Does Google want me to hate them?

I generally like Google products. They have innovative products and implement them well. But what is it with them discontinuing the products I depend on the most?

First there was Google Reader.

Google Checkout was discontinued a year ago. I used this for processing Boomershoot payments. They explicitly said I should switch over to Google Wallet for digital goods, which, after a lot of work, I did. I just got that working in September.

Yesterday I got an email from Google (see also Google Wallet for digital goods Retirement):

Hello,

When we first launched Google Wallet for digital goods, we wanted to make it simple for users and merchants to buy and sell online. The industry has matured a lot since then, providing a number of alternative payment solutions to choose from.

As we continue to evolve and improve our merchant tools to meet new market challenges, we are writing to let you know we will be retiring the Google Wallet for digital goods API on March 2nd, 2015.
 
    What this means for you as a digital goods merchant:
       
    •    March 2nd, 2015: You can continue to process payments via Google Wallet for digital goods until we shut it off on March 2nd, 2015.
    •    Remove Integration: If you don’t have your own payment processing, you will need to transition to an alternate solution and remove calls to our APIs before March 2nd, 2015.
    •    Continued Merchant Center Access: You will continue to have access to the merchant center for processing refunds, getting payouts and seeing reports.

Learn more about suggested next steps in our Help Center.

More help
Feel free to contact us for assistance. We are available at any time to help you with this transition.
Sincerely,
The Google Wallet for Business team

I think It’s going to be either Amazon or PayPal that gets my business next. I’m thinking Amazon is the most likely. If you already have an Amazon account then when signing up for Boomershoot you can just use a credit card that you have on file with Amazon. For some reason I just don’t trust PayPal as much as I do Amazon. PayPal has also been really nasty with some gun issues. Amazon isn’t exactly friendly but they aren’t actively hostile either:

This Acceptable Use Policy lists items and activities that we prohibit because they may be illegal or inappropriate in connection with the use of our services. It applies to any person or entity using our payment service and any transactions that we are asked to process. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this policy. We may modify this policy at any time.

If we believe or suspect that any transaction violates this policy or is otherwise illegal or unsuitable, we may take any corrective action that we deem appropriate, including blocking the transaction, holding funds associated with a prohibited transaction, suspending or restricting the use of our service, terminating the accounts of violators, or any other corrective action.

Prohibited Items and Activities:

Firearms and Weapons – includes ammunition, guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols, other firearms, knives (automatic, spring-loaded knives, throwing, etc.), brass knuckles, or other weapons.

For the foreseeable future Google is going to get extra scrutiny before I collaborate with them.

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9 thoughts on “Does Google want me to hate them?

  1. Great! I use Amazon all the time and a portion of my purchases go to the Calguns Foundation. As long as you’re not selling any of those items I doubt you will have problems with Amazon.

  2. Unfortunately, this isn’t really Googles doing. It’s because of guidance from the FedGov on what categories of business or transaction will be considered “high risk” or be subject to “extra scrutiny”.

    If you read the fine print of most transaction processors, they include similar language.

    It’s a real problem for adult businesses, financial services businesses, independent car dealers… Lots and lots of businesses that the FedGov thinks are “high risk” for fraud, foreign asset issues, money laundering, and tax evasion.

    • And with “Operation Choke Point” in effect putting the squeeze on legal businesses the FedGov doesn’t like, like guns, it’s a problem.
      They really need to be prosecuted for conspiracy to infringe rights.

    • Google didn’t just pick on firearms related stuff. They retired the entire “Google Wallet for digital goods” product.

  3. Google maps seems top have lost a ton of their functions and tools as well. I used to use it to chart out run routes, made a few different maps to show where I’ve been in the world; now I can’t find any of those tools.

  4. Not to mention using google(or any of the other engines I’ve used lately) to search for “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” will probably net you 6 pages of result that contain *none* of those words.

    I understand that they need to optimize results for cash flow, but goddamn, could you at least pretend to give me what I’m looking for?

    • Try searching for something on eBay. They’ve managed to turn their search engine into the most useless thing in the world.

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