Google Checkout Is Going International

google-checkout.jpgA few weeks back I made big news and landed on TechMeme for pointing out that ZeFrank’s Gimme Some Candy promotion had been dropped by Google Checkout for not selling an actual product. In the end, this worked out for Frank’s benefit as many of his Canadian users pointed out that Google Checkout was not open to residents of Canada anyway. He moved his promotion to PayPal and it has (by all accounts) been a large success both for Frank and his viewers who are more than happy to pay for duckies (even me).

Now, it looks as if Google Checkout is going international (heading off Zanox at the pass, perhaps?). Why is this important? Think of the vertical channels, content creation/aggregation (YouTube and Wiki’s) and the limited scope Adense to adequately encompass the growing canon of user content. The international factor is a logical extension of where Google is heading with its Advertising Operation System.

Garret Rogers writes:

Since I live in Canada, purchasing or selling items on Google Checkout is not an option. I really wanted to check out the new “email invoice” feature they just announced today, but I’m unable to sign up as a seller.

Bitter, I decided to poke around in the source code to see what I could find. It turns out they are getting ready to open up the service to Canada, and probably other countries soon. When you are in the signup form for Google Checkout, you can type this javascript into your address bar to reveal a Canadian signup page — unfortunately I’m still unable to register.

This is potentially a very important issue as Google seems to be amping up Checkout for the Holiday and early 2007 season with major discounts available to consumers in partnership with participating merchants.

Google is heading into CPA next year and it’s going to be a much larger scheme than we’ve imagined in all of our pontificating!

4 Replies to “Google Checkout Is Going International”

  1. So what’s the deal? Are they going international and if so when? We have been waiting to integrate this with our offer, but we have recently given up since Google has been slow to offer in Canada. Any feedback on this would be great.

    Maybe we would think about it if it was soon 🙂

    Thanks,
    Chris

    Reply

  2. Hi Chris-

    Not completely sure about a timeline, but it seems that with all the attention Google has been paying to Checkout lately, making it international will happen sometime by the Spring. I’d say it will be much sooner than that (holiday shopping season), but the ways of the Google are mysterious (in Obi Wan Kenobi voice).

    Reply

  3. Its been two years since you wrote that article and Google Checkout has still not gone international. I have been waiting for years to find an alternative to PayPal because it is not available to me, and I have never been able to do business online because of this.Will there ever be an end to PayPal's monopoly in this sector?

    Reply

  4. Its been two years since you wrote that article and Google Checkout has still not gone international.
    I have been waiting for years to find an alternative to PayPal because it is not available to me, and I have never been able to do business online because of this.
    Will there ever be an end to PayPal's monopoly in this sector?

    Reply

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