I recently purchased a camera on Ebay.in and opted to pay by credit card. So I enter my number, expiry date, CVV etc. and hit submit. Next thing, boom, it tells me that I have to fax a copy of the front and back of the card or scan and email it to them!

Never heard of a cc verification like this! Having no option, I scan and email them a copy of the credit card (blurring out almost everything but the card number and my name!)
After 2 days, I get a call from them verifying my purchase and immediately an email confirming the payment.

Their service overall was good, but this credit card verification is really outlandish. I can understand their intention of preventing fraud by verifying that the buyer physically has the card, but the thought of them collecting card scans of thousands of people is scary!

Not everyone is a techie to be smart enough to blur out stuff on the card. They only give one instruction that you may blur out the expiry dates and the CVV number. But what about the reverse embossing on the back? the signature on the strip? The stuff that they ask you to blur out is already in their system since you filled it in the form!

I think Ebay should follow global standards in credit card purchases. It is upto each credit card holder to protect themselves and report lost cards on time. It should not be Ebay’s burden to protect you from damages because of not reporting a lost card.

On the whole, I think Ebay is a a great site, a lot of sellers offer competitive rates since they don’t have any overheads and buy in bulk. I’d rather purchase online than pay a premium in a store.