Monday, September 22nd, 2008
“Online selling is so addictive, it leads to Internet crime…”
… At least that’s what the National Retail Federation (NRF) would have you believe.
There are some pointed evaluations being made this afternoon regarding three bills currently being reviewed today by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security. First, an interesting blog post by New York Times’ Brad Stone was followed up by an even more alarming post over on the NetChoice blog regarding what this could mean for ecommerce and independent sellers.
Apparently, Joe LaRocca, a mouthpiece for large retailers like Wal-Mart and Target (his official title is Vice President of Loss Prevention for the NRF), claimed that selling on the Internet is so addictive, people are getting hooked and satisfying their addiction by entering a life of organized Internet crime; pretty much equating eBay sellers to drug-addicted criminals.
According to the NRF press release, “all three bills would address organized retail crime, in which groups of professional thieves steal merchandise from stores on a large scale and resell the goods in venues ranging from flea markets to the Internet.”
In reading through the release, it seems to me that these bills are completely avoiding the focus of the real source – the retailers themselves. By placing legal ramifications on online, secondary marketplaces like eBay (and, more importantly, the small and/or individual genuine online seller), one would think the same would be placed on the actual retailers themselves. Thieves have to get their hands on the inventory somewhere before they attempt to sell it, right?
eBay issued the following statement in response to the NRF bills:
“Selling stolen goods anywhere, online or on the street corner, is already illegal so the point of the proposed legislation is more about limiting competition. Big retailers don’t like the honest sellers who rely on online marketplaces like eBay to provide consumers with more choices and better deals. Attempting to sell stolen goods on eBay is one of the quickest ways to get caught. eBay’s marketplace is incredibly open and transparent. We also have teams dedicated to collaborating with retailers and law enforcement to investigate and prosecute individuals who abuse our platform. The proposed legislation would restrict honest competition and limit consumer choice while doing very little to effectively address the issue of retail theft.”
I agree that marketplaces like eBay have a responsibility to help prevent Organized Retail Crime but I think it is a shared responsibility among all parties that play a role in getting a product from manufacturer to consumer.
Cheers,
RBH
Related Reads:
Battle Over Stolen Goods Sold Online Goes to Washington
Big Box Blame Game
Debunking Big Retail’s Truthiness
Tagged: Brad Stone, ebay, ecommerce, house subcommittee, Internet Crime, National Retail Federation, NetChoice, New York Times, NRF, online retail crime, ORC
Lisa SuttoraOn September 22, 2008 at 8:12 pm Said:
Richard -
What an appalling piece published by an otherwise reputable organization – the National Retail Federation.
I’d like to see some specific names of people who “confessed” to being so addicted to selling online that they turned to a life of crime to source products?!?
To me it sounds like an attempt to stereotype a group of people who work very hard to build businesses online. It’s the same situation that we see when stores try to legislate what consumers can do with merchandise AFTER they’ve purchased it.
Once you purchase a product it’s yours to do what you want with. Including reselling it.
I think the big box retailers don’t like the fact that small, home based entrepreneurs are making profits that they think should be going in the big box pockets.
Not that there aren’t stolen goods that land on eBay any of the other online marketplaces. And it absolutely should not be condoned in any way, shape or form.
But to say that your basic law abiding citizen gets so addicted to selling on the Internet that they resort to a life of crime is a sweeping generalization.
Addicted to what? The hard work, dedication, reinventing your business, customer service, learning your craft, measuring your metrics – all of the things that go into building a successful online retail business?
I’ve worked with thousands of sellers over the years, and people love what they do – but their passion is channeled into honest efforts and amazing business success stories.
This NRF article is a slap in the face to home based business owners everywhere.
ChuckOn September 23, 2008 at 9:14 am Said:
This doesn’t seem to be proposing any solutions. It seems like an attempt to shift liability onto online market places.
On a related note, my dad runs a small retail store and recently had an issue where an employee was stealing merchandise and selling it on ebay. This was going on for at least several months and the employee was bringing in $500-$1000+ a month by doing this (Somehow they found his ebay account). Technology has made it very easy for employees to rip off items from their employer and make an extra buck online, simply because its so convenient. It’s also incredibly hard to prove that a crime actually took place. The items have already been sold + shipped… so what do you do?
Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a simple solution for this. Since its a small retail shop, its hard to have security measures that can prevent this. My dad had security cameras put in the store. There isn’t anyone to actively monitor them, but if they notice a problem they can at least look back in time to find evidence of the crime.
If anyone has any experience with this and has a partial solution to the problem, feel free to chime in :)
DaveyOn September 23, 2008 at 8:10 pm Said:
Good post–I immediately took the time to write my representative noting that I oppose this legislation. This thrust by the NRF is as bogus as the day is long.
I did find it interesting to hear that eBay says: “Big retailers don’t like the honest sellers who rely on online marketplaces like eBay to provide consumers with more choices and better deals.” This, while the latest push regarding ebay/Paypal’s assumption that sellers are basically dishonest is foremost in the fabrication of policies. A bit of hypocrisy there. Even more in the quote: “The proposed legislation would restrict honest competition and limit consumer choice…” So do eBay’s payment policies and restricted choices. So, even though the legislation is in fact bad, eBay has no high ground to claim either as they restrict competition and choice at the same time they are promoting their ideals.
We close the comments for posts after 30 days. If you would still like to comment on this post, please use our contact form.
3 Responses on this post. Click to add yours.