still a viable financial instrument and while I wouldn’t be mailing cash to anybody, I’ll certainly accept it for in person pickup.

This also makes me think of how casinos are getting rid of the coins and cash in place of these “EZ tickets.” I like the tickets when I can take them to a machine and get the cash, but they suck when you have to wait in a line to have a single person scan the bar code for cashout. There is something nostalgic sounding about coins hitting a metal bin. Of course I don’t like reaching into grab coins that people used as ashtrays, so maybe these EZ Tickets are the wave of the future.

I’m not the guy who hides a bunch of cash under his mattress or doesn’t trust banks but I sure hope cash doesn’t go away. Not everything should be plastic and online. eBay could have made this policy be only for internet transactions and not apply to for pickup items in person.

This just gives eBay competitors a door to waltz in with a less restrictive policy. Hint, hint.

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