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Ebay Tells Sellers To Cheat Stores To Sell Merchandise On eBay! A Tabberone Exclusive!

August 24, 2007 - San Jose, Calif - In the lastest issue of POWERUP, eBay's quarterly Power Seller newsletter, eBay openly urges sellers to cheat department stores in order to maximize profits selling merchandise on eBay. On page 7 of the FALL 2007 Issue, under the subject heading, "Sourcing for profitability", eBay gives advice on how sellers can maximize profits while minmizing risk, all at the expense of the retail store. The damning advice is Tip #2 under the paragraph titled, "Source retail for big benefits": "2. Returns mean low risk. When sourcing at retail, check the return policy before you buy. If items are returnable, you can always return the inventory if you find it doesn't sell at a good profit." The U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency has not reported any unusual or suspicious air or water contamination in the San Jose area that would account for the mental instability of the staff at Bay headquarters. One source believes it might be a naturally occurring phenomena limited to that building or simply a job requirement. What eBay is telling buyers to do is to purchase retail merchandise as inventory for re-selling on eBay, and then, if it doesn't generate a profit large enough to satisfy the seller, return that merchandise to the store for a refund. Retail stores are not in the business of consigning merchandise to eBay sellers. The primary purpose of a return policy is to afford the purchaser the oppertunity to return faulty or damaged items. In recent years that policy has been extended to include customer satisfaction. But customer satisfaction hardly includes the definition, "return it if it doesn't sell for enough on eBay." In our opinion, this touted eBay approach constitutes nothing more than eBay telling sellers to cheat the stores by taking unfair advantage of their return policies. Merchandise purchased and then returned causes the store to incur additional expense through paperwork and employee time lost processing returns and then potential monetary loss because the returned merchandise can't be sold or has to be sold at a discount. Perhaps eBay should trademark another slogan: Sell IT® On eBay Or Return IT® For A Full Refund