Benjamin Ling, product lead for Google Checkout, spoke with AuctionBytes last week about the new service from Google and whether it's appropriate for online-auction sellers. AuctionBytes asked Ling whether Google Checkout was for every size seller. "I think it really is designed for even the smallest of merchants," and said his own mother was using Google Checkout to sell goods online.

"We work very hard to protect our buyers and our sellers,... When you are a seller and you take an order there are signals that we send that tell you that yes, this order is protected, or it's one that you'll have to bear the risk. There's Standard protection policy and Premium protection policy. Premium protection policy is along the lines of, Google will stand by this order if you follow some simple guidelines."

AuctionBytes asked Ling about the adoption rate for Google Checkout. "One of the things that we're very happy with is the overall adoption rate of Google Checkout. We've been launched live for a few weeks now, and one of the great things we're seeing is interest from large merchants, medium merchants, small merchants, and micro merchants.

"We're seeing a lot of active interest from sellers, from the smallest to the largest, and from a variety of different marketplaces."

This page (http://www.google.com/buy/m.html ) links to some of the merchants who accept Google Checkout.

One reason online sellers might be interested in Google Checkout is because it offers discounts to sellers who use Google Adwords: for every $1 they spend on AdWords, merchants can process $10 in sales processed through Google Checkout for free (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m06/i29/s00). But generally it makes sense for Google Adwords advertisers to drive traffic to their own websites rather than listings on online marketplaces such as eBay.

When asked if Google offers any services for auction sellers without their own storefronts, Ling said, "For any seller who's interested in setting up a store, we partner with a variety of ecommerce hosting companies that accept Google Checkout, so you would instantly be able to accept Google Checkout for your storefront. Similarly, you would be able to advertise using AdWords to drive buyers to your website. We're working with them to make sure the experience is as seamless as possible for the sellers, so it's a work in progress." Those partners include GSI Commerce, ChannelAdvisor, Mercantec, Volusion, Infopia, Shopsite and Monster Commerce.

Currently Google Checkout is limited to U.S. transactions. When asked when it might be used by Canadian sellers, Ling said, "We're in the process of rolling out internationally, we're working hard on that. We don't have any firm timelines right now. But there has obviously been a lot of interest on this product internationally, and we're working hard to internationalize," Ling said.

Part 1 of the AuctionBytes interview with Benjamine Ling can be read online at http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i18/s03.