Google Checkout: It is not just for small biz…

Posted by Laura Bergells

February 15, 2007

A delusional web developer tried to talk my small business client out of implementing Google Checkout at her website!

The developer told her Google Checkout was created for people who do not have sites with ecommerce capabilities. He also told her Google Checkout is a major headache to set up and administer on an OSCommerce website.

I told her to tell her developer to get real.

To say that Google Checkout is for people who don’t have a payment gateway is naive.

You think “Babies R US” doesn’t have a payment gateway of its own? (See screen shot below).

Google Checkout

Of course it does! I am guessing a big company like BabiesRUs has implemented Google Checkout for a number of compelling reasons…

Google checkout provides:

free processing for merchants (that’s HUGE!)
fraud protection for merchants
a free advertising bonus for Adwords advertisers so that you attract more customers (HUGE!)
powerful Google brand association (terrific for small biz)
enhanced security, convenience, and spam protection for customers

Further, Google provides OSCommerce developers with FREE modules.

(You can download the OSCommerce module here.)

With a minimal amount of configuration, the OSCommerce module will let my client quickly start offering Google Checkout to her online customers.

Free processing, fraud protection, enhanced advertising, powerful brand association, better experience for customers, easy-to-implement….Google Checkout is definitely not just for small business.

But if small businesses want to compete, why wouldn’t they take advantage of the many BIG benefits that Google Checkout offers…for free?

Online Marketing

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Comments

Comment by Patrick Chanezon on February 15, 2007 @ 6:22 pm

Thanks for the kind words about Google Checkout Laura. Glad that you liked the OSCommerce module.

Patrick Chanezon, Google API Evangelist
http://wordpress.chanezon.com/
http://code.google.com/apis/checkout/

Comment by Kym Romanets on February 17, 2007 @ 8:04 pm

Google Checkout is a Checkout process not a payment gateway like PayPal. As such it bypasses the normal site checkout. Because of that you have to deal with issues such as shipping, discounts, vouchers, coupons, gift wrap and so on. Processes normally handled during checkout. Therefore it is not a walk in the park to integrate into any eCommerce model.

Google did commence the process of providing an API for osCommerce but never finished the job because it is in fact complex.

Furthermore because it is a Checkout and Google requires that you do not require customers to create accounts to use your store, it means that many small businesses that pay Google good money via ad words to find customers end up being a middle man. The customers get the goods and Google gets the customers. All the store gets is money. And money is not enough.

In fact Google Checkout is close to a drop ship model where sites both take the orders and deliver them and Google takes the customers nd the money (passing on the site’s share). Very clever really - for Google.

So while the reasons are different I too discourage my customers from bothering with Google Checkout at this stage. I see it as an insidious process that is not in the best interests of anyone looking for “customers” aka repeat business.

The big players have nothing to lose by using it, the small players have everything. And don’t tell me about lost sales, I believe that as much as I believe that having “Hacker Safe” increases sales. Another of my pet hates for small business.