eBay is launching Guest Buying, a program that makes it easier for new buyers to make purchases on eBay. Shoppers can visit eBay and make purchases of eligible fixed-price or eBay Store items using PayPal without having to register on the site. eBay said it believes the new program will help increase the number of new buyers.

eBay stated in its announcement of the program, "We've done a lot of research about buying habits as the Internet has evolved, and have been told repeatedly that requiring new buyers to register before they have a chance to really interact with eBay is a barrier to them taking the plunge (this is the same reason we introduced My eBay for Guests awhile back). Today many online buyers expect to be able to visit a site and simply purchase and pay for an item with minimum hassle. Introducing Guest Buying will help encourage more first purchases by new buyers."

Guest Buyers must complete payment through PayPal and may only purchase items costing less than $2000. eBay has put additional restrictions on which listings are eligible for purchase by Guest Buyers: sellers must have a premier/business PayPal account and qualify for the top tier of buyer protection of $2000; shipping costs must be specified in listings; and sellers must use eBay's Checkout system (third-party checkout is not supported).

eBay said sellers' current PayPal settings will apply - if sellers require buyers pay with a confirmed address, Guest Buyers must use one.

Guest Buyers will be unable to leave feedback until they register with eBay. "Once they do, they'll be able to use all the same features and programs our current buyers do, such as Feedback, Buyer Protection, access to Customer Support, etc.," according to the announcement.

Sellers discussing the new feature on an eBay board expressed some concern that unregistered users would be able to transact on the site, and some hoped eBay would extend additional protection to sellers for Guest Buyer transactions. One user wondered if members eBay suspended would be able to use the program to get back on the site. Several sellers raised the issue of "blocked bidders" - shoppers whom sellers have blocked - who might be able to get around that restriction through the Guest Program. (http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000592263&tstart=0&mod=1194320155349).

eBay said it is introducing Guest Buying slowly over the next few weeks, starting with the Music, Books, DVDs & Movies, and Consumer Electronics categories. Within a few weeks, Guest Buying will be available sitewide.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200711051456292.html

Update 11/7/07: You can find more information on this AuctionBytes Blog post: http://tinyurl.com/2x5rnw