Ebay Prices and You! That cheap Blu-ray is about to disappear!

[jw]

All of us here look and snatch up the best prices out there. That includes searching the internet for places like ebay and Amazon, heck even the bluray trading forum to find great prices. Well Big Box retailers like Wal-Mart are pushing to eliminate that from happening with a bill to Congress. The Lobbyists that are hired by the box stores are going to Congress to push a bill to eliminate online competition like ebay.
I know alot of us dont care where something came from but just want a steal of a deal and thats fine, but Wal-mart is claiming merchandise is being stolen from their stores and pedalled on ebay just because it is below retail price? They are claiming if its cheaper than them, Its stolen!!

What the Lobbyists want from Congress is a bill that would allow the Big Box Marts to be allowed to file a police report when the goods are stolen from the store. With that Police report they can contact ebay, etc and have every listing they suspect to be stolen in relation to that police report pulled without question. As a result, places like ebay would lose business.
So ebay has hired some lobbyists to go to Washington and campaign against this, but they need the voice of the voter. What they are asking is you to login the Ebay's Main Street Grass Roots and send an email to your local representatives fighting this action. Some of you may not care, but when we lose that "cheap" option and are forced to buy from B&M stores again we will have wished different.

Here is the email from Ebay I got:

As a savvy online shopper, you know the Internet is the best place to find great products at great prices. And hard-working eBay sellers provide the best selection and values on the Internet.
So who wouldn't love finding a great deal on eBay? The answer: big retail stores. They don't like the competition. And now retailers are trying to undermine the ability of small business competitors to use the Internet and eBay to offer great values to savvy buyers like you.
The retail industry is spending millions of dollars on lobbyists and PR professionals to push politicians for new laws that unfairly accuse competitively-priced products online of being "stolen" goods. No Internet company is more committed to fighting online fraud and crime than eBay. But this debate is not about crime...it's about competition.
Here's what industry thought leaders are saying about the retailer-backed legislation:
"These bills would impose extraordinary and discriminatory restrictions on Internet marketplaces that help millions of people to legitimately buy and sell products every day - at big discounts...proponents say they're about loss prevention, but they're really about competition prevention..."
Please follow this link to take part in eBay's Main Street grassroots campaign. In fewer than five minutes, you can send a pre-drafted letter to your elected officials. Let's remind Congress that big retailers may have high-priced lawyers and lobbyists, but real people like us rely on the values available online.
Thank you for making your voice heard.
Sincerely,
eBay Government Relations

This story breaks down what is happening

Big Box Blame Game

After crushing most independent, ‘main street’ stores, Wal-Mart and other big retail chains are turning their guns on smaller online competitors. They’re asking their allies in Congress for new laws designed to cripple competition from online entrepreneurs.
In the name of preventing “retail theft,” the Wal-Marts of the world are telling Congress that e-commerce is causing dishonest employees and suppliers to steal from their store shelves and loading docks. That’s like blaming the back seat of cars for causing teenage sex.
Even the lobbying arm of the big box retailers, the National Retail Federation, knows this is a bogus claim. Their own 2005 study showed that most retail theft comes from a store’s own employees. Nevertheless, retailing giants and their lobbyists want new laws to hold e-commerce responsible for their own unwillingness to screen employees and spend more on security.
·HR 6491, the Organized Retail Crime Act, would make it a crime if a marketplace doesn’t pull listings when a competing retailer claims they have evidence of theft. This is just asking for abuse: A high-markup retailer can claim that a particular item just HAS to be stolen “because it’s selling for less than my cost!”, and marketplaces like eBay and Overstock would have to pull the listing.

• HR 6713, the E-Fencing Enforcement Act would require marketplaces to conduct investigations if a retailer provides a police report--dated anytime in the last year— claiming theft of goods similar to an online listing. A big-box chain could file a police report for theft of baby formula, then use this report to force online marketplaces to investigate every listing of baby formula – even by mothers whose newborns just can’t stomach the formula samples they brought home from the hospital!

These bills would impose extraordinary and discriminatory restrictions on Internet marketplaces that help millions of people to legitimately buy and sell products every day – at big discounts. Amazingly, only Internet sites are targeted by these bills, while newspaper classifieds and other “off-line” flea markets are not even mentioned.
The proponents of these bills say they’re about loss prevention, but they're really about competition prevention—preventing online marketplaces from competing with big retailers.
Steve DelBianco
Executive Director, NetChoice
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