John Battelle wrote an excellent article describing his experience with Google Checkout. I highly recommend the read if you are considering using Google Checkout for shopping this holiday season or as a merchant. Here is a snippet:

It seems Google is obviating the merchant entirely vis the ongoing data relationship with the buyer. The registration screen states: “‘Google’ will appear by the charge on your credit card statement. Your card number will not be shared with the seller.”

Why on earth would anyone want this to be the case? To lose your relationship with the buyer? What information *is* passed back to ToysRUs? What rights do I have to that information, and to know how it’s used between Google and the merchant?

Check out John’s post for the full article.