Retail Chains Ask Congress To Regulate Online Auction Sites
from the competition-is-evil dept
We've seen so many industries freak out as the market changed around them thanks to the internet, that it really shouldn't be surprising when those "old school" players pull out the bag of sneaky tricks. However, in the case of retail stores, the tricks seem especially bad. Specifically, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a lobbying group that represent the biggest retail chains in the US is asking Congress to start regulating what can be sold on online auction sites. The sneaky part is in how this is positioned. Since just complaining about the competition isn't likely to win over many politicians, these retail stores are claiming that online auction sites are creating a huge crime wave, as organized groups of individuals rob stores and sell off the results online. Of course, if that were the case, rather than blaming the internet, why not focus on better theft prevention techniques?However, the really sneaky part of this push to get Congress involved is that the reasoning isn't even accurate. I'm sure there may be some groups of shoplifters out there who have been going around stealing goods out of stores and reselling them on eBay, but the details suggest it's barely a blip on the radar. A study by the National Retail Federation (who also represents large retailers) found that most store theft comes from employees or vendors. Only 1/3 comes from shoplifting. Stores themselves are partly to blame, as they've cut back on prosecuting shoplifters. And, most importantly, retail theft appears to be dropping rather consistently over the past few years.
So, basically, retailers get to push for the idea that they need to ban online auctions from selling certain products -- when it turns out what they really want is to get rid of the competition. There's no real evidence of an epidemic of thefts due to online auctions, and even if there were, the problem should be dealt with via the retailers' own loss management efforts.
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Filed Under: competition, online auctions, politics, retail stores
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The AP might want to take notes...
oooPs. I forgot that I have forgotten about the AP.
AP who?
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P.S. And yes, this is sarcasm.
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What about Gamestop?
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Re:
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Scylla and Charybdis
Yes, because that's worked so well before (DRM). Criticise them if they do, criticise them if they don't. Glad I'm not a retailer - it seems like a thankless business to be in.
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Re: Scylla and Charybdis
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Re: Scylla and Charybdis
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Re: Scylla and Charybdis
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Re: Scylla and Charybdis
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Buggy whips
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Re: Buggy whips
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Re: Buggy whips
Spend your time figuring out how to re-tool your factory to make leather seats and steering wheel covers. Don't waste it trying to regulate cars out of existence.
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Re: Re: Buggy whips
On an upnote, the original bank that started the buggy service was able to later cash in on the railroad themselves.
That is, until the big war came and the government seized control of the operation. But they'd learned their lesson at least and shifted gears once again to focus more on commercial finance.
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RE: Stolen stuff on online auctions
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Re: RE: Stolen stuff on online auctions
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Re: Re: RE: Stolen stuff on online auctions
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Re: Re: RE: Stolen stuff on online auctions
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Re: Re: Re: RE: Stolen stuff on online auctions
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just add internet
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Crooks
What a crock of SH#T!
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octothorpe
In fact, why do you shop on auction sites?
and by the way, just how DO you check to see whether the items are stolen?
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My plan
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Auction Regulations
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Bad for the consumers?
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