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.

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 :)

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.