Do you use Google Checkout?

[EGOL]

I have not been using Google Checkout but see some advantages to using it.  I especially like their fraud prevention and the review stars that can appear in your SERPs.

My question is... do very many customers use it?  Is it a healthy percentage or are these customers rare?

How is it working for you?

Thanks!

[onlinemediadirect]

tried and tested it for a site and we stopped using it as it caused problems when it came to doing the book keeping. In effect is a more annoying complex version of paypal.

Thus in your accounts another bank account that needs reconciliation.

We only got a small level say 5% compared to normal sales using it.

I only tested it because of the google checkout sign in the ads and now they are stopping using this soon.

[TellThemEverything]

I implemented it just to get the improved conversion in adwords - but that will go away soon as Garry mentions. I get very few customers using it - probably less than 5%..

[Highland]

I used GC for I think 4 years. I never saw its use exceed 1% but it was solidly #3 behind credit card and Paypal. Then again, after those 3, how many other payment systems can people name?

So why did we drop it? First, it's convoluted. People leave your site and never return. Google sends you a series of XML callbacks when someone pays. They have really good documentation, tho (second only to Paypal, IMO). Debugging is screwy because it's all callbacks as well.

Second, GC has no phone support. Support is only available via email or their forum and it's not easy to come by. We had an odd circumstance where someone filed a chargeback and Google granted it (more on that in a sec). We contacted the customer and they reversed the charges but the money got "stuck". GC considered the case closed and yet Google had our money. Took 4 months to get resolved (a lot of work for not a lot of money). By contrast, I can call Paypal 24/7 with issues.

Third, you play by Google's rules or else. GC mandates you ship all items over $250 with signature confirmation. If you don't, the customer can file a chargeback and automatically win (no I am not kidding). The GC chargeback system appears to be automated in this regard. GC won't even contact you beforehand, they'll just grant it and notify you you're out the money.

Last, they destroyed their only value when they moved to Paypal's graduated fee schedule (was 2% + $0.20, now it scales from 2.2% to 2.9% depending on volume). GC is still free (Paypal charges $30/mo for the same service) but for the hassle you go through it wasn't worth it to us. That, and they used to give Adwords credit once upon a time.

Paypal is no cake walk, but at least there are live humans to interact with when there's a problem. If you need a second payment system go with Paypal Express Checkout (I had at least 5x the use vs GC). I've not tried Amazon Payments yet, but they seem promising as well. I've gotten the distinct impression that GC is a forgotten project (Google has moved onto a mobile payments platform, which has caused drama because they hired Paypal devs to build it)

[SteveOllington]

We've been using it with a couple of sites for quite a while. Customers buy a LOT more through Paypal but then there are still purchases made, and for all we know those purchases might not have been made if GC wasn't an option. Also, I reckon its use has gone up a little in the past year.

In summary I'd say that whilst not that many customers use it, there's still some, and that's still more money

[EGOL]

Thank you, James, Garry, Highland and Steve for these great answers.  Hearing your percentages is the information that I needed.  Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Too bad more people are not using it.

[malachiii]

Just a quick heads up that you're no longer going to get the "visual benefit" if you're running checkout with adwords.  they discontinued this June 2

https://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?answer=1323905

an ecommerce client of mine was seeing great benefit with this in conjunction with his PPC.  He saw a temporary drop after they stopped displaying the checkout, but it has since rebounded.