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Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

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Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#151

Post by _pmf_ »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #11

Google is making the same mistakes Microsoft made. Trying to enter into every industry it can thinking it can use it's monopoly power to take over the world. Reality: Doing 20 things mediocrely is not as profitable of doing 2 things very very well. Result: 1) Constant experiments and dropped products (just like Microsoft). 2) Consumers no longer trust your services to stick around and no longer even invest in your pl…

> 1) Constant experiments and dropped products (just like Microsoft).

> 3) The services you do have aren't the highest quality and your brand takes a hit as being "giant mediocre corporation" like Microsoft instead of "high quality company" like Apple.

Yes, Apple never creates duds; we are all happily using our Newton.

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#153

Post by ancarda »

kintamanimatt wrote: post #84

I don't trust Google any longer. Google (usually) brings out fantastic products only to neglect and abandon them like a bored toddler. This wave of product discontinuations is making me extremely hesitant to use anything new Google brings out. If Google brought out Gmail today I'd sign up and explore what it's about, but I wouldn't ever give out the email address for fear that it would be snatched back with no or lit…

My trust has been eroded in Google to the point where I am actively seeking a replacement to Google Apps (I have a free account which I can't imagine will be around forever).

Also, now with tumblr being bought I'm hesitant to jump ship and host my blog on my own server. Seems like the way forward.

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#154

Post by patrickk »

Fixnum wrote: post #107
igul222 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Google's recent efforts to narrow its focus (i.e. Google+, killing Reader) have been miserable failures. Being able to do 50 things at once, on the other hand, lets them come up with truly groundbreaking things like Glass and the self-driving car.

Google didn't exactly invent the self-driving car - they basically bought the Stanford team and some people from CMU and elsewhere.

> they basically bought the Stanford team and some people from CMU and elsewhere.

Also, the original impetus came from the DARPA grand challenge.

However, Google do deserve credit for recognising that self-driving cars could have a massive positive impact on society, and bringing the various team members under one roof and funding them would bring the concept from the research lab to the road a lot quicker. I bet many car makers have stepped up their self-driving cars efforts in response to the Google advances.

There's numerous companies and organisations that had the resources to bring the likes of Sebastian Thrun into their fold to work on self-driving cars, but Google were the ones with the vision to actually do it.

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#155

Post by jacquesm »

rpgmaker wrote: post #55
_Lemon_ wrote: post #7

Earlier today I received a phone call from a number in Mountain View CA. It was Google letting me know in advance that Google Checkout was to be shut down (and asking to keep the call quiet). This was, to say the least, very surprising considering I have very little correspondence with Google Checkout and was actually thinking there was a huge problem with my account. Thankfully not but this is still bad news for mys…

Let me guess, google wallet will require g+?

"The concept is simple: Google Wallet is an app, rather than just a website or an integration via MasterCard’s PayPass. It’s an actual payment app that lives on Android devices. Users can sign in using their Google+ username and account, and then pay for online purchases directly via the app."

From:

http://www.tnooz.com/2013/05/15/news/mobile-payments-get-ser...

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#156

Post by coldtea »

gcb0 wrote: post #81
mtgx wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree. I'm so disappointed in Google for having Checkout for years and not doing anything serious with it. I really wanted it to become a serious alternative to Paypal. But it's like they never even tried. And it turned out to be huge mistake for them because they could've really used Checkout accounts from day one of Android, to get people to pay for Android apps. I still believe this has been one of the…

what do you mean "could replace paypal"? I use google checkout for pretty much everything I can't buy at amazon. It's accepted at lots and lots of places. and usually it's my deciding factor when selecting for two stores. I don't use paypal because their system sucks if you have international credit cards and because of the lack of moral grounds they showed. never missed it (but then, i don't send money to random peo…

>what do you mean "could replace paypal"? I use google checkout for pretty much everything I can't buy at amazon. It's accepted at lots and lots of places. and usually it's my deciding factor when selecting for two stores.

He means you're an outlier, checkout wasn't going anywhere and nobody used it, and it wasn't even international (as PayPal is).

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#157

Post by coldtea »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #150
dragonwriter wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Reality: Doing 20 things mediocrely is not as profitable of doing 2 things very very well. Reality also is that there is often a declining marginal value in additional investments in the same area once you are already doing very well in that area, and that the marginal profit from doing something else mediocre may be greater than the marginal profit from doing the existing thing a tiny bit better. And lots of Googl…

I would posit that Google isn't doing well in search from a quality perspective, but obviously they are doing very well from a market share perspective. This just means they are ripe for disruption.

>I would posit that Google isn't doing well in search from a quality perspective

That would only be true if there was a search engine with better quality results.

I agree that Google has dropped it's quality (compared to itself) but it's still better than anything else.

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#158

Post by rgbrenner »

mehta wrote: post #147
rgbrenner wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that is not accurate. Google Checkout processes payments for the merchant, and Google deposits the funds in the merchant's bank account. With the new system, Google has an API to give you the users information, but the merchant must have some way of processing the payment. So these two are not the same at all. I can tell you for my ecommerce site, I intend to drop Google Wallet altogether.. After the numerous Fro…

> Google's implementation of Checkout was flawed from the start (esp how they handled/treated merchants).. So I'm not surprised it didn't go anywhere. As you say, Google's implementation was flawed from start. Doesn't it make sense then to fix it and make things right?

I'm all for Google fixing things and making their service(s) better.. but....

I have no idea if Wallet is better than Checkout, since I haven't used Wallet. For all I know Google made the same mistakes with that service as well.

But the biggest reason I don't plan to go along with Wallet: the complete neglect of Checkout. Checkout launched in 2006. I signed up around 2008. Want to know how many improvements Google has made to the service (excluding minor policy changes)? The answer is 0. The service never changed as far as I could tell. Google never fixed a single issue with their interface. They never fixed the major policy issues.

Shortly after Wallet launched in 2011, Google renamed part of the service: When consumers buy an item using Checkout, they are using Google Wallet. So these services are not completely unrelated. I would not be surprised if Google kept many of their policies and other problems...

It does sound like Google has given Wallet a lot more attention than they did Checkout. But I also remember the hype they gave Checkout when it launched.. and this in many ways feels similar.

Checkout could have been quite good. It could have competed with PayPal (like they wanted it to).. It was probably 90% of the way there... but instead of improving the service, they did nothing with it for 5 years.. then they developed a replacement.. and now they're telling everyone on Checkout that it's dead, and they should move to a new, but very similar service.

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#159

Post by MatthewPhillips »

coldtea wrote: post #157
MatthewPhillips wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would posit that Google isn't doing well in search from a quality perspective, but obviously they are doing very well from a market share perspective. This just means they are ripe for disruption.

> I would posit that Google isn't doing well in search from a quality perspective That would only be true if there was a search engine with better quality results. I agree that Google has dropped it's quality (compared to itself) but it's still better than anything else.

That's a myopic way to look at it, in my opinion. If there is a quality deficit in search Google is in the best position to remedy it. And if they don't, someone else eventually will. As the parent pointed out, there isn't much marginal value in adding investment in an area that you are dominating. And this is almost always the downfall of market leaders.

Re: Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet

#160

Post by silverlake »

_pmf_ wrote: post #151
ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #11

Google is making the same mistakes Microsoft made. Trying to enter into every industry it can thinking it can use it's monopoly power to take over the world. Reality: Doing 20 things mediocrely is not as profitable of doing 2 things very very well. Result: 1) Constant experiments and dropped products (just like Microsoft). 2) Consumers no longer trust your services to stick around and no longer even invest in your pl…

> 1) Constant experiments and dropped products (just like Microsoft). > 3) The services you do have aren't the highest quality and your brand takes a hit as being "giant mediocre corporation" like Microsoft instead of "high quality company" like Apple. Yes, Apple never creates duds; we are all happily using our Newton.

And Ping. :)
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