eBay Australia and interested parties will convene on June 30, 2008, at an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) conference being held the Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. The ACCC conference is the next step in the regulatory agency's review of eBay's notification that it would move to a PayPal-only marketplace.

The ACCC already told eBay to delay plans to move to a PayPal-only marketplace in Australia, originally scheduled to roll out on June 17, 2008. In a June 12th draft notice, the ACCC proposed permanently revoking immunity provided by eBay's exclusive dealing notification. The ACCC stated it believed consumers were in the best position to determine whether, for their particular transaction, PayPal offered the best features in terms of security, fraud protection, dispute resolution and insurance, at the price offered.

According to the ACCC, "The conference has been convened to discuss the draft notice, to canvass points of view and to assist the ACCC's weighing of issues and its interpretation of the information given to it."

The June 30 conference will be conducted informally. eBay and interested parties will have the opportunity to persuade the ACCC to accept their view. "The ACCC benefits from direct contact with the parties, and its perceptions of public benefits and detriments are tested in a forum of interested parties where points are often quickly and forcefully made," according to the ACCC.

Interested parties wishing to attend must notify the ACCC of their intention by noon on June 27 by contacting Lauren Roy at (02) 6243 4940 or via email at adjudication@accc.gov.au. A record of the discussion will be published to the ACCC website.

The ACCC will review the draft notice in the light of discussion and further submissions made at the conference - or within a set period of time after the conference - and will make its final decision "as soon as possible thereafter."

eBay told sellers on June 13 that it intended to challenge the ACCC draft notice and would work with the agency, "and hopes to achieve a final outcome which has the safety and security of eBay's members as its paramount objective." It also told sellers it would launch its PayPal-only policy on July 15, 2008.

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